By RICH TORRES
CARMEL – Something had to give. Locked in a scoreless tie with rival Hamilton Southeastern in the Sectional 8 championship on Wednesday night, the Fishers Tigers needed a breakthrough, and their potent lineup delivered.
It was just a matter of time.
“We’re pretty potent all the way through,” Fishers coach Daren James said. “When you’re 0-0, it just takes one big swing, and I’m glad we’re the ones that got it because they have some hitters in that lineup that can put it on the other side of the fence, too.”
Hannah Mays provided the first big hit with a home run lined directly over the center field wall at the Cherry Tree Softball Complex, and her teammates followed suit as Fishers erupted with a decisive eight-run, seven-hit bottom of the sixth to defeat HSE 8-0 for the title.
The championship marked Fishers first since 2015-16 and second overall in program history. In their Mudsock showdown earlier this season, the Tigers won 5-4, and early on the game appeared destined to end in similar fashion.
Then, the Tigers caught fire.
Fishers sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and chased HSE starter Jaylah Guilliam after three consecutive hits. Olivia Bucher relieved Guilliam, but the Royals reinserted their starter after four hits by Fishers.
Mays had both of her hits against Guilliam, who was 6-6 on the season with 59 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched leading up to the championship game.
“(Guilliam) stymied us for five,” James said. “We got the one big hit, and that got us going.”
Nothing came easy for the hard-hitting Tigers, however, despite carrying a .394 team batting average into the championship final. With 230 runs scored in 24 games prior at an average of 9.5 runs per game, Guilliam stifled the Tigers through the first five innings. At least until, Mays came out swinging in the bottom of the sixth.
Mays finished the game 3-for-4 and drove in five runs – all in the sixth inning.
Her two-run bomb to dead center was just the start. Her bases-loaded three-run double was the icing as Fishers jumped ahead for good 8-0 with two outs.
“Hitting the home run was basically like I won the trophy, but hitting the double put more and more on top of the cake,” Mays said. “It was so nice.”
Mays, who limited Carmel to one hit during the quarterfinals on Monday en route to a 10-0 run-rule win, pitched the Tigers past the defending sectional champion Noblesville Millers 10-2 with five hits allowed in the semifinals on Tuesday. Against the Royals (14-10), Mays held the opposition to four hits – all singles.
“I had to focus a lot because I know a bunch of those girls and I know they can really hit the ball,” Mays said. “I really tried focusing on spinning the ball and using my legs a bunch, but I also knew if I threw a bad pitch that my defense would have my back.”
Mays struck out six and walked two with a hit batter, but she induced 11 pop outs and three groundouts to defuse every threat, including runners on the corners in the top of the sixth with one out. Mays improved to 13-6 with three straight postseason wins.
The defense backed its ace to minimize the Royals’ dangerous lineup that had hit .362 entering the Mudsock rematch.
“We just want to win so much. The closer and closer we get, the more we see it. We’re just waiting to grab it,” Fishers shortstop Brooke Benson remarked on the team’s state championship aspirations. “Our end goal is that state trophy. That’s been our goal since the beginning.”
Fishers (16-9) struggled against Guilliam leading up to the bottom of the sixth, leaving five runners stranded, including three in scoring position. The trend didn’t last long.
Guilliam held the Tigers to three hits before Benson, and Indiana commit, reached base after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. From there, Mays took over, launching a 1-1 offering over the wall.
The Tigers 2-0 lead swelled to 4-0 after catcher Sarah Bumps, who was 2-for-3, drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single. Courtney James added an RBI single with one out to make it 5-0, then Mays capped the inning with the bases loaded for a third time in the bottom of the sixth.
“That (home run) gave us all satisfaction knowing we had at least a safety net with two runs, if they did score one run that we had at least a one-run lead,” Benson said. “That’s all we needed.”
The home run was Fishers’ 33rd overall this season and Mays’ seventh.
“I knew this was a talented group,” said Daren James. “I told them from the start, I thought this was the most talented group Fishers has ever had, so let’s see what we can do with it. We’re still chugging along.”
For the seniors, who were freshmen the last time Fishers won sectional, the late-game charge brought them full circle and one step away from a potential regional championship. The Tigers will host the regional on Tuesday.
“Since the seniors saw the first sectional in school history and now seeing it again, it makes everything worth it, working toward this for the past four years,” Bumps said. “It’s going to be really nice to be on our home turf (for regional).”
Fishers 8, Hamilton Southeastern 0
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Abby Taylor 2 0 1 0
Ava Aguilar 2 0 1 0
Jordan Rager 2 0 0 0
Nicole Lang 3 0 0 0
Lillian Leiner 3 0 1 0
Kaelin Wincek 3 0 0 0
Olivia Capuano 3 0 0 0
Libby Ratliff 2 0 1 0
Reece Massey 3 0 0 0
Totals 23 0 4 0
Southeastern pitching IP R ER H
Jaylah Guilliam 5.2 5 5 7
Olivia Bucher 0.1 3 3 3
Strikeouts: Guilliam 3. Walks: Guilliam 4.
Fishers AB R H RBI
Courtney James 3 1 1 1
Olivia Stinson 4 0 0 0
Brooke Benson 2 2 1 0
Hannah Mays 4 1 3 5
Olivia Latimer 3 0 1 0
Caroline Bernhardt 2 0 2 0
Kaylee Kardash 2 1 1 0
Jade Frye 3 1 0 0
Sarah Bumps 3 0 2 2
Totals 26 8 10 8
HR: Mays. 2B: Mays.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
Hannah Mays 7.0 0 0 4
Strikeouts: Mays 6. Walks: Mays 2.
Score by innings
Southeastern 000 000 0 – 0 4 0
Fishers 000 008 X – 8 10 0
Fishers erupted for eight runs in the sixth inning, and that led the Tigers to an 8-0 Sectional 8 championship win over Hamilton Southeastern Thursday at Cherry Tree Softball Complex. Fishers will host the regional on Tuesday. (Richie Hall)
Lillian Leiner had a base hit for Hamilton Southeastern in the Thursday championship. (Richie Hall)