Hamilton Southeastern Royals win third state championship over New Palestine
WEST LAFAYETTE – Just keep hitting. Good things will happen.
That was the unspoken sentiment for the Hamilton Southeastern softball team, which played New Palestine in the Class 4A state championship game Friday at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium. The Royals were getting their bats on the ball, but couldn’t break through with the run for the first two-thirds of the game.
But Southeastern kept hitting and finally got that breakthrough with a run in the sixth inning. That set the Royals up for a walk off win in the seventh inning, as Alex Kiemeyer’s RBI double sent Southeastern to a 2-1 victory over New Palestine.
“We talked all this postseason: it’s one game at a time, one pitch at a time, one play at a time, one runner at a time,” said first-year HSE coach Emily Pusti. “Everything is just ‘one.’ You need one run more than the other team to win, right? We just do it all in ‘ones.’ They were able to put it together finally, when it really, really mattered.”
The senior-laden Royals collected their third state title in softball, also winning in 2007 and 2010. Southeastern was back in the state finals after 10 years; the Royals were runners-up to Bloomington South in 2014.
“We had a really fun week,” said Kiemeyer, one of those 11 seniors on HSE’s roster. “We had a water-balloon fight, ice cream, a team dinner last night. Our team feels really close and it’s a lot of fun playing with your best friends.”
New Palestine got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Jersi Gross sent a one-out triple into left field, and Allie Blum sent her home with a sacrifice fly.
Southeastern got on base in each inning, but the Dragons didn’t allow the Royals to cross home plate in the first five innings. Several HSE hitters got some strong hits, only to have them go foul by inches or get caught in the outfield.
But Pusti wasn’t worried. She let her team know of that confidence in the fifth and sixth innings, “and then just reiterated it in the circle at the very end of the game,” she said.
“At no point was I worried,” said Pusti. “We were hitting the gas the whole time. And these girls were excited. They brought energy. I was never worried. Someone was going to make a connection.”
The tying connection finally came in the sixth inning. Makena Burlingame led off with a double, then moved to third base on a wild pitch. Later, Keira Lodes stepped up and hit a sacrifice fly, sending Burlingame home and knotting the score at 1-1.
The seventh inning went quickly and was nothing but success for the Royals. Southeastern sophomore pitcher Grace Swedarsky was in the midst of another outstanding game, striking out 11 through the first six innings. Swedarsky induced a flyout to center fielder Addy Justice for the first out, then struck out the next two batters, bringing her total to 13.
“When you face the hitters two, three, four times, you know they’re going to make adjustments,” said Swedarsky. “But if you can make adjustments first, then it’s all good.”
With that, it was on to the bottom of the seventh. The Dragons got a put-out for the first out, but they would get no more. Justice smacked a single to get on base, then moved to second base when Reese Garland drew a walk. Kiemeyer came up next, and she sent her double deep into left field, giving Justice plenty of time to run home for the game-winner.
“I feel like my instincts just took over,” said Kiemeyer, who had a crown placed on her head while talking after the game. “My first two bats, I struck out. It really took all my teammates to just come up to me and pour their love and support in me, and they knew that I could do it. It just felt like it was a team. I wanted to do it for them, a lot of our seniors, this is their last-ever softball game and I wanted to go out on a good note.”
The Royals collected eight hits for the game, with Justice going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. Both of Burlingame’s two hits were doubles. Jenna Chase and Lodes both had one hit, and of course there was Kiemeyer’s game-winning double.
Swedarsky did her usual excellent job in the circle. She only allowed two hits and one walk against a big-hitting New Palestine team.
“We knew coming into this, just like everyone else in the state of Indiana, New Pal’s got bats,” said Pusti. “They’re a very talented team. Thankfully, we’ve got girls that are incredibly talented and work really hard. We’ve got girls that show up for each other, not just at the plate, but defense and whatnot.
“And Grace understands that deep down. So, I think that’s what allows her to just go up there. And sure, she was battling some nerves, which is totally something that we would expect, of course, as every girl was on both teams. But I think she found her groove pretty quick. And having that many strikeouts against that team is incredibly impressive and we are so proud of her.”
Southeastern finished its season with a 25-4 record. The Royals also won their 15th overall state title, and the second of the school year, following HSE’s volleyball state title this past November. This marks the second time Southeastern has won two state championships in a school year; the Royals claimed girls basketball and baseball crowns in 2018-19.
Reporter photos by Julie Brown