By RICHIE HALL
The Noblesville softball team had a fun time at Harrison on Tuesday, upsetting the No. 4-ranked Raiders to win the Class 4A Regional 4 championship.
On Saturday, the Millers will be traveling back up to Harrison hoping for another good day – one that would result in a trip to the state finals. To do that, Noblesville must win two games at the Harrison semi-state. The Millers play Leo in the second semi-final, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Second-ranked Lake Central and No. 10 Penn will play the first semi-final at 11 a.m.
The Noblesville-Leo game will be a contest between two similar teams. Both teams have several big hitters and are relatively young, with only three seniors.
The Lions are 25-3 for the regular season and cruised their way through Sectional 5 at DeKalb, taking care of Fort Wayne Carroll 11-0, East Noble 9-3 and the host school 14-0. Leo then hosted Homestead for the Regional 3 championship, and won that game 6-3. The Lions received votes in the last Class 4A ICGSA softball poll released before sectionals; the Millers had gotten votes at various points throughout the season, but entered the post-season unranked.
No matter: Noblesville (20-10) beat Westfield 11-1, then held off Fishers 4-3 and Carmel 4-2 to win Sectional 8 at Westfield. That sent the Millers to Harrison, where Grace Smith’s grand slam provided the go-ahead runs to get Noblesville past the Raiders 6-3. It’s the third regional championship for the Millers’ softball program and the first since 2015.
Leo’s regional win was its fourth in five years. The Lions won the school’s first three regional titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016, but lost to Homestead last season.
This year’s Leo team has been putting some amazing numbers. The Lions are collectively batting .445, including five players with at least 50 at-bats hitting over .400. Sophomore Aaliyah Andrews is hitting at a .581 rate, with a team-leading 54 hits. Andrews also leads Leo in triples with five.
Sophomore Kennedy Shade has batted in the most runs at 43, followed by another sophomore, Ashley Miller with 41. Andrews has 34 RBIs. Miller leads the way in doubles with 11 and home runs with nine, while Andrews has 10 doubles and eight homers. Miller is averaging .494, while junior Mackenzie Rust hits at a .460 clip.
Miller is also Leo’s ace pitcher, with an 18-2 record. She has a 0.78 earned-run average and 101 strikeouts to her credit. Rust is a solid No. 2 pitcher, with a 6-1 record, 0.36 ERA and 103 strikeouts.
Noblesville is batting .369 as a team this season, and also has five players with at least 50 at-bats hitting .400. The leaders are freshmen: Ella White holds a .469 average and Madison Taylor is next in line with a .447 average. White leads the Millers in overall hits (45), home runs (10) and doubles (eight), and is tied with junior Emily Minett for most RBIs (32). Smith leads the list in triples with four.
The Noblesville softball team won its first regional championship in three years Tuesday at Harrison. The Millers will return to Harrison on Saturday for the semi-state, playing Leo in the second semi-final. Second-ranked Lake Central and No. 10 Penn will play the first semi-final. (Photo provided)