Softball: Royals win all-county game, Huskies fall to Lapel

The REPORTER

The Hamilton Southeastern softball team won an all-county game over Carmel 10-3 Friday at the Greyhounds’ Cherry Tree Softball Complex.

The Class 4A No. 1 Royals scored a run in the top of the first inning when an RBI fielder’s choice from Makena Burlingame brought Lilly Palmer home. That would be the only run until the fourth inning, when Carmel tied the game after Jayden Kleiner scored on a passed ball; she led off the inning with a triple.

Southeastern jumped ahead 4-1 by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth. Burlingame singled in Addison Richmond, then Maya Valenta’s left field hit brought Palmer home. Kaleah McCarter got home on a wild pitch.

The Royals added five more runs in the sixth inning. McCarter singled Chloe Smith home, Burlingame’s center field hit brought in Tori Bricker, then Richmond and McCarter both scored on a wild pitch. Burlingame then scored on an error to give HSE a 9-1 lead.

Carmel’s Ellie Goddard smacked a left field double in the bottom of the sixth to bring in Mia Fleming and Kleiner. The Royals got one more run in the top of the seventh after Smith led off with a triple, then scored on an error.

Burlingame and Valenta both had two hits, with Burlingame hitting a double. Grace Swedarsky pitched a complete game, striking out 15 against three hits and two walks.

Kleiner had two hits, while Fleming hit a double.

Southeastern is 2-0 and plays at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday. Carmel is 0-3 and plays Tuesday at Plainfield.

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Hamilton Heights dropped a 5-2 home game Friday to Lapel, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 2A.

The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first inning. The 3A No. 10 Huskies got a run back in the second inning when Isabel Morrow scored on a passed ball. The score stayed 2-1 until the top of the sixth, when Lapel added two more runs.

The Bulldogs scored again in the top of the seventh for a 5-1 lead. Hailey Hall hit a two-out single for the Huskies to bring Ava Snelson home, but Lapel would let the Huskies get no closer.

Hall finished the game with two hits. Heather Crays went five and two-thirds innings, striking out four.

“This year is definitely going to be a rebuilding year,” said first-year Heights coach Shelby Wills. She said with the new coaching staff and new young players coming on to the varsity roster, “working together and finding a way to jell is what we’re working at right now.”

The Huskies are 0-2 and are off until April 10 when they host Anderson.