GREENFIELD — When the clock strikes 3 o’clock, Greenfield-Central softball coach Jason Stewart can’t help but get a little excited.
Once 3:30 p.m. arrives most weekdays, Stewart knows exactly where he’ll be, and his Cougars won’t be far behind.
“It’s fun coming out here to the field. I look forward to 3:30 (p.m.) and working with them and trying to get better each day,” Stewart remarked.
“It’s so nice to be back. It’s refreshing. This season has really brought a joy for me back to the game. I was devastated last year when we didn’t get to play (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The year before was kind of a tough season, but this group has so much chemistry. They’re such a great group of kids.”
At 6-0 on the season after defeating visiting Wapahani, 12-6, on Friday night, the Cougars aren’t just unbeaten through the first two weeks of the 2021 campaign, they are steadily developing into something special, Stewart emphasized.
And, they’re exceeding expectations with each day.
Already projected to be a strong-hitting lineup before the season even began on March 29, Greenfield-Central is living up to its potential with a .510 team batting average and 87 runs scored at 14.5 per contest.
Sophomore Camille Burelison has 21 RBI, three home runs and is hitting .526 through 19 at-bats. Ellie Ewald, junior, is hitting .632 with 10 RBI and two of the team’s 10 home runs.
As a group, the Cougars have 77 RBI, 22 doubles and a .539 on-base percentage with four run-rule victories to date.
They nearly added a fifth against Wapahani, but Stewart wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. April is for progression, and the Cougars are moving in the right direction.
“We’ve hit one through nine all year. There are some things I’m certain of and there are things I have some idea of with this team, but this may be, I know power wise, the best lineup I’ve ever had,” Stewart said. “It may end up being one of the best hitting lineups I’ve ever had, which is exciting.”
A six-run bottom of the first inning against Wapahani solidified their pursuit of win No. 6, and the Cougars led 11-1 after four complete innings before rotating out a few starters, including Burelison.
Burelison threw a four-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts before being relieved by Faith Butler, a sophomore, who closed out the final three innings with five strikeouts and six hits allowed.
“It’s been really good. We have a really strong team this year, and we have a really good lineup,” Burelison said. “Everyone is pretty pumped to play this year, so it’s been pretty easy to keep the momentum going.”
The Cougars backed up Burelison and Butler with 19 hits, including a trio of doubles and a pair of home runs.
Lilly Stewart, a sophomore who is hitting .400, finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Caroline Gibson, a senior, pushed her average to .417 after going 3-for-4 with her second home run this year.
Morgan Hornaday (.579), a junior, went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two doubles. Senior Mallorie Fultz (.750), the team’s top hitter, was 4-for-4 with three RBI, while senior Emmie Lamaster subbed in and went 1-for-1 with a double.
Ewald drove in a runner in the first inning after going 1-for-3, and Megan Wineinger, a junior who is hitting .462, added her fifth RBI on the year.
“The thing that’s really helped us this year is we’ve put up numbers in the first inning. This was really the first time it has taken us two outs to score in the first,” Stewart said. “Lilly had the hit that gave us the two, so we could relax and get back to what we’re doing. To let us know we were fine. We kind of went from there.”
Driving in runs has been the routine for Greenfield-Central.
Against Wapahani, the lineup posted a .514 average and hasn’t dropped lower than .385 in any game to date. Its best mark was .615 in a 20-1 run-rule win over Northeastern on Wednesday.
“It’s nice because we’ve got to toy with some things. We had an idea at the beginning of the season what we wanted to do, and the kids we thought were going to hit are hitting and some kids that we thought had potential are just going nuts right now,” Stewart said.
“Mallorie Fultz and Morgan Hornaday, we thought were pretty good hitters and what they’ve done so far has been unbelievable. We’ve just seen a lot of pluses.”
With the schedule heating up next week, the Class 4A Cougars have essentially been priming to make their presence known, beginning this Monday at 4A Noblesville, then against 4A Fishers on Thursday, followed by 2A Indianapolis Scecina on Friday.
“Now, we have have to prove it when we start facing some tougher teams, which we’re going to see next week, but for what we’ve seen so far, it’s pretty exciting,” Stewart said. “This team is simply going to come down to pitching. It’s by far the most athletic team I’ve ever had. It very well could be one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever had, but it’s going to come down to can our pitchers consistently throw strikes and hit their spots?”
Burelison owns a 4-0 record with 20 strikeouts through 19.0 innings pitched and a 0.74 ERA. Hannah Holden, a senior, is second best at 2-0 and 10 strikeouts in 12.0 innings thrown.
“If Hannah and Camille dial in, we could be pretty special. I really believe that,” Stewart said.
The Cougars are determined to do just that, day by day.
“When you mix chemistry with the talent that we have, you have a chance to do some pretty big things,” Stewart said. “We’ll find out next week where we are. They’re ready for the challenge. I’m excited for the challenge.”
