GREENWOOD — It was edge-of-your-seat drama for a chance to play for the state’s biggest prize.
Mt. Vernon and Roncalli put on quite a show Saturday in the IHSAA Class 4A softball southern semistate title game at Center Grove High School.
Leading characters were the pitchers, Mt. Vernon’s Maddie Taylor and Roncalli’s Keagan Rothrock.
With the winner getting a berth into this week’s Class 4A state championship game, also to be played at Center Grove, Taylor and Rothrock didn’t disappoint a vociferous crowd packed with supporting fellow students and fan bases.
Finally, after 10 innings, the incredible pitcher’s duel ended with Roncalli scoring the game’s only run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, ending a remarkable game and remarkable season by the Marauders.
“What you just saw was amazing, we played some great ball. Maddie was outstanding. I’m so proud of her, so proud of these girls and what they accomplished this year,” Mt. Vernon head coach Veronica Kirby said after her club’s emotional 1-0 loss to the Royals.
“I’d rather play in a game like this than play in a game winning 13-0,” Mt. Vernon senior shortstop Haley Kissee said, taking some positives away from a heartbreaking night. “The adrenaline rush you get from these type of games is something you don’t feel often. It’s definitely something people will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Both teams pitching was outstanding, but quite different in approaches.
Rothrock, only a sophomore, finished the game with 24 strikeouts. She gave up just two singles and didn’t have a walk.
The Marauders got a single from Riley Hasseld to start the fourth inning, but followed with three strikeouts.
In the seventh, Macey Cox led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kissee, but was left stranded after two more Rothrock Ks.
Taylor, as she has shown throughout the postseason, appears to rise to another level when the opposition gets scoring opportunities.
On Saturday, three times Roncalli had a runner on third base with less than two outs, but Taylor was able to work out of trouble.
In the 10th, the Royals were finally able to break through.
With two outs and a runner on third base — Caroline Leister who had led the inning off with a single — Chloe Parks hit a grounder to the right side. It was out of the reach of Mt. Vernon first baseman Molly Buck, but second baseman Ally Myers was able to make the play. Buck hustled back to first, and Myers made a solid throw, but the umpires ruled Parks safe at first, enabling Leister to score the game’s only run.
“One call didn’t go our way. That’s a tough way to end the game,” Kirby said. “I’m so proud of them. I told these (10) seniors they left some big shoes to fill. The girls that are still here will have their work cut out. I hope they’ve learned something from the leadership they’ve seen tonight and all season.”
Throughout the night, Taylor kept the Marauders in it with hopes the Mt. Vernon bats would finally have an answer for Roncalli’s Rothrock.
In the second with runners at second and third and one out, Taylor got a strikeout and grounder back to the circle to end the frame.
In the sixth, same situation, same result. This time the bouncer back to Taylor preceded the strikeout.
In the ninth, Rothrock led off with a double, the game’s only extra base hit. She moved to third on a ground out, but Taylor did it again. She struck out the next hitter and got the last out with a routine grounder right back to her.
“Maddie has more fight than probably any player I’ve played with,” Kissee said. “The way she wanted it for us and the way she encouraged us all night, it helped everyone. She’s definitely the biggest leader of this team. Without her, we would have not made it this far. She deserves a lot of recognition.”
Taylor scattered eight hits, didn’t walk anyone and had 10 strikeouts. She also benefited from a pair of caught stealings by freshman catcher Easton Wampler.
“Her knowledge of this game is so good,” Kirby added on Taylor’s ability to get her team out of trouble. “It helps that she understands that she doesn’t have to strike everyone out. She knows if she hits her spots and everyone plays defense we’ll be successful. She did that. She did a very good job of that.”
The Marauders just weren’t able to solve Rothrock.
“She throws hard, that’s a big part of it,” Hasseld said of Rothrock. “We hadn’t seen anyone that fast this year. The way she has movement on the riseball, the dropball, the screwball, she has so many pitches, you never know what to expect. She was a very good pitcher, definitely the best I’ve ever faced.”
Mt. Vernon finished the year with a 23-6 record, which included the school’s first regional title since 2002 and a semistate semifinal victory earlier Saturday against Bedford North Lawrence.
“I think tonight we saw how hard everyone can fight. We saw everyone’s fight,” Kissee said. “We know how much everyone wanted it. Whether we won or loss, we’re winners in my eyes. We fought so hard. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone.”
“I think we should be so proud of ourselves,” Hasseld added. “That game does not define our season. We had ups and downs. A lot of bad stuff happened the last couple of years, so I think we should be so proud of the season we’ve had. No one even thought we’d beat Pendleton Heights (in the sectional). Making it here and only losing by one to Roncalli, is just amazing.”
Roncalli (30-2) will take on Lake Central for the Class 4A state title this weekend.
First inning keys win over BNL
The opening inning told the story in Saturday’s southern semistate semifinal game against Bedford North Lawrence.
Taylor and her teammates got out of a first-inning jam. Bedford North Lawrence didn’t.
The Marauders won 2-1, getting both runs in their opening at-bats.
After a leadoff walk and an error, Bedford had runners on second and third with no outs. Taylor got Annie Waggoner to pop up to second baseman Myers. Then, Mt. Vernon stopped a suicide squeeze attempt as Taylor fielded the bunt and threw to catcher Wampler, who relayed to third baseman Drew Fithian for the out.
Bedford still had runners on second and third, but now there were two outs. Taylor fanned Braxton McCauley to end the inning.
In the Marauders’ first, the first four hitters reached base. Hasseld led off with a single. There was a Bedford error on Cox’s sacrifice bunt.
Kissee followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Wampler hit a deep drive to center field that bounced off the fence. Hasseld and Cox scored, while Kissee was thrown out at the plate.
It was MV’s only scoring threat of the game. Taylor reached on a first-inning walk and had a third-inning single for the Marauders only other base runners.
“There was a lot of adrenaline flowing there on both sides (to start the game),” Kirby said. “That first inning was interesting. We seemed more relaxed, more prepared at the plate. We definitely came out early and attacked. I thought this could get good real fast here, but they’re good. We’re in the Final 8, everyone is going to be good. This is how games are going to be.”
The Stars scored in the third inning on an RBI-double by Waggoner.
Their only other serious threat came in the seventh. With runners at first and second with one out, Taylor struck out Aliza Jewell and got leadoff hitter Lauryn Anderson to pop up to shortstop Kissee.
Taylor gave up just two hits and had seven strikeouts. Bedford pitcher Waggoner threw a three-hitter and struck out 13.
