Lizzy Sinders caps Clay City career at state with dad, sister in dugout. 'It means so much.'

Indianapolis Star

2 days ago

WEST LAFAYETTE — Tears streamed down Lizzy Sinders' cheeks as she shared a few final moments on the softball field with her older sister, Clay City athletic director Harley Skinner (née Sinders), and their dad, head coach Jason Sinders.
Friday's 2-0 loss to North Newton in the IHSAA Class A softball state championship game concluded a prolific four-year run for the senior pitcher and an unforgettable couple years for the Sinders family.
Not many people can say they coached their daughters, Jason pointed out. Not only did he have the chance to coach both daughters, he got to coach with Harley for a season — and is now working for her. "That's exciting for everybody," the longtime coach smiled, pulling his daughters in closer as he continued.
"It means a lot to me and their mother," Jason said. "I'm just very thankful, very thankful."
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Outcome aside, this is what Harley envisioned when she returned to Clay City.
The Eels were never far from mind for the 2017 grad, who kept a Clay City visor attached to her backpack during her six-year run as Avon softball coach and would sneak updates on the Eels during the state tournament.
She's a homebody, Lizzy grinned as she waited for her family members to finish other interviews. "I wanted to get them back to state," Harley later added, explaining how the last time Clay City reached this point (2021), the game was played at Center Grove, she was still coaching at Avon and Lizzy was in eighth grade.
"It's just really, really special that we got to do this all together," Harley said.
"It's just amazing (having Harley back)," Lizzy added. "It's nice seeing her and her kids' faces — I'm very close with both of (my nieces) and her husband, as well. It just all means so much."
The Eels nearly punched their ticket to state last season, but fell short in the semistate semifinals to eventual state runner-up Tecumseh. They broke through this season, stringing together 21 wins, including a 10-inning regional thriller vs. Orleans and a weather-postponed semistate championship game vs. Indianapolis Lutheran.
And leading the way both in the circle and at the plate was their senior pitcher.
Lizzy constructed another prolific campaign this spring, going 14-5 with a 1.74 ERA and a career-high 197 strikeouts, while also batting .469 with 45 hits and stealing 10 bases. The three-sport standout went the distance in all six state tournament games, spinning a one-hit shutout of Cloverdale (17 strikeouts, zero walks), a 10-inning shutout of Orleans (14 strikeouts) and a two-hit shutout of Lutheran (six strikeouts).
"She's not very big and for (her size), she packs a big punch," Jason said of Lizzy, who boasts a career 1.60 ERA with 612 strikeouts and 49 wins. "For her career stats — she's just been phenomenal to coach and the amount of stuff she's done is just crazy. Her mother, Amber, and I, we just love watching her play. And we're going to love watching her play in college."
"It's been really amazing getting to watch her grow up and getting to see her on the field and mature," Harley beamed. "I was never a pitcher. I couldn't take that pressure. And she's had the world on her shoulders for a while. She's handled it well."
As North Newton was presented the championship trophy, Lizzy, Jason and Harley shared one last group hug in the outfield grass, all three overcome with emotion.
"These past two years are some of the best times I've ever had," Lizzy said.
As they splintered off and returned to the third-base dugout, Jason brought a smile to his daughters' face in a way only a dad can.
Lizzy just needs a hamburger and she'll be fine, he called out, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"A bacon cheeseburger cures a lot of pain," Jason later explained.