TERRE HAUTE —
Near the end of the 2012 high school softball season, three Wabash Valley Class 4A teams thought they had a realistic chance of going deep in the state tournament.
But Terre Haute North got knocked off by Northview 5-4 May 21 in the Northview Sectional. The Patriots finished with a 21-8 mark.
Northview went on to lose to Terre Haute South 5-1 May 22. The Knights ended up
23-7.
With that victory for the Braves, they earned the right to face Plainfield for the sectional championship May 23. But they lost 1-0, concluding their season at 24-8.
So the combined record for South, North and Northview was an impressive 68-23, yet there was no sectional title for any of them.
And what eventually happened to Plainfield last season? Well, some of you might remember the Quakers captured the Class 4A state championship.
“Our sectional is always tough,” Northview coach Bethany Jones pointed out. “You never know what’s going to happen. I think last year was a perfect example of that.”
“The records are great, but we have to win that sectional,” veteran North coach Jack Kirchner emphasized.
Now it’s almost time for a new season to begin and all three of these Valley schools — plus Class 3A West Vigo — are hoping for a deeper tournament run.
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Below is a look at how these four squads appear to stack up in 2013:
• Northview — Beginning her ninth season in charge, Jones will rely heavily on senior standout Taylor Carter, who will take her talents to East Tennessee State in the fall, to provide pitching and offense in the spring.
Last season, the pitcher/first baseman smashed nine home runs and 12 doubles with 42 runs batted in and 29 runs scored while posting a .490 batting average and a .900 slugging percentage. On the mound, the right-handed Carter went 16-6 with four shutouts, a 1.59 earned-run average and 166 strikeouts in 141 innings.
“I just had a talk with Taylor,” Jones told the Tribune-Star on Friday. “Now that she’s signed [with East Tennessee State], she should just relax and try to have fun out there.
“She’s improved from last year even and I feel like she’s really going to step in and be a team leader for us this year. She can be a little quiet at times, but she’s starting to come out of her shell.”
Among the Knights’ other key returnees are senior catcher Ashley Hughes (.333, 35 runs); sophomore shortstop/pitcher Whitney Halfhill (.319, 33 runs, eight doubles, four steals, played a lot of first base in 2012); senior center fielder Hope Torbert (.259, two homers, 17 walks); senior left fielder Kindra Cox; and sophomore third baseman/right fielder Madison Nevins (.323).
Jones said righties Halfhill (6-1, 3.33 ERA) and Jensen Swaim, a junior, will see time at pitcher when Carter plays elsewhere or rests.
“We do have several players back, although we’ve got some key positions that we’ve got to fill too,” Jones assessed. “Overall, I have very high expectations for this team. They get along great. There’s a lot of good team chemistry. Probably our big thing this year is that opponents will respect Taylor Carter so much that they’ll walk her a lot and our other hitters will have to step up and make the other teams pay.”
The Knights’ coach mentioned that juniors Lindsey Potter (right field or third base) and Shelby Dupin (maybe second base) and sophomore Tori Tilley (first or second base) are possibilities to step in and fill the roles of players who graduated after last season.
“We don’t have a lot of depth,” Jones admitted. “We are lower in numbers than in past years. So we can’t afford any injuries to key players.”
She predicts Edgewood will be the team to beat in the Western Indiana Conference. “They’ve won our conference the last several years.”
• Terre Haute North — Kirchner is ready to kick off his 13th season as the Patriots’ head coach and 18th season on their staff.
In other words, he’s got enough experience to know more than a little about the sport of softball. So when he says one of his players is likely to become a significant NCAA Division I talent someday, folks should listen.
That player would be junior Jazmine Allen, who is switching from center field to shortstop this season.
In 2012, Allen hit .567 with six homers, 12 doubles, 17 stolen bases and a .944 slugging percentage. She also scored 34 runs and knocked in 25.
“She’s very athletic,” Kirchner explained. “I don’t think it’ll be much for her to change positions, although she likes center field better. But she’ll do whatever it takes. She’s worked hard all winter. She doesn’t miss any of our open gyms. She’s really been working on her hitting and she’s starting to be a leader.”
