TERRE HAUTE —
When discussing how valuable Jazmine Allen is to Terre Haute North’s softball team, plenty of numbers can be used as examples.
Entering Wednesday night’s game at Terre Haute South, the sophomore center fielder was hitting .569 — one of the top averages in the Wabash Valley — with two home runs, 20 runs scored, 13 runs batted in, six doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases in 2012.
Last season, Allen burst onto the high school softball scene with nine homers and a .375 average.
But the number that matters most to her is the one that appears on the back of her North uniform — 8.
Please allow Allen to explain.
“I started out in softball [at age 7 in Montezuma] with my mom because she pushed me to do it … and I hated it at first,” she recalled with a smile.
“But she made me do it because she liked it. I hated it sooo much, but she made me go out every day in the backyard to play catch and hit. I wanted to be hanging out with my friends or doing anything else but softball.”
Now Allen loves the sport and it’s because of her mother, Candace Schultz.
But when North clashed with its archrivals Wednesday, nobody could see Schultz sitting in the crowded South bleachers — except maybe for Allen in her mind.
You see, Schultz died Sept. 17, 2004, from injuries suffered in an auto accident. She was 27.
Allen was 8.
“When I was 8 years old, she died and I had to move in with my grandma,” she recalled. “Ever since then, I’ve just played for my mom because I knew she liked softball. I want to make it far for her. I know she believes in me and I want to show her I can do it.”
Allen didn’t always live with her grandmother, Beth Hyde, after Schultz died. She also spent time with her aunt (Schultz’s sister and also one of Hyde’s daughters) — April Dunbar.
But Dunbar — a cancer survivor, according to her Tribune-Star obituary — died Aug. 21, 2011, from injuries sustained in an auto accident in Douglas County, Ill.
“She plays hard for them,” North coach Jack Kirchner said, referring to Allen’s mother and aunt.
Now the talented athlete is back living with Hyde, who also takes care of Dunbar’s two surviving children.
“Jazmine’s the oldest of my granddaughters and she’s really had to step up and help out, with the family members we’ve lost,” Hyde mentioned before Wednesday’s showdown. “She still has focused on her softball. She loves it and she’d like to play in college. She stays strong.”
At 16, Allen already has dealt with more tragedies than many adults much older than her. But she’s determined to let softball be a positive influence in her life.
In other words, she doesn’t need to be told to practice and play the sport anymore.
“My mom’s the reason I want to go big, because I know she loved it and I want to make her happy,” Allen stressed. “I want her to look down on me and just be proud.”
Allen has dreamed of playing college softball since she was in seventh grade, admitting she wants to compete for the University of Florida in three years.
Kirchner insists that Allen possesses the natural skills, smarts and work ethic to go far in college.
“If she works hard at it and stays with it, she’s definitely a Division I softball player,” he said over the weekend. “She’s got all the tools. I think everyone [in the college ranks] knows about her. But she doesn’t let that go to her head. She’s very good at knowing where she’s at and where she needs to be. That can get in someone’s head, but she’s very modest about it. She keeps wanting to work.
“In a nutshell, she needs to get a little more discipline at the plate because even though she’s hitting well, sometimes she cheats herself by swinging at bad pitches. She does it just because she’s anxious, especially on a first strike, instead of waiting on a pitch that she can drive. Other than that, I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses. She’s got good speed, a strong arm, knows the game, very smart on the bases, runs the bases well and she’s a great kid… She just has to understand that she’s got the ability. It’s a matter of how hard she wants to push herself.”
Allen and Kirchner acknowledged that her strong desire to succeed can be perceived by outside observers as a negative attitude.
“Sometimes my attitude gets the best of me, but I’ve been working on it,” Allen said. “And sometimes I like to pop it up, but I’ve been working on that and I’ve just been hitting line drives.”
“She needs to understand that a good hitter fails six out of 10 times, that hitting .400 is really good,” Kirchner pointed out. “She thinks that every time she gets up, she should get a hit. We like that, but like she says, she gets down on herself a little bit when she doesn’t get a hit, especially when it’s a key situation, which normally that’s when she’s at her best.”
Before Wednesday, Allen had been on a tear in helping the Patriots improve their records to 14-3 overall and 4-0 in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC). In defeating two MIC opponents Saturday at North, she went 2 for 5 with a double against Ben Davis and 2 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs against Indianapolis North Central.
“At the first of the season, it was kinda rough,” she assessed. “But now we’re getting into it and we’re starting to play like a team. Everything’s finally coming together and I think we can go really far in the state tournament.”
Before the Class 4A state tournament arrives, North will complete its part of the annual Big Four Classic, which concludes Saturday at Northview. Wednesday’s matchup with South is factored in and West Vigo also will be involved.
Allen did not hesitate to offer a prediction for Saturday.
“I plan on us playing at the end [for the championship] in the Big Four,” she emphasized.
High School
North soph’s a tough out
Allen perseveres through hard times on, off field
- High School
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Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
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Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
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Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
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Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
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Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
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North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
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Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
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Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
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Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
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Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
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IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
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Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
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Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
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South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
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Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
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South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
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Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
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Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
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Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
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Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
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Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
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South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
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West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
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South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
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