KNIGHTSTOWN — The IHSAA softball state tournament draw setup a potential trap for the Class 2A fifth-ranked Eastern Hancock Royals.
But instead of tripping it, the Royals swiftly sidestepped it.
Unbeaten since March 22, the Royals had won 24 consecutive games entering Monday night’s 2A Sectional 42 quarterfinal matchup with host Knightstown.
After six innings, capped by a Brooklyn Willis walk-off, three-run home run, the Royals (25-1) made it 25 straight Ws as they run ruled the Panthers, 10-0, to advance into today’s semifinal round against Triton Central at 6:30 p.m.
The Royals run ruled Knightstown (10-15) at home during the regular season, 11-1, on April 7, and did the same versus Triton Central, 17-0, on April 6.
That was then, however, and this is now.
“This was one of those scare games because it’s like, ‘How are we going to show up to play?,'” Eastern Hancock head coach Terry Stephens said. “But when you get to the tournament, none of the other stuff that happened matters. You still have to show up. You still have to throw strikes. You still have to hit the ball. What we did against them was at the beginning of the year.”
The only difference in the rematch — other than a flip in the Royals’ starting pitching — was the pace.
In April, the Royals built an early 7-0 lead after the first two frames en route to a six-inning win. Oddly enough, it unfolded without a single home run, which the program made up for in the second meeting by blasting a trio for its on-going, record-setting 49th overall.
Willis finished 1-for-3 on Monday, driving in four runs, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth for her ninth of the season.
“I was just thinking, pitch me a strike. I got this,” Willis remarked on her game-ending bomb over the left-field fence. “Staying calm in the box is one of the most important things to do, and honestly, I was just thinking of getting a base hit because I struggled a bit this game.”
While not to her own standard, Willis put the Royals ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that scored Caroline Stapleton from third base.
She later increased the Royals’ lead 2-0 in the bottom of the third by turning a fielding error in right field into an inside-the-park home run with one out.
Kaylee Kline, who went 2-for-3, made it 3-0 with her ninth home run of the year in the ensuing at-bat via a bomb off the flag pole in right-center field in the third.
“As much as we dragged this out, I think we could have came out of the gate a little bit better,” Willis said. “Oh, well, we got the win. This gives us a ton of momentum. We should go now, so let’s go.”
Royals’ ace Maddie Turner scattered three hits over 6.0 innings to pick up her 16th win in 18 appearances. She’s only lost one game against 4A No. 1 New Palestine in March.
Turner allowed a leadoff hit at the start of the game to Knightown’s Jalyn Knopp, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, but the Royals’ senior struck out 11 and stranded five Panthers’ baserunners, including three in scoring position.
“It worked out well that Madison Stephens pitched against Knightstown and then Maddie Turner pitched against Triton Central before, so this time we got a flip flop. It worked out where they haven’t seen the other pitcher,” Stephens said. “Those two are a pretty good combination. Those two compliment each other really well.”
Madison Stephens is 9-0 on the season with 89 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched and will face Triton Central today. Turner has 122 strikeouts in 87.1 innings with 40 walks and a .200 batting average against.
The Royals’ offense is hitting .432 this year, which currently would break the program’s single-season record of .425 set in 2015.
Their 25th win set a new single-season standard for victories, which formerly stood at 24 established in 2013.
The team is tied for the single-season mark in triples (16), chasing down the mark for hits (335) with 314, and own the home run and RBI records that were formerly 16 and 189, respectively, with 257 RBI so far.
The Royals have also set a new single-season record for walks at 107, while a few individuals are on pace to set the single-season marks in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases and continue to rewrite the record books with runs scored. Sammie Bolding leads the team with a single-season record 13 home runs.
Emma Bolding delivered on a three-run home run against Knightstown with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to push her season total to six.
Kaylee Stewart (2-for-4) reached base with a leadoff single in the frame, followed by a Taylor Koch (1-for-3) two-out single to give Emma Bolding a chance to break the game open.
“That was huge just to get an even bigger lead because we were only up 3-0 at that point so getting to 6-0 was even better,” Willis said.
Caroline Stapleton was 2-for-4. Emily Hodges finished 2-for-3, and Emma Bolding went 2-for-3. The Royals had 12 hits overall.
“We were a little lethargic there to start and it’s kind of been that way the past couple of games. It takes us an inning or two to get going, but once they realized (their pitcher) was coming inside and then going back outside, we saw those two home runs get tattooed on that outside pitch,” Stephens said. “Then, Brooklyn caught that inside pitch.”
Willis drove in Caroline Stapleton and Stewart with a full-count bomb.
“Once we got the timing down, it was about not doing too much. Taking what the pitch gives you,” Stephens said. “There are a couple of us that are really, really good about that. It just takes some time to figure it out.”
The Royals intend to stick to their routine against Triton Central (9-12) today at Knightstown. The sectional championship game is set for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s one game at a time. I don’t care about anything but Triton Central. We checked this game off our list and we move on,” Stephens said.
