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GREENCASTLE SOFTBALL REGIONAL: No. 1 Cadets bring the lumber, blast Tiger Cubs out of state tournament
Cascade may not have pulled its biggest bats out during the regular season meeting with Greencastle back on April 15, but the Cadets brought them Tuesday when they took on the Tiger Cubs in the IHSAA Softball Greencastle Regional.
The visitors bashed three home runs, scoring multiple runs in every played inning, as part of a 13-1 win in five innings, sending the No. 1 Cadets on to the semistate for a second-straight season where they will get a rematch with defending Class 2A state champions No. 13 North Posey, who ended No. 5 Sullivan’s season 5-4.
“(Cascade) is a fantastic team,” Greencastle head coach Amy Coons said. “We knew they could hit the ball. What happened last game was uncharacteristic for them as they didn’t hit the ball.
“We knew what was going to happen, that they were going to hit the ball, and we needed to answer. We just couldn’t string the hits together when we needed to.”
A single and error to start the game set up Cascade to take a 2-0 lead after Ava Allen plated one run with a ground out and Lacie Godby singled to bring in the second run.
Grace Gray hit the first of the trio of home runs in the second, a two-run blast that doubled the Cadet lead to 4-0.
Greencastle would load the bases in the second inning but Gray, in the circle for the visitors, induced a fly ball and fielder’s choice off a bunt to get out of the jam.
“The middle of our order was getting on base, doing what we needed to them to do,” Coons said. “We had seven runners left on base and that’s way too many against a team like (Cascade).
“You can’t leave that many runners on and expect to win.”
Macey Pugh was next to leave the park, another two-run shot, as Cascade built up a 6-0 lead after three innings of play.
Amber Culp led off the fourth with a solo home run while Allen drove in a run with a single. A Tiger Cub error allowed a third run to score before Adie Paschal hit an RBI double that pushed the Cadets into run-rule territory at 10-0.
The hosts notched three singles in the bottom of the inning but again could not bring in a run as Gray got a strikeout to end the threat.
Cascade added insurance runs in the fifth as Tara Gruca laced an RBI double before an error allowed a third run to score, giving the visitors a 13-0 lead.
Allie Beaman doubled to lead off the fifth, eventually scoring on a Lilly Franklin single to avoid the shutout but the rally ended there as Gray recorded her ninth strikeout of the night to end the game early.
Greencastle finishes the season 14-10, 4-6 in WIC play, winning the Putnam County Softball Tournament and the school’s first sectional title in 26 years.
With Beaman the only senior and only two juniors in Haley Iseman and Emma West on the squad, the Tiger Cubs will bring loads of experience back for not only the next season but for the foreseeable future.
“We told the girls not to cry when we walked out of here but to proud of what we did because we did a lot of really great stuff this year,” Coons said. “We had a winning season, we did a lot of things right this year and we’ve got a sectional title to show that.
“We’re going to miss Allie; she was consistent, ended the game with a double and never gave up. We’ve got good kids coming up and everyone is already ready to come back and practice next week.”
Cascade 222 43 — 13 11 0
Greencastle 000 01 — 1 6 3
WP — Gray 5 IP, R (ER), 6 H, BB, 9 K
LP — Hassler 5 IP, 13 R (8 ER), 11 H, 3 BB, 4 K
HR — Gray, Pugh, Culp
2B — Gruca (2), Paschal; Beaman
RBI — Gray (2), Gruca (2), Pugh (2), Allen (2), Godby, Paschal, Culp; Franklin