By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
CARMEL – The Class 4A Hamilton Southeastern Royals didn’t just pass the test last Saturday afternoon. They aced it.
With two days prior to the Sectional 8 championship at Cherry Tree Softball Complex, head coach Emily Pusti and the 12th-ranked Royals hit the books at practice.
Add in a delay following last Friday’s title game postponement due to rain, and the Royals were arguably experts on their opponent, and it showed, as HSE toppled Noblesville, 5-2, for its first sectional title since 2017.
“We took time to break Noblesville’s game down and prepare ourselves since Wednesday,” Pusti said. “I feel like that really helped us keep level.”
Knowledge was indeed power for the Hoosier Crossroads Conference champion Royals (21-4), who won their seventh straight game to complete the season sweep of Noblesville, who they also beat, 5-4 in 11 innings, during the regular season.
In the rematch, senior Reese Garland supplied the offense with a pair of home runs, while sophomore ace Grace Swedarsky was just as devastating, pitching 7.0 innings with 12 strikeouts, two walks and two runs allowed over seven hits.
Swedarsky struck out 15 Millers in the first meeting through 10.0 innings, and this time, she faced only two setbacks – an RBI single by senior Gabby Fowler in the bottom of the third and an RBI groundout by Addi Emmerson in the sixth.
A year ago, Swedarsky stormed onto the scene, striking out 242 batters in 119.2 innings pitched with a 12-5 record and a 1.35 ERA.
The Royals reached the sectional title game last year with Swedarsky in the circle but lost to Westfield, 1-0, which fueled HSE’s motivation to finish the job this spring.
“I learned a lot last year, especially being a freshman. It was learning from your mistakes and applying them this year,” Swedarsky said. “It was on the back of everyone’s minds. We didn’t want to repeat what we did last year.”
Instead, the senior-laden Royals got their revenge, beating Westfield during the regular season, 3-0, and later, 6-0, in the sectional quarterfinals last Monday with Swedarsky striking out 12. Against Zionsville in the semifinals, Swedarsky struck out 17 for a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory.
After the final, she now has 205 strikeouts in 112.0 innings this season with a 1.19 ERA and a record of 13-2 to help HSE secure its 15th sectional title all-time and fourth in 11 years.
The key was consistency in all three phases, and a powerful swing by Garland.
With two outs, Garland (2-for-4) hit a solo shot over the left-center field fence to put HSE up 1-0 in the first. Her second bomb came with one out and one on base in the fifth, which further cemented the Royals’ momentum, 5-1.
“She’s been working really hard at the plate. I know she’s one that if the energy is high, she continues to ride on that energy, and it shows in the way she plays,” Pusti said.
The Millers (16-11) struggled with Swedarsky, who limited the Millers to nine base runners, six stranded and four left in scoring position.
After Fowler’s first hit in the bottom of the third, Swedarsky retired eight consecutive batters faced until Fowler’s second single in the sixth.
“We worked on different things to try to be able to string together hits, and we had opportunities,” Noblesville head coach Deke Bullard said. “We just couldn’t take advantage of them.”
The Millers had a chance in the bottom of the second following back-to-back singles by Emmerson (1-for-3) and Macie Duvall (1-for-3), but Swedarsky struck out two to end the threat.
In the third, a popped-up bunt attempt was turned for a double play by Garland that halted a potential rally after Fowler’s RBI hit.
In both the sixth and seventh innings, Noblesville had a runner in scoring position, but Swedarsky simply stayed stoic.
“They’re always kind of processing what their job is, so I think that’s what helps them stay level-headed. And if not, they always have a teammate that’s always got their back to kind of get them to where they need to be,” Pusti said.
Garland, the offense and defense kept Swedarsky confident throughout.
“Every day at practice, we work on all of that,” Garland said. “I’m really proud of the whole team.”
The Royals had the bases loaded three times in the top of the third, plating a run and a 2-0 lead behind Alex Kiemeyer’s two-out, RBI walk.
Another run scored on an attempted pickoff throwing error at home plate in the top of the seventh that increased HSE’s lead, 5-2. The final run unfolded on Addy Justice’s (3-for-4) single up the middle.
HSE drew four walks, struck out five times and left four runners on base, including two in scoring position.
Noblesville competed without senior pitcher Claire Cullen and sophomore catcher Haley Schatko, who both were sidelined due to injuries.
“Not having Claire, without a doubt, hurt. She has been our go-to all season. She had a great senior year and not having her changes the game. Her velocity changes the game for us,” Bullard said.
Lulu Van Beek started for the Millers, going 4.2 innings with three strikeouts, two walks and five hits allowed. The final knock surrendered was Garland’s two-run home run in the top of the fifth.
Junior Emme Yee entered in relief and lasted 1/3 of an inning before freshman Addison Retzinger closed out the final two frames.
Noblesville was competing in its fifth sectional title game in eight seasons, winning in 2018, 2021 and 2022.
“The program is in a very good state from a standpoint of our expectation, which is to be in this game. That’s what we’ve established as a program,” Bullard said. “We had two injuries right before this game, and it literally showed how healthy our program is because it was just next person up.”
Up next for the Royals is a regional showdown with Logansport at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home.
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