Kayla Pickering, 'gritty' Avon stun Brownsburg in sectional final. 'We never gave up.'

Indianapolis Star

30-05-2025

BROWNSBURG — Kayla Pickering stepped into the batter's box knowing she was going to win it.
Avon had fought like crazy to get within reach of rival Brownsburg, scoring four runs in the sixth to pull within two, then escaping a bases-loaded jam in the seventh unscathed to reclaim momentum entering the final stanza.
Olivia Yeary ripped a one-out single to score Reagan Cooper and advanced on the throw to set up Pickering, the team's No. 8 hitter, with runners on second and third.
When she peered in from the third-base box, Kiah Ferrell could see in the junior's eyes that she was ready. She felt good, the Orioles coach said. "And when your kids are confident in themselves, that's a great feeling to have as a coach. All that preparation has paid off."
Pickering fouled off the first pitch, then with the second, she rifled a sharply hit grounder through the left side of the infield. Ferrell initially motioned to hold Yeary at third, but when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, she frantically waved her home.
Players began pouring from the Avon dugout as Yeary crossed home plate, mobbing her before enshrouding Pickering halfway down the third-base line.
"My heart was beating on second, but I had so much faith in Kayla. Just so much," Yeary said. "I knew she was going to smack that ball into a gap."
Avon wins the Class 4A Sectional 11 championship game, 10-9, its fifth consecutive sectional crown and 14th overall.
The Orioles will host Center Grove in Tuesday's regional championship.
"We have a lot of grit, a lot of trust in each other," Yeary said.
"A lot of heart for the game, a lot of passion," added pitcher Addie Forst.
"Grit" was the word of the night on the Avon side, an apt descriptor of a team that's gone 8-4 following a 3-13 start to the year.
They were an inexperienced outfit staring down the barrel of a grueling Hoosier Crossroads Conference schedule entering the season, Ferrell said, and knew they were going to take their lumps. But in her heart of hearts, she knew this was going to be a second-half team.
And that's when "things finally started to click," Ferrell continued. They started to hit. They played better defense behind their pitcher. And they had harder practices. "We were intentional and we focused more on the mental game," she said. "And I think it finally paid off, which is really nice."
Avon's latest victory was keyed by its ability to minimize damage. Forst surrendered five runs through the first four innings, but allowed only one run and stranded the bases loaded in the top of the fourth. Her efforts were rewarded in the bottom half, with Yeary launching a three-run home run to make it 5-3.
When the Bulldogs answered with four runs over the next two innings, the Orioles answered with a four-run sixth, tallying runs on a wild pitch, a two-RBI double by Lilly Heath and a Zoey Chavez base hit.
"We never gave up," Pickering said.
"The game doesn't know," Yeary interjected.
"They threw punches," Pickering continued. "We threw them back."
Amidst the rally, Ferrell looked to the dugout and asked Forst if she was ready to pitch the seventh.
I'm ready for the opportunity, she replied.
The first two runners reached, then Brownsburg loaded the bases with a two-out walk, but Forst buckled down and got a pop out to end the inning and hold the margin at two.
"That girl likes to do that to herself," Ferrell laughed. "We've tried and tried and tried to talk about being more efficient and not getting into sticky situations, but she finds a way to get out of it. Grit is a good word to describe her."
Avon advances to face Center Grove in Tuesday's regional. The Trojans won the regular-season meeting, 10-9, on May 12.
"We're not done yet," Ferrell said. "And I think it's really cool that, whatever the expectation is, we like to be the underdog and we like to have our backs against the wall. We're gritty."