He also praised the maturity that Allen has demonstrated this year.
“She understands that she’s not going to get a hit every time up,” Kirchner noted. “She’s leading by example.”
Other returning starters or frequent contributors are junior right fielder/first baseman Adrienne Pritchard (.417, two homers and nine RBIs in only 12 games), junior third baseman Katie Herrick. junior left fielder Lorrie LaTourette (.304), senior catcher/outfielder Allie McKinney (.345), senior catcher Kaci McBride (.318, two homers) and senior pitcher/right fielder Alisha Ludwig.
Pritchard tore an anterior cruciate ligament while swinging a bat last season, so Kirchner figures North fans have not seen the true talent of the 6-foot-2 Pritchard yet.
“She’s got a cannon for an arm and the girl can flat-out hit it,” he mentioned.
Kirchner likes the potential of this group, although previous starter Paige Collins — who would have been a senior — moved to Ohio with her family between seasons.
“We’re learning the game better,” he said. “The kids are starting to know how to not just play the game, but think the game. … It’s all going to be about how we hit. I think our pitching is going to be OK. We’ve just got to be able to make contact.”
Besides Ludwig (7-3, 3.45 ERA), other pitchers expecting to see action are junior Morgan Young (6-1, 2.48) and sophomores Allison Crick and Conner Nelson.
Looking at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, Kirchner sees Center Grove as the favorite to finish first.
“They’ve got just about everybody back,” he said. “Carmel lost a lot of people, including their pitcher and a couple of really good hitters.”
Kirchner thinks Carmel, North and South should contend for the MIC title as well.
• Terre Haute South — The Braves have a first-year head coach in 46-year-old Dwayne Stout, who had been a South assistant for the previous four seasons.
A former Chesterton High School baseball player and a graduate of Purdue University, Stout was hired in early 2013 to replace Steve Woerner, who had stepped down last summer.
“I love the game,” Stout said, explaining why he wanted the job. “I love coaching it and I love seeing the girls give everything they’ve got. I love the excitement.”
Stout acknowledged that he saw some potential in this South group of 26 players. Sixteen are underclassmen and 10 are sophomores.
“Our offense will be our biggest asset,” he stressed. “Our hitting, our speed on the bases, we’re going to use that to put pressure on the opposition. Right now, I’ve got six returning starters and I’ve got stiff competition going on for the remaining three positions.”
Some of the Braves’ top returnees are Ball State-bound senior Shelbie Scamihorn, a catcher who drove in 22 runs last season; junior Mackenzie McGregor, a first baseman who smacked four homers; senior Cheyenne Reinig, a second baseman/pitcher who also hit four homers; junior Lexi Higgins, a center fielder who scored 32 runs; junior Kelsey Marlow, who scored 28 runs; and sophomore Hollie Jones, a third baseman.
“This team is going to be strong up the middle defensively,” Stout pointed out. “That’s going to be our strong suit.”
South’s new man in charge anticipates Reinig, sophomore Hanna Gossman and Jackie Swain — all right-handers — to handle the pitching duties.
“I think we’re young, but very capable,” Stout said of his staff. “We took some great strides last year. These girls worked hard all winter.”
Assessing the MIC, Stout agreed with Kirchner that Center Grove might have an edge to win the crown, with Carmel probably next in line.
• West Vigo — Fifth-year coach Cherish Easton said her squad, which finished 10-16 in 2012, is already battling injuries and its first game of 2013 is scheduled for Tuesday at Marshall, Ill.
But she still thinks she has a reasonably strong nucleus.
Returnees include junior outfielder Kenzie Little (.380, 14 RBIs, 16 runs), senior second baseman Ciara McClain, senior third baseman Jacy McClain (Ciara’s cousin who was hitting .417 before suffering a head injury last season), junior right-handed pitcher Hannah Harden (who missed a big portion of last season with injuries to both of her knees), junior catcher/outfielder Brittany Voils, sophomore center fielder Baylee Waters, sophomore catcher/utility specialist Charity Lane, junior outfielder Kortney Brown, junior Kenzie Roth, senior right-handed pitcher Kayla Akers (who may miss the early part of this season with an injury) and sophomore Miranda Mann (who may only bat early in the season because of a dislocated shoulder).
