18-05-2025
Softball sectionals start next week. 9 storylines entering 2025 IHSAA state tournament
The IHSAA softball sectional tournament draw actually took place a few weeks ago, but now that the regular season is winding down and the tournament proper is upon us, it's time to start analyzing the 2025 state tournament.
We're beginning our postseason coverage with nine Central Indiana takeaways from the draw.
All hail the almighty bingo balls!
Let's get to it.
If the past week was any indication (let's be honest, it probably was), we are in for one heck of a finish to the 2025 high school softball season.
A few highlights from around Central Indiana…
∎ Fishers tagged New Palestine for 10 runs, the most the Dragons have allowed all season (previous high was five), en route to a 10-4 win. Adrianne Cook and Cate Summerfield logged three hits apiece, Brooke Clayton drove in three RBIs, and Kate Murray broke the school's home run record and allowed just two earned runs on seven hits. Great, momentum building win for the Tigers.
∎ Brownsburg out-slugged Noblesville, 12-10. The teams combined for 24 hits, seven homers and 22 runs. Izzy Neal had four hits and Hailey Prather had four RBIs for the Dawgs; Haley Schatko had three hits and a couple RBIs for the Millers, who scored homers from Brookelyn Grayson, Addison Retzinger and Addi Emmerson.
∎ Greenfield-Central rallied from three down in the bottom of the seventh to knock off Pendleton Heights.
∎ Pendleton Heights bounced back from that loss with an impressive showing vs. New Palestine, holding the Dragons to four first-inning runs in a 4-3 loss. The Arabians logged nine hits against NP's Sadey Hughbanks, with two apiece from Brynlie Holden and Cassie Hayes.
∎ Cathedral rallied from a 2-0 sixth-inning deficit to down McCutcheon, 3-2. Angela Valentine tied it with a two-RBI single, then Kelsey Beres drove in the eventual winning run in the seventh.
∎ It took 10 innings to decide a winner between Plainfield and Mooresville, with Maci Hanlin's two-out RBI single lifting the Quakers to a 3-2 win. Sidney Parks (Plainfield) and Reagan Bauer (Mooresville) went the distance for their respective teams, both recording nine strikeouts.
There were quite a few this year. In fact, the randomness of this entire process produced acceptable results almost across the board.
A few of the bigger winners…
∎ Sectional 28: New Palestine and Roncalli are back together again, but thankfully it's on opposite sides of the bracket. More on those two below.
∎ Sectional 24: In terms of matchups, this one aligns pretty perfectly with Yorktown avoiding both Jay County and Hamilton Heights until the championship game. The Tigers have looked the part of a real championship contender in 3A and a rematch in the sectional final with Hamilton Heights would be superb (they went nine innings back in April).
∎ Center Grove: The Trojans are a fairly significant favorite in Sectional 12. Not only did they receive the bye, they drew away from both Franklin Central and Mooresville, the biggest challengers to their quest for a 26th sectional title.
∎ Cascade: Another sectional favorite with a favorable draw. The defending 2A champs (now in 3A) will only have to face one of Northview and Edgewood. The bye would've been nice, but the Cadets get the early game on both nights and if they play to their standard, they'll be able to get their younger players some valuable postseason experience.
∎ Sectional 43: Bit of deja vu here with Eastern Hancock and Triton Central standing as the top teams and the bracket sets up for another sectional title rematch, this time at Eastern Hancock.
For all the good the bingo balls provided us, they gave us some less-than-good, too. Same as above. Let's get to it…
∎ Sectional 39: Lapel and Frankton delivered a classic back on April 1, with the latter twice rallying to tie the score in the middle innings before Lapel scratched a run across in the sixth to come away with a 4-3 win. It's a shame one of them will be done after opening night of sectionals.
∎ Sectional 8: There's not really a perfect solution for this bracket, but losing two of Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville on opening night is really going to stink.
∎ Cathedral: The Irish are big favorites in Sectional 26 and getting the bye is certainly a win. But having to face city rival Bishop Chatard in the semifinals isn't exactly the easiest draw.
