While it’s true that great pitching is the key to high school softball success, it is also true that you can’t win if you don’t score. Pitching alone won’t get it done.
So while All-Everything hurler Keagan Rothrock has gotten most of the headlines — and deservedly so — during Roncalli’s run to tonight’s Class 4A state championship game against Lake Central, the Royals wouldn’t still be playing without the contributions they’ve gotten from what’s been a very balanced offensive lineup.
Chloe Parks was the semistate hero last Saturday, driving in two runs against Columbus North and then beating out an infield single to plate the lone run in a 10-inning win over Mt. Vernon. Greenwood resident Courtney Keller had her turn before that, with a home run in the sectional final against Franklin Central and three RBIs in a regional win over Avon.
The hero could be anyone else on a given night, too. Franklin native Lyla Blackwell leads the team in batting average this season (.483). Kylie Freije and Bargersville’s Kaelin Cash pace the Royals in RBIs (31) and home runs (7), respectively.
“That’s really tough for opposing teams to be able to focus in on just one or two girls and keep them off the bases when we feel like we can throw nine girls up there and they’re all going to compete at the plate,” Roncalli coach David Lauck said. “Some of them are going to go 0 for 4 and somebody’s going to go 3 for 3. … I feel like over the course of 32 games, we’ve figured out a pretty solid lineup one through nine.”
“Seeing each one of our girls in our lineup working our butts off in practice time helps you be confident,” Cash added, “because you know if you can’t get the job done, one of your teammates is going to be right there behind you to pick up for you and do the job that day.”
Roncalli’s balance isn’t just statistical, either. Lauck notes that the seniors have blended well with the underclassmen on the team and given everyone to speak freely in the huddle and be heard. The class-based hierarchy that exists on many teams isn’t a thing on this one.
“Everybody has a voice,” said Blackwell, a sophomore. “It’s a very comfortable environment, because you feel like you can talk to any of the girls.”
Playing in a state championship game can sometimes be a very uncomfortable environment for young athletes because of the stakes, but the Royals are confident that the tough postseason road they’ve traveled has left them well equipped to handle the pressure.
To win its sectional alone, Roncalli had to beat both of the teams — New Palestine and Franklin Central — that had beaten it during the regular season, and do so in front of some very spirited crowds.
“I’m really proud of how our team actually handled that,” Cash said, “so I think that that’s going to be a really good experience for us going into this weekend, when there’s going to be a ton of people there. It’s going to be a loud, crazy environment, and we’re excited.”
The fact that Roncalli played its two semistate games on the same Center Grove field where the title contest will be played tonight should also help, as will the fact that the Royals have been tested by top-tier teams all year long, especially during the postseason.
Blackwell believes that gives her and her teammates an edge against the Indians tonight.
“They haven’t had to fight like we’ve had to fight,” she said. “Since we’ve been put into those situations, we feel like we are a little bit stronger and have come more together than them, because they haven’t been challenged yet and we’ve already been challenged, so we’re ready to take them on. … We’ve been through everything.”
When you put it like that, one more game doesn’t seem all that daunting.
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Class 4A state championship
Lake Central (31-1) vs. Roncalli (30-2)
Where: Russ Milligan Field, Center Grove Elementary School
Time: 7 p.m.
Admission: $12
Webstream: IHSAATV.org
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Lake Central (31-1) vs. Roncalli (30-2)
Run differential: Lake Central +248 (267 scored, 19 allowed); Roncalli +220 (247 scored, 27 allowed)
Common opponents: Lake Central def. Center Grove, 6-0; def. Franklin Central, 1-0; def. Cathedral, 5-0; def. Avon, 11-1. Roncalli def. Center Grove, 4-0; won two of three vs. Franklin Central (won 11-1 and 5-0, lost 1-0); def. Cathedral, 8-1; def. Avon, 9-0.
Players to watch: Lake Central — Jolie Adams, Kiley Conner, Sydney Doloszycki, Peyton Pepkowski, Grace Renschen; Roncalli — Lyla Blackwell, Kaelin Cash, Kylie Freije, Cate Lehner, Chloe Parks, Keagan Rothrock
Outlook: On paper, the state’s two best teams are quite similar; the Indians have a slightly better run differential, but the Royals have played a slightly tougher overall schedule. Rothrock and Pepkowski are both pinpoint pitchers who rank 1-2 in the state in earned-run average and have walked a total of just 10 batters between them all season. Rothrock has more punchout power with a 348-221 advantage in strikeouts, but that difference means a little less considering how infrequently both teams commit errors behind them.
Baserunners are likely to be few and far between — so the game could hinge on which team can manufacture a small-ball run when it does get someone on. If you’re looking for an edge there, Roncalli does have a 50-32 advantage in stolen bases, with Parks, Blackwell and Lehner all in double digits. In a game where one extra base could make the difference, that could be significant.
Notable: Rothrock has put together a late-season pitching run similar to the one Abby Herbst went on during Center Grove’s 2019 state title march. She has gone 74 innings without allowing an earned run and 52 innings without being scored on at all, and she has struck out 95 batters while walking just one during the postseason.
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