SB 4A STATE FINALS: #2 McCutcheon comes back to down #6 FC, 2-1

By Alex Kirby
HoosierAuthority.com

INDIANAPOLIS – After toiling for 23 years in search of his first state title as coach of the McCutcheon Mavericks, Mother Nature made Jim Bates wait an extra three days. After a long stretch of rainy weather postponed the Class 4A state championship game for three extra days till June 10, it was worth the wait.

The second-ranked Mavericks came from behind to finally gain a state title for their long-time coach against a tough and determined No. 6 Franklin Central, 2-1, at Ben Davis.

Click here to watch highlights and interviews from the game, courtesy of HoosierAuthority.com's Eric Eaton!

In a game where both pitchers threw complete games and racked up 11 strikeouts apiece, hits and runs were understandably hard to come by early on.

“She’s a good pitcher – we knew that coming in,” Bates said of Franklin Central senior Chanda Bell. Bell (29-3), who took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, allowed only three hits and was the game’s only multiple-hit player offensively with two singles.

The Mavericks (31-5) found themselves down 1-0 midway through the contest after sophomore Mallory Massingille doubled to left-centerfield and brought home freshman courtesy runner Denise Coram, running for Bell after her single up the middle started the inning, in the top of the fourth.

But McCutcheon came right back with two runs on a crazy play.

Junior Kelsey Rummel led off the bottom of the frame with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Bell. Senior Maggie Tull then singled and stole second, putting Mav runners on second and third before a groundout.

A infield single by junior Tristan Wilcox brought home Rummel to tie the game, and a throwing error to first by FC junior second baseman Mandy Leming allowed Tull to come home on the same play.

“The fourth inning was our inning,” Bates said. “If we hadn’t have gotten it then, I would have been worried.”

McCutcheon couldn’t manage a single hit after the fourth inning, but that was all the Mavericks needed for the win as senior Tori Collins (23-3) finished off a solid game by striking out 10 and scattering five hits over her seven innings.

“Overall, they've had very, very good attitudes,” 29th-year Franklin Central coach Kathy Stricker said of her 28-5 team’s loss. “It's just disappointing – you get this far, you’ve waited for five days to play, they waited for five days to play just the same.

“It’s disheartening. It’s hard.”

McCutcheon was making its third state finals appearance in the last four years, including a runner-up finish to eventual back-to-back champion Martinsville in 2005. For Bates, the long wait finally came to an end Tuesday night on Indy’s westside.

“It feels good, real good – I love it,” Bates said. “It was a lot of work getting here, not just these kids but all the kids in years past.”

East Central’s Hovland named Mental Attitude Award winner
East Central’s Kallen Hovland was recognized by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee as this year’s recipient of the Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A softball. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to East Central in her name.

Hovland, who ranked third in a class of 318 with a cumulative grade point average of 4.19 on a 4.0 scale, is highly involved in numerous clubs and activities in both her school and community.

Kallen has demonstrated leadership by participating as an officer for two years in the French Club, she was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team, and she was the National Honor Society vice president. She received a Purdue University Trustee Scholarship as well as an East Central Citizenship Award and was named a Hoosier Scholar. In addition, Kallen participated in the IHSAA’s Role Model Poster program and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman Award winner.

Her volunteer work in her community includes her participation as a DHUMC Nursery volunteer as well as a mission trip to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Athletically, Kallen has excelled in both softball and basketball at East Central.
 
The daughter of John and Betty Hovland will attend Purdue University in the fall and will major in food science.

Semifinal coverage by Eric Eaton ...

By Eric Eaton
HoosierAuthority.com

CARMEL – Rain, rain, rain, would you just please go away!

I’m quite confident that is a phrase being uttered by nearly every follower of the 24th Annual IHSAA Softball State Finals as for the third scheduled day of play June 9, rain forced postponement of a portion of the 4A finals from Cherry Tree Elementary School in Carmel.

Click here to watch video of some of the sights and sounds during the lengthy rain delay.

Semifinal 1: #6 Franklin Central 6, #12 East Central 0
Sixth-ranked Franklin Central closed out No. 12 East Central, 6-0, in a game that was resumed from Friday’s original start date. The game had been suspended after two innings of play with the Flashes leading 5-0.

Franklin Central pitcher Chanda Bell, the state’s leader with a 0.10 ERA in 20 appearances, had held the Trojans without a hit at the time of the stoppage. When play finally resumed, the senior picked up right where she had left off, pitching a complete-game no-hitter that included a dazzling 16 strikeouts.

Franklin Central (28-4), making its first state finals appearance, had upset top-ranked Center Grove for its first sectional title in 10 years. East Central (30-4), which saw its 20-game winning streak halted, was making its first trip to the state finals in 18 years.
        
Semifinal 2: #2 McCutcheon 4, LaPorte 0 (suspended, top of fifth inning)
Second-ranked McCutcheon and LaPorte took the field for their semifinal game under hot, sunny skies. Unfortunately, though, the bright skies would eventually give way to thunderstorms, forcing stoppage of the game after four complete innings and McCutcheon leading 4-0.

The game will resume at 1:30 p.m. June 10 at Ben Davis High School. The winner will face Franklin Central in the 4A state title game at 6:30, also at Ben Davis.

The McCutcheon-LaPorte game was scoreless through the first two innings of play. The Mavericks then scored an unearned run in the top of the third to break on top.

Megan Millikan scored the first run of the game for the Mavericks on a throwing error by LaPorte pitcher Amanda Jones. With two outs in the inning, Jones overthrew teammate Karoline Richie at first base attempting to throw out McCutcheon’s Kelsey Rummel, allowing Millikan to score.

The Mavs (29-5), playing in their third state finals in the last four seasons, then increased their lead in the top half of the fourth by plating three more runs.

Junior Meg Teller drove in the first run of the inning with a single that scored Maggie Tull. Jones then walked both Megan Gray and Kendra Julian to load the bases.

McCutcheon coach Jim Bates then called upon Kristen Garza to pinch-hit for Millikan. Garza made her coach look brilliant, delivering a two-run single that scored both Teller and Gray to give the Mavs a four-run lead.

McCutcheon’s starting pitcher, Tori Collins, then followed by holding the first-time regional winner Slicers (20-13) without a run for the fourth consecutive inning as the skies began to open up with rain. A fifth inning of play would not occur on this night as lightning and heavy rains forced IHSAA officials to suspend the game.

The rain eventually stopped and the sunshine returned, but the field was unable to be made ready for safe play. As a result, the game was officially suspended after a four-hour, 45-minute delay.

Should Franklin Central and McCutcheon meet in the state championship game, it won’t be the first time the two teams have squared off this season. The latter defeated the Flashes April 12 by a score of 2-0 as part of its own Mav Classic.

Collins pitched a gem of a ballgame in that encounter with Franklin Central, tossing a complete-game one-hitter that featured 15 strikeouts.

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