∎ Western Boone: The Stars are set on a collision course with defending Class A state champion Rossville in the sectional semifinals, a rather unkind welcome back to the 2A ranks.
The defending 4A state champions have a really daunting draw. First, a rematch vs. Noblesville — which beat the Royals, 1-0, a couple weeks ago — followed by rival and sectional host Fishers (Murray in the circle fighting to extend her career is an intimidating proposition) and likely another top-5 opponent, Zionsville, in the final.
The Royals are a fairly inexperienced team, but ace Grace Swedarsky is accustomed to pitching a lot of high-stress innings and the bats will have an opportunity to build momentum down the stretch entering the tournament.
The most intriguing hypothetical sectional championship: Roncalli vs. New Palestine. Reunited in the same 3A sectional after a couple seasons apart, the Dragons snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with a 4-3 victory on May 7 and have a legitimate case among the state's best team regardless of class, boasting a rock-solid pitcher in Hughbanks, an expectedly dependable defense and impressively explosive offense. Coach Ed Marcum took steps to ensure Roncalli's batters only saw Hughbanks once through the lineup and though the four runs were below their season average, they were making solid contact.
But it's still Roncalli. And while the Royals have a more difficult path to the final, there's a lot of value in their postseason experience (specifically against New Pal) and pitchers Elise Baker and Addy Poe kept the New Pal bats in check most of the way.
Keep an eye on the Golden Bears. They drew away from sectional favorite New Palestine and will instead open against Indian Creek, with the winner advancing to face Roncalli. Shelbyville, which was scheduled to visit the Royals last Tuesday (rained out), has a potent top-half of the lineup led by Marshall commit Addison Stieneker, who's already clear of 40 hits, 40 RBIs and 40 runs scored with double-digit homers, and Anna Shearer, who's at 30 hits, 30 RBIs and, as of last Wednesday, nearing 30 runs scored. Kali Laycock provides a bit of speed and some pop, while sophomore pitcher Gracie Crafton is clear of 100 strikeouts through her first 100 innings pitched.
The Cougars are the favorites to win Sectional 9, but advancing to week two for the first time since 2017 will require navigating a potentially tricky path. Mt. Vernon is young and in the midst of a rebuilding season, but scored a late-season win over Westfield (Graci Hines allowed just two runs on six hits). Pendleton Heights, the next-best team in this group, has been something of a wild card this spring, but has the talent to spring a semifinal upset and return to regionals (GC staged a four-run seventh to knock off the Arabians last week). Greenfield-Central has a solid top-four anchoring its lineup with Savvanna Riall, Josie White, Charlotte Riehle and Kristen Wineinger, while Ailea Dowdy and Addie Heacox have handled pitching responsibilities.
Another fascinating hypothetical? A Sectional 11 semifinal between bracket favorites Plainfield and Brownsburg. The Quakers scored three runs in the seventh to win the regular season match-up, 4-3, but neither team threw their top pitchers, so — barring a Brownsburg loss to Ben Davis — we'll see Plainfield seniors Sidney Parks and/or Kami Arnett vs. Brownsburg freshman Etta Schroering for the first time.
The Quakers have an extremely impressive record that includes wins over Cascade, Noblesville and the aforementioned Dawgs, but Brownsburg's played a much tougher schedule between the Hoosier Crossroads gauntlet and non-conference tilts vs. Castle, Center Grove and Crown Point.
The other side of the bracket is intriguing, as well, with Tri-West looking to make a surprise run in its first season as a 4A squad. Reaching the finale will require the Bruins to navigate Pike and Avon.
The Warriors opened the season with losses to Plainfield, Lawrence North, McCutcheon and Cathedral, but responded with a nine-game win streak that included a 5-2 win over Western Boone (the Stars snapped said streak the next night). They'll be favored to win their first sectional championship in three seasons, led by Addison Davis, Allie Gunter, Cassie Thompson and Piper Whiston (among others) at the plate, and junior Autumn Muncy and her nearly 100 strikeouts in the circle.