Easton said a few freshmen will be thrown into the max immediately — primarily new starting shortstop Shelby Edington, who may bat cleanup.
“She’s tough, she’s smart and she’s got a good stick,” the Vikings’ coach said.
Another freshman expected to contribute is right-handed pitcher Leah Morrison, who may see action at first base when Harden is pitching.
“She’s quicker than what we had last year,” Easton indicated. “And she’s got a good stick.”
Freshman Mary Curley could see action in the outfield, the West Vigo coach added.
Easton named Northview and Edgewood as “always the favorites [to win] in the WIC.”
Vigo County, Northview softball 2013 schedules
Northview Knights
April 2 — at Martinsville, 5:30 p.m.
April 4 — Linton, 5 p.m.
April 5-6 — Lady Braves Bash at Miss Softball America complex, TBA
April 8 — Bloomington South, 6 p.m.
April 9 — Clay City, 5 p.m.
April 11 — at Shakamak, 5 p.m.
April 12-13 — at Jasper Invitational, TBA
April 15 — Plainfield, 5:30 p.m.
April 16 — at Sullivan*, 5 p.m.
April 23 — Brown County*, 6 p.m.
April 24 — Turkey Run, 5 p.m.
April 25 — at Mooresville, 5 p.m.
April 30 — at West Vigo*, 5 p.m.
May 2 — at Bloomington North, 5 p.m.
May 3 — Edgewood*, 5 p.m.
May 4 — Big Four Classic at Terre Haute North, TBA
May 6 — at Riverton Parke, 5 p.m.
May 7 — South Vermillion*, 5 p.m.
May 8 — North Central, 5 p.m.
May 10 — at Owen Valley*, 5 p.m.
May 14 — at Terre Haute North, 5 p.m.
May 16 — at Rockville, 5 p.m.
May 20-24 — Class 4A sectional at Martinsville, TBA
* — denotes Western Indiana Conference game
Terre Haute North Patriots
April 4 — at Sullivan, 5 p.m.
April 5-6 — Lady Braves Bash at Miss Softball America complex, TBA
April 10 — Turkey Run, 5 p.m.
April 13 — Bloomington North, 11 a.m.
April 16 — at Casey, Ill. (2), 4:30 p.m.
April 18 — at Clay City, 6:30 p.m.
April 19 — at Mooresville, 5:30 p.m.
April 20 — Lawrence North*, 10 a.m., and Warren Central*, noon
April 22 — at Rockville, 5 p.m.
April 25 — at Union, 5:30 p.m.
April 27 — at Ben Davis*, 10 a.m., and at Indianapolis North Central*, 1 p.m.
April 29 — at Riverton Parke, 5 p.m.
April 30 — Terre Haute South*, 5 p.m.
May 3 — vs. Carmel* at Cherry Tree complex, 6 p.m.
May 4 — Big Four Classic at North, TBA
May 8 — Bloomington South, 6:30 p.m.
May 10 — at Mattoon, Ill., 4:30 p.m.
May 13 — Shakamak, 5 p.m.
May 14 — Northview, 5 p.m.
May 16 — at South Putnam, 5 p.m.
May 17 — at Center Grove*, 6 p.m.
May 18 — at South Vermillion, 10 a.m.
May 20-24 — Class 4A sectional at Martinsville, TBA
* — denotes Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference game
Terre Haute South Braves
March 23 — Southmont, noon
March 25 — Casey, Ill., 5:30 p.m.
March 27 — at Brebeuf, 6 p.m.
April 5-6 — Lady Braves Bash at Miss Softball America complex, TBA
April 8 — at Greencastle, 5 p.m.
April 10 — at Bloomington North, 5 p.m.
April 11 — South Vermillion, 5 p.m.
April 12 — Sullivan, 5 p.m.
April 13 — at Henderson, Ky., noon
April 20 — vs. Warren Central* at Terre Haute North, 10 a.m., and vs. Lawrence North* at Terre Haute North, noon
April 25 — at North Central, 5 p.m.
