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Greencastle looks to add to sectional title, get revenge for early-season loss to Cascade in regional round
Thanks to significant rain over the weekend, Greencastle’s softball team spent Monday inside McAnally Center in the batting cages, its final tuneup before Tuesday’s IHSAA Greencastle Softball Regional outing against Cascade.
The Cadets are a familiar face in this part of the season, having won three-straight sectional titles and reaching the semistate last year, dragging eventual state champions North Posey into a 12-inning outing that eventually went in favor of the Vikings 2-1.
The Tiger Cubs? Not so much.
Winning the school’s third softball sectional title, the last coming in 1998, well before any of the current team was born, Greencastle enters uncharted territory for both players and coaches alike.
“Going to practice on Thursday was a little surreal,” Greencastle head coach Amy Coons said. “Honestly, some of us thought that the last practice we had before sectional was our last practice of the year, so it was really fun to get back together on Thursday.”
Staying in the tournament required breaking through a mini-slump over the final two weeks of the season as the Tiger Cubs went 2-4 in its last six games before sectional play.
“We came off some tough games before sectional against several tough teams like West Vigo, Sullivan and Terre Haute North, but even in those games, we were able to find some positives and things we were doing well,” Coons said. “When we played South Putnam on senior night, we played way too tight and we wanted to win so bad that we played defensive.
“Going into sectionals the next week, we regrouped, trusted in our strengths, played loose, had fun and picked each other up. We knew it was do or go home and we were able to put together 34 hits with four different girls hitting home runs, all because we were ready to play and have fun.”
The fun started with a 9-0 stroll over county foe North Putnam with Ali Hassler giving up just one hit on the night and extended into the following game against South Vermillion with Greencastle winning 11-2.
“I wanted to win sectionals and I knew we had a chance to do so,” Hassler said, who allowed nine hits and four runs over the three-game stretch. “I gave it my all, pitched well and the defense had my back when I was out there to get outs.
“I was more relaxed this year. Since I already had played in a sectional last year, I knew what it would be like, so I went into it relaxed, focused and did well this year.”
A tense final with South Putnam was looking grim going into the seventh inning as the Tiger Cubs trailed 2-1 until a four-run rally, capped by a three-run home run by Lilly Franklin saw Greencastle finish with 5-2 win.
“That definitely wasn’t the plan at all,” Franklin said about hitting her first varsity home run. “I was looking to get a hit and there was a lot going through my head at that point.
“There was a lot of pressure to deal with but I stayed focus and the ball just ended up soaring.”
The task now in front of the team to win the school’s second softball regional title is to topple the No. 1 team in Class 2A, a Cadet team who sits at 26-2 with its only losses coming to 3A No. 4 Tri-West and 4A No. 14 Brownsburg.
The two teams met on April 15, a 4-0 win for Cascade that was 1-0 until the sixth when the hosts added three insurance runs.
“Ali pitched great that game,” Coons noted. “She only had six strikeouts, which is low for her, but she got (Cascade) to hit into a lot of outs and we made some plays that we needed to make in the field.
“We did get runners on base as we had five hits, so the potential to get on base and score is there, but we didn’t get the job done in that game. We just need to keep playing to our strengths.”
A trio of errors helped the Cadets score all four runs while the timely hits the Tiger Cubs found during sectional play weren’t forthcoming that night, though there is confidence in the team both of those areas have improved.
“We had a few errors but Cascade is a very good team with good pitching,” Hassler said. “There was a chance we could win but we needed hits to get on the board that we just didn’t get in that game.
“During sectionals, our bats were really hot. If we can keep that going, we can get on the board in this game. I’ve been working on my pitching since then, getting more spin and improving my movement.”
“The game was going good,” Franklin added. “We held them off for a long time.
“Our bats were the problem in that game but we’ve worked a lot on our hitting since then, facing a lot of different pitchers. Playing (Cascade) again, I think we can make it through.”
Cascade has three batters hitting above .400 on the season in juniors Tara Gruca (.544), who has 43 hits, 45 runs scored and 22 RBI and Grace Gray (.494), who has 41 hits, 42 runs scored and leads the team in triples and home runs (five) and sophomore Lacie Godby (.479), the team leader in hits (46), RBI (42) and doubles (17), while the rest of the starting lineup bats at a .300 clip.
Gray and Godby, the latter of whom pitched against Greencastle in the first meeting, have allowed a combined 46 runs on the season with Gray striking out 191 batters and Godby 71, including nine Tiger Cub batters.
Greencastle’s battling lineup has been topped by Franklin, Allie Beaman and Emma West with the trio hitting .356 and higher, Beaman and Franklin leading the team in hits with 31 and 30 each while Beaman and West have 22 and 21 RBI respectively.
Hassler has 197 strikeouts on the season though has given up 100 runs in 20 appearances.
To flip the script on Tuesday, Coons said the team would need to keep the same energy and play style from the sectional going.
“We’ve got to keep the same mentality, something we’ve talked about in practice,” Coons said. “People didn’t expect us to be in this spot, having won a sectional title. Maybe with last year’s team but the opposite happened instead as we lost in the first round.
“After losing six seniors, no one expected us to win a sectional. We’re playing the No. 1 team in Class 2A, so we’ve got nothing to lose here.
“We’ve got to keep the same mindset and have fun playing our game,” Coons added. “We need to get on base, play aggressive and loose and, if our gameplan isn’t working, switch it up if we need to.”
For a team that had many questions to answer, especially on the offensive end, before the season, playing for a regional title Tuesday is an experience the entire Greencastle team is ready to take in while taking its shot at another few days on the diamond.
“It feels good, getting to play another game,” Hassler said. “Hopefully we have a lot of fans come out and support us.”
“It’s turned out to be an amazing season,” Franklin said. “The way this team is out on the field, we all talk and work as one so that the defense flows in one movement.
“Ali is an amazing pitcher and all of us are working hard to back her up. The way we talk and work together out there is great.
“It’ll be nice to play another game at home,” Franklin added. “Making it this far, having won a sectional for the first time since 1998, I know the crowd will be pumped and the team will be pumped.
“We’re looking for a really good game on Tuesday.”