Fifth-ranked Trojans rally past Martinsville

<p><strong>T</strong>he constant shifts in momentum weren’t enough to deter the state’s fifth-ranked softball team on Monday.</p><p>Center Grove’s 6-5 victory over visiting Martinsville included opportunistic hitting, defensive plays when most needed and the talents of three pitchers.</p><p>Starter Alexis Rudd, fellow sophomore Abby Patton and senior ace Abby Herbst combined to limit the Artesians to seven hits, the first of which didn’t come until the top of the fourth inning.</p><p>The win upped the Trojans’ record to 5-1. Center Grove finished with nine hits and two errors, while also benefitting from the Artesians’ four fielding miscues.</p><p>Trojans coach Alyssa Coleman liked her team’s resiliency after the Trojans fell behind by scores of 2-1 and 5-4.</p><p>“We stress them all being great teammates. If we focus on loving each other, the things that matter are going to happen. They’re more than just softball players,” Coleman said. “Yeah, we had a lot of mistakes that, plain and simple, we’ve got to be better. But they figured it out as a team, and at the end of the day that’s what we’re focused on.”</p><p>Herbst, will play next year at Wisconsin, stepped into the role of closer to seal the victory.</p><p>“I’m a coach who listens to her players,” Coleman said. “The plan was Alexis and then Patton, and if we had to we would use (Herbst), and she wanted the ball.”</p><p>Center Grove scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good.</p><p>Freshman first baseman Lex Warner started with a leadoff single, followed by Kaci Finchum’s single to left field. Another ninth-grader, outfielder Sydney McConnell, loaded the bases with her single, but the Martinsville defense then caught a pop-up and tagged McConnell for a double play.</p><p>Senior leadoff hitter Piper Belden’s two-out double brought home the tying and go-ahead runs. Belden and Warner finished with two hits apiece.</p><p>Not to be overlooked is Warner’s heads-up play to throw out an Artesian runner at second base in the top of the sixth.</p><p>Rudd didn’t allow a hit through three innings, striking out three Martinsville batters in the process. She allowed consecutive singles and a double in the top of the fourth and was relieved by Patton.</p><p>“It’s all about teamwork and everyone playing their role. That’s really what we did to come out on top today,” Belden said. “I was proudest of everyone accepting their role. Almost everyone here has taken on a new position and they’re all thriving.</p><p>“It’s everyone working as hard as they can and pushing through any difficulties. Yeah, we switched three pitchers, but each of them worked their hardest.”</p><p>Center Grove is at Carmel today in a key Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference matchup and then returns home Thursday to face Brownsburg.</p>