April 27 — vs. Indianapolis North Central* at Ben Davis, 10 a.m., and at Ben Davis*, noon
April 30 — at Terre Haute North*, 5 p.m.
May 3 — at Center Grove*, 6 p.m.
May 4 — Big Four Classic at Terre Haute North, TBA
May 6 — Clay City, 5 p.m.
May 9 — at Linton, 5 p.m.
May 10 — at Shakamak, 5 p.m.
May 11 — Carmel*, 10 a.m.
May 16 — Bloomington South, 6 p.m.
May 18 — at Riverton Parke Invitational, TBA
May 20-24 — Class 4A sectional at Martinsville, TBA
* — denotes Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference game
West Vigo Vikings
March 19 — at Marshall, Ill., 5 p.m.
March 20 — at Turkey Run, 5 p.m.
March 28 — at Greencastle, 5 p.m.
April 8 — at Paris, Ill., 5:30 p.m.
April 9 — Owen Valley*, 5 p.m.
April 12 — Riverton Parke, 4:45 p.m.
April 15 — at Shakamak, 5 p.m.
April 16 — South Vermillion*, 5 p.m.
April 19 — at Union, 5 p.m.
April 20 — South Knox Tournament, TBA
April 23 — Sullivan*, 5 p.m.
April 24 — Rockville, 5 p.m.
April 26 — at North Vermillion, 5 p.m.
April 27 — at Brown County* (2), 11 a.m.
April 29 — North Central, 5 p.m.
April 30 — Northview*, 5 p.m.
May 2 — at South Putnam, 5 p.m.
May 3 — at Owen Valley, 5 p.m.
May 4 — Big Four Classic at Terre Haute North, TBA
May 6 — at Covington, 5 p.m.
May 9 — at Edgewood*, 5 p.m.
May 10 — Linton, 5 p.m.
May 16 — Cloverdale, 5 p.m.
May 17 — Clay City, 5 p.m.
May 20-24 — Class 3A sectional, TBA
* — denotes Western Indiana Conference game
High School
Trio seek playoff wins this time
Softball teams came up short after strong regular
- High School
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. -
North boys make it three consecutive Vigo County golf titles
Terre Haute North made it three in a row in Vigo County boys high school golf championship action Wednesday at Hulman Links.
The Patriots shot 161 to edge Terre Haute South with 165. West Vigo carded 222. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Wolf homers as North baseball wins 16th game
Terre Haute North erupted for seven runs in the third inning on its way to routing visiting White River Valley 14-1 in 41⁄2 innings of high school baseball Wednesday afternoon at Don Jennings Field.
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Northview's Carter strikes out 19 in 10-inning win against South Vermillion
Northview’s Taylor Carter and South Vermillion’s Daphne Dunegan locked into a 10-inning all-star softball pitching duel Tuesday night at Northview High School.
Unfortunately, one of them had to lose. -
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: South Vermillion 4-0 in WIC after 4-3 win at Northview
Jordan Branz won his ninth game of the season, scattering six hits over eight innings to lead South Vermillion to a 4-3 victory at Northview in a Western Indiana Conference battle.
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Thompson going into Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame
Former Terre Haute North High School standout Anthony Thompson is the newest member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis wins against Oldenburg Academy
Playing on Ben Davis’ courts, Terre Haute South pulled out a 4-1 victory over Oldenburg Academy in girls high school tennis Tuesday.
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Multiple records fall in Big Four track meet
Terre Haute North dominated the girls competition, as expected, and Terre Haute South’s boys edged the host Patriots in what turned out to be a rain-soaked Big Four Classic high school track and field meet Saturday at North.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, North’s girls set four meet records in compiling 132.5 points, outdistancing the runner-up Braves, who had 63.5. -
Four teams still in running for Big Four baseball crown
The 2013 Big Four baseball tournament was going to last longer than Saturday anyway, thanks to a schedule change this season.
Thanks to steady rain at Terre Haute North, it will last even longer than planned.
Terre Haute South beat West Vigo 2-0 in Saturday morning’s first game, and the second contest between Northview and the host Patriots was halted in the top of the third inning as the field became unplayable. - More High School Headlines
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