Freshman an immediate hit for Trojans

<p>The 17-game win streak Center Grove’s softball team takes into Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game is made up of various components.</p><p>Lex Warner’s knack for performing like a seasoned upperclassman ranks near the top.</p><p>Warner, a freshman who turned 15 on April 22, will start at third base and bat fifth when the Trojans (27-3) face Leo (25-1) at 1,000-seat Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.</p><p>At this time last year, Warner had just finished middle school.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>“Coming into it I didn’t know what I was getting into because we had a new coach (Alyssa Coleman). I didn’t know (previous coach Russ Milligan). I didn’t know how this was going to run,” Warner said. “Coming into the actual season I didn’t expect to play a lot. One thing led to another, and here we are.”</p><p>This isn’t to say Warner didn’t have to adjust. She started at first base in Center Grove’s season-opening 10-3 victory over Whiteland, contributing two hits and scoring a run. Warner then endured a mini-slump, producing two hits in her next 18 at-bats before eventually regaining her form.</p><p>In the field, she’s one of three Trojans tied for the top spot with seven errors. But as the season progressed, Warner has adapted to the pressures of playing third base.</p><p>“Going in I had some jitters because the season was finally here. It was almost after the first game I started feeling comfortable,” said Warner, who credits her summers of travel softball for preparing her to be part of a six-time state champion.</p><p>“Obviously, the girls had a lot to do with it. They welcomed me and didn’t act, like, ‘Oh, someone else should be playing over her because she’s a freshman.’ Once I got here and we finally got rolling, it was easy for me to just be myself.”</p><p>During the squad’s current win streak, Warner is batting .396 (21 of 53). Seven of her team-high nine home runs have come during that stretch, which has led to the Trojans’ 11th appearance in a state championship game.</p><p>The last time the Trojans made the 4A final in 2015, Jordyn Rudd was a freshman catcher batting cleanup in a senior-dominated lineup. Now Warner is the new kid on the block, batting at a .356 clip with 32 runs batted in.</p><p>Warner’s numbers, while impressive, are only part of what she brings to the team.</p><p>“It’s not easy to do it as gracefully as she’s shown,” Coleman said. “Lex has been a really positive rock where we’re willing to accept her errors because of the effort she gives us. Lex has had moments where the game has taught her where she’s missing, because sometimes it’s just about your effort.</p><p>“The way she’s handled it and the connection she’s made with her teammates, it’s the chemistry factor people don’t see. She’s special when it comes to that.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>Class 4A state championship</strong></p><p><p><strong>Center Grove (27-3) vs. Leo (25-1)</strong></p><p>When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.</p><p>Where: Bittinger Stadium, Purdue University</p><p>Tickets: $10, available at the Center Grove athletic office from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]