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Early deficits 'fuel Cathedral's fire.' That proved true again in 3A championship game
WEST LAFAYETTE — To the uninitiated, it may have seemed like Cathedral was up against it in the early goings of Saturday's Class 3A softball state championship game.
Hanover Central's Sienna Stilley opened the scoring in the top of the third with a two-run homer and considering how freshman ace Jillian DeYoung carved through the Irish lineup, it felt like that might be enough.
But honestly, it would have been weird if Cathedral didn't surrender the game's first runs.
"A girl even mentioned that in the huddle. We've been here before," junior pitcher Sidney Feczko said. "Half of our games in postseason we've gotten down, then we came up. It honestly just fuels our fire. We want it even more. And it's an even more amazing feeling when you can come back from being down. It's so rewarding."
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Yeah, nothing about what transpired Saturday night was new for the Irish. Just last weekend they rallied from early deficits against both New Palestine and Evansville Memorial to secure the first semistate championship in program history.
Retaliation from the first-time finalists felt inevitable and after threatening an immediate response in the bottom of the third, they broke through with four runs in the fourth and tacked on another in the fifth en route to a 5-4 win over Hanover Central.
The state championship is the first in program history for Cathedral, which finishes the season 29-2.
"We worked so hard for this. Every practice, every game," said junior catcher Kelsey Beres, who singled in the insurance run in the fifth. "We're a family. This is absolutely amazing."
"We kept the energy, stayed together and got the win," added sophomore Curstyn Hansbrough, who drove in Cathedral's first run with a base hit to right that scored Amya Gary.
Different players stepped up at different points throughout the tournament, coach Tony Matthews proudly pointed out, and Saturday, it was the bottom half of the lineup with the 6-7-8-9 hitters — Amya Gary, Sydney Matthews, Kelsey Beres and Curstyn Hansbrough — accounting for five hits, two RBIs and three runs scored.
They got on base, generated some offense and turned the lineup over to senior Anna Moore, who capitalized with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored.
The Mental Attitude Award recipient, she followed Hansbrough's initial salvo with a two-run double to left center, then came in to score on a Jordyn Hazelwood single that was misplayed in the outfield.
"The middle and bottom of the lineup came through like it did, then the top of the lineup did its thing, too," Matthews said. "This bunch, they just bring it together with everything."
"Everyone can get it done in our lineup and 6-7-8-9, they got it done," Feczko smiled. "Everyone has a role on this team and they filled their role tonight. It was amazing. It was such a team win."
In the Cathedral circle, Feczko was typically dependable. Her junior campaign was defined by her mental growth and she proved unflappable in the season finale, buckling down to strand the tying run on second in the seventh with her 10th strikeout of the night.
Feczko finished the game with four runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
"She's absolutely amazing. She's such a great pitcher and she's always upbeat," Beres said. "I just love catching for her. I can trust that she will pitch it. I trust her, she trusts me."
Feczko never gets down on herself, Hansbrough added, with Feczko quickly interjecting: "It's easy for me when I have teammates like this."
