Three county teams in this week’s softball poll

Tigers are No. 6 after strong Castle Invite performance

The REPORTER

Three Hamilton County softball teams are in this week’s Softball Coaches Association of Indiana Class 4A rankings.

Fishers jumped into the rankings at No. 6 this week after a strong performance at last weekend’s Castle Invitational, which took place Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11. The Tigers dropped their first game 7-3 to the host Knights, then sailed past Eastern Hancock 7-4, North Posey 10-0 in five innings and Boonville 4-0. Following the invitational, Fishers held a 7-1 record.

Frankie Jackson threw a no-hitter against North Posey, striking out two and allowing just two walks. Jackson was also strong at the plate, hitting 3-for-4 (including a double) and driving in three runs. Adrianne Cook hit a home run. Cate Summerfield had an outstanding tournament, hitting 3-for-4 in all four games.

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Hamilton Southeastern returned to the rankings at No. 7; the Royals were rated No. 10 in the preseason poll before dropping out for a couple weeks.

Southeastern put together some big wins at Castle, including a 2-1, eight-inning victory over 2A No. 1 Tecumseh. Lilly Palmer hit a one-out singled in the bottom of the eighth to score Ella Sicilia and H Reeves. Grace Swedarsky, the senior Virginia Tech commit, threw all eight innings and totaled 17 strikeouts.

The Royals also defeated Evansville Reitz 13-0. Southeastern fell to 4A No. 1 Crown Point 11-5 but did put up a fight. Madison Burlingame was 3-for-4 including two doubles, while Swedarsky tossed five strikeouts in four innings. Kaleah McCarter struck out four in three innings.

Southeastern dropped a 4-3 contest to Lincoln-Way (Ill.) in its final game. The Griffins batted into a double play with no outs but were able to score the winning run. McCarter hit a triple for the Royals.

Southeastern has already played two games this week. The Royals cruised past Mt. Vernon 19-2 on Monday, scoring eight runs in both the first and second innings. Freshman Jaycee McCarter blasted two home runs, totaling six RBIs. Addy Richmond and Burlin game both had three hits, with Richmond cracking two doubles. Swedarsky got the win, pitching two hitless innings and striking out four.

On Tuesday, HSE rolled to a 14-1 Hoosier Crossroads Conference win over Zionsville. Swedarsky was again dominant, with 16 strikeouts in six innings. Natavia Wright relieved her and threw strikeouts. Jaycee McCarter smacked another homer, while Kaleah McCarter counted two triples in her 5-for-5 night at the plate. Burlingame also hit a triple.

The Royals are 7-2 and play another big game Thursday, traveling to 3A No. 3 New Palestine.

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Noblesville is ranked No. 10 in 4A. The Millers have been off for Spring Break and were scheduled to return to action against Fishers on Tuesday, but the game was rained out. It has been rescheduled for May 8. Noblesville hosts Carmel at 6 p.m. tonight.

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Carmel also competed at the Castle Invitational, splitting its four games. The Greyhounds narrowly lost to 4A No. 5 Floyd Central 4-3, then beat Wood Memorial 14-4 and Evansville Reitz 14-3, both games were five-inning run-rule contests. Carmel fell to 4A No. 2 Penn 12-2 in its final game at Castle.

Ellie Goddard was 4-for-4 for Carmel against Wood Memorial and hit a triple against Reitz.

The Hounds sailed past Lawrence North 16-2 in six innings on Tuesday. Goddard was again the hero, batting 4-for-5, driving in five runs and scoring four. Her hit total included a home run and two doubles.

Riley Petrites was also 4-for-5. Jayden Kleiner hit a home run and Chelsea Bennett was 3-for-4.