<p>With the crew at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium eager to close down after a long work day, Center Grove’s softball team didn’t get as much time as they might have liked to bask in the immediate glow of their state championship victory.</p><p>Senior pitcher Abby Herbst has thought about it plenty in the three weeks since, though, and it hasn’t gotten old yet.</p><p>"Going back watching the emotions in that game and the craziness, and all the fans and all that, I’ve just been trying to soak it in," she said. "But ending with a win at the end of your high school career is unbelievable."</p><p>Herbst capped a dominant final season with a legendary performance in the Class 4A title game, striking out 12 in a three-hit shutout win over Leo. She was named Indiana’s Miss Softball last weekend, and she is the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year for a second consecutive season.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>The Trojans lost in the semistate final against Decatur Central a year ago, squandering what Herbst had thought was the team’s best shot to win it all — but after an April loss to New Palestine dropped this year’s squad to 9-3 on the year, Herbst said that "we just kept getting better and better this year and then it just kind of happened out of nowhere."</p><p>It was surviving a difficult sectional that included an 11-inning grinder against Franklin hurler Izzy Harrison, Herbst said, that convinced Center Grove it could run the table.</p><p>And from there, Herbst wasn’t going to be denied.</p><p>"I just knew what I wanted, and I knew that my team had my back, and I knew that it was my last shot," she said. "I wanted to win so bad that I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I knew that if I pitched like that, nobody could beat us."</p><p>Turned out Herbst was right. She gave up just one earned run during the team’s 19-game win streak to close the season — and none in her last 80 innings of work.</p><p>Herbst’s closing statement has also caught the attention of her next coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin. Originally recruited for her bat as a first baseman, she may end up spending at least some time in the circle at the next level.</p><p>In the opinion of Lexi Fair, who caught Herbst for the past two seasons, the Badgers would be smart to use her there.</p><p>"She’s amazing," Fair said. "She’s untouchable, in my opinion. If you get a hit off of her, you’re pretty dang good because she has got so much movement and so many pitches that you just — she just keeps you on your toes. You don’t know what’s coming next."</p><p>What’s next is still unwritten for Herbst. But regardless of what’s ahead, she’s closed her high school career with a season for the ages.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="All-County team" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>The 2019 All-Johnson County team for softball:</p><p>Sidney Beier, Edinburgh senior: Finished in the state’s top five in batting average (.690), on-base (.750) and slugging (1.422), adding 10 home runs, 14 doubles, four triples, 45 RBIs and 42 runs scored.</p><p>Piper Belden, Center Grove senior: Second-team All-State pick batted .486 out of the leadoff spot for the Class 4A state champs, leading the team with 44 runs scored and 26 stolen bases … Will play at the University of Indianapolis next year.</p><p>Lexi Fair, Center Grove junior: Rock-solid catcher accounted for the winning run in more than half of the Trojans’ postseason wins … Finished with a .343 average, six home runs and 29 runs batted in.</p><p>Aniyah Haley, Whiteland freshman: Made an instant impact as the Warriors’ leadoff hitter, batting .420 with two home runs, 11 doubles, 25 runs scored and 25 batted in.</p><p>Izzy Harrison, Franklin sophomore: Ranked among the state pitching leaders with 212 strikeouts and a 0.80 ERA … Also led the Grizzly Cubs at the plate with a .453 average and three homers, scoring 21 runs and driving in 13.</p><p>Abby Herbst, Center Grove senior: Indiana Miss Softball was nearly untouchable in the circle, striking out 217 while walking just 18 and posting a 0.38 ERA … Did not allow an earned run in her last 80 innings … Wisconsin recruit also batted a team-best .521 with three homers and 41 RBIs.</p><p>Debbie Hill, Whiteland freshman: Slugged a team-high eight home runs for the Warriors, collecting 38 RBIs while batting .416 … Also pitched 78 innings, primarily in relief, with 51 strikeouts.</p><p>Addison Osborn, Center Grove junior: Center fielder excelled in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, driving in 25 runs and scoring 27 … Hit .297 with seven doubles, two triples and a team-leading nine sacrifice bunts.</p><p>Alexis Rees, Greenwood: UIndy-bound catcher led the way for the Woodmen offensively with a .485 average, 16 doubles, three triples and six home runs … Also threw out more than 20 runners attempting to steal.</p><p>Emma Rutan, Franklin junior: Was a steadying presence behind the plate for a Grizzly Cubs team that jumped up to 15 wins this spring … finished with a solid .988 fielding percentage and 17 assists.</p><p>Lex Warner, Center Grove freshman: Rookie third baseman provided a power source for the state champion Trojans with nine home runs and 32 RBIs while hitting at a .344 clip.</p><p><span>Honorable mention</span></p><p>Kennedy Bader, Center Grove; Talea Bowling, Indian Creek; Morgan Carter, Franklin; Macy Cornelius, Whiteland; Michaela Denney, Indian Creek; Jozie Farris, Indian Creek; Shelby Graham, Edinburgh; Hailey Haynes, GCA; Morgan Haynes, GCA; Maddie Hedges, Franklin; Erin Lee, Franklin; Kayla Lemmon, Indian Creek; Abby Nacio, Whiteland; Anna Pritchett, Greenwood; Alexis Rudd, Center Grove; Jordan Smith, Whiteland; Emma Wade, Edinburgh; Abby Warner, GCA</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
