The REPORTER
Two Hamilton County softball teams are heading to different parts of Indiana Saturday to play in a semi-state – and a chance to go to the state finals.
Hamilton Southeastern travels to Harrison to compete in the Class 4A north semi-state, while Hamilton Heights is going to Jasper to play for the Class 3A south semi-state. The Royals take on Fort Wayne Carroll in the first semifinal at 11 a.m., followed by the second semifinal between Lake Central and Penn.
Meanwhile, the Huskies will face off against Tri-West in the second semifinal at Jasper, which should start around 1 p.m. Silver Creek and Gibson Southern play the first semifinal at 11 a.m.
The championship game for both semi-states start at 7 p.m.
Southeastern beat Noblesville 5-2 last Saturday to win its first title since 2017, and the Royals followed that with a 9-0 home victory over Logansport to win the regional, also their first since 2017.
The Carroll Chargers qualified for semi-state by edging out Huntington North 5-4 Tuesday to win Regional 3. Carroll defeated Fort Wayne Northrop 3-1 last Thursday to claim the Sectional 5 championship, the Chargers are 20-5 for the season.
Carroll has several capable hitters of all ages. Senior Jaidyn Fuller bats .395, leads the team in runs scored with 32 and hits with 30; she has hit five home runs this season. Freshman Ella Craker holds a .392 average, while junior Lauren Kirkpatrick has driven in 24 RBIs and also hit five homers. Sophomore Taylor Danley is the top pitcher with a 10-2 record and 88 strikeouts, while junior Emilia Garcia is 8-4 for the season and has 56 strikeouts.
The 22-4 Royals also have some big hitters, including two batting over .400. Senior Addy Justice bats .464 with a team-leading 39 hits, while senior Reese Garland holds a .406 average, leading the team in RBIs with 23. Garland has cracked five home runs this season. Seniors Alaina “Lani” Wyrick and Alex Kiemeyer are both hitting .358; Wyrick has 29 RBIs and three homers, while Kiemeyer has four home runs.
Sophomore pitcher Grace Swedarsky has been dominant this season with a 13-2 record. Swedarsky has 205 strikeouts to her credit and an earned-run average of 1.19.
Young Huskies
Several young players joined the Hamilton Heights team this season and have already made their impact known. They are part of a Huskies team that successfully defended its sectional title over Sectional 27 host Bishop Chatard 7-5 last Thursday. The Huskies then won their first regional title since 2016 by winning at Beech Grove 6-3.
Heights is 22-7 and its top two hitters are freshman. Addie Doak has a team leading .484 average, while Hannah Dent is batting .430 and leads in hits with 43. Dent is tied with senior Lily Roush in runs scored, both have 30.
Another senior, Kassidy Schakel, has delivered 29 RBIs. Sophomore Lily Cash and freshman Kamryn Rhoton both have hit four home runs. Roush pitched for victories in both the sectional and regional championships, tossing 11 against Chatard and seven against Beech Grove.
Tri-West comes into the regional with a 26-6 record. The Bruins won the Lebanon sectional last Wednesday with a 4-1 record, then claimed the regional title by beating Edgewood 2-0.
Senior Audrey Lowry is batting at a very high clip, averaging .570 while leading the team in hits (49) and RBIs (41). Lowry is also the top pitcher as well. She is 18-3 for the season with 281 strikeouts and a 0.52 ERA.
Junior Carlee Lambertson is .432 for the season, senior Danica James is batting .400 and senior Emma Frye leads in runs scored with 32 and holds a .333 average with a team-leading six homers.