For the Daily Journal
The queens are dead.
Saving up its best for last, the Edinburgh softball team blasted out eight hits and scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game and power its way past Indianapolis Lutheran, 17-7, in a Class A sectional championship game on Thursday.
Not only was this the Lancers’ first softball sectional title since 2017, but they will go down as the team that ended the defending state champion Saints’ 13-year sectional championship winning streak. At the same time, Edinburgh (16-10) increased its winning streak to five games.
And it did some early hitting, something new for the usually slow-starting Lancers.
“We made it pretty clear in pregame that this was going to be a battle and that we needed runs and we needed them early and in good quantity,” third-year Edinburgh coach Ben Taylor said.
“It was about trying to win every inning and I think that’s where they went. They came out hot and were ready to defend our house.”
Edinburgh jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings, and on the surface it looked to be a rare blowout of Lutheran.
The Saints, though, came alive in the third inning thanks to three singles, a pair of walks and a pair of errors, and suddenly it was a one-run game at 6-5.
Lutheran then benefited in the fourth with a hit and two more Lancer errors to take the lead, 7-6.
A lack of communication had the Lancers frustrated, but the team settled down thanks to the calming influence of Taylor.
“There were some uncharacteristic errors, but even with those errors we were just one run out,” the coach said. “We told them to calm down and play their game. That settled them down a little bit and we came back.”
In a big way.
Edinburgh scored twice in the fourth thanks to a home run by senior Catey Streeval, who drove a 1-1 pitch to right field.
“I saw it and went for it at the last second,” Streeval said.
And then came the big fifth, in which 14 Lancer batters came to the plate. Five of Edinburgh’s hits that inning were doubles, including two by Mackenzie Whetstine, who also scored twice and had three RBIs in the frame.
Once the ninth run scored, that was it for the game.
All told, Edinburgh collected 17 hits, with eight of them going for extra bases, and five Lancers had three hits apiece.
That included Streeval, who was just a triple shy of the cycle and had a game-high five RBIs.
Also getting three hits were Bieker, who had two doubles, two RBIs and scored three times; Whetstine, who added a single to go with her two doubles, scored three runs and drove in three; senior Kaitlyn Bailey, who had a double and two singles and scored three times while knocking in a pair of runs; and cleanup hitter Gracie Crawthorn, who also had a double and two singles with three RBIs and a pair of runs.
“Super proud of the girls and I’m really happy for the seniors,” Taylor said. “This is big and I expect this (rivalry) is going to be an ongoing battle for many years to come. They are a good team and well coached. We’ll grow right along with them.”
Now it’s on to the regionals, which are set for next Tuesday. The Lancers’ opponent will likely be a familiar one in Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Hauser.
The Jets have beaten the Lancers three times this year, but according to Taylor, the Lancers were not at their best in any of those games. He expects that to change.
“That’s the game we wanted,” Taylor said. “We feel we haven’t played them the way we can play yet. We think we have something better for them, and we’re looking forward to that one.”
