With her team nursing a narrow 2-0 lead and a runner on third base during last week’s softball regional at Avon, Roncalli center fielder Lyla Blackwell was locked in. She knew that any ball dropping into the outfield was going to score at least one run, so she had her mind made up — the ball simply couldn’t hit the ground.
When one of the Orioles’ slap hitters sent a soft shot just over the infielders’ heads into shallow left center, Blackwell instinctively sprang into action.
“When I saw that little bloop, I was like, ‘If I don’t catch this, it changes the whole dynamic of the game,’” she said. “I was like, ‘This is my one chance. I’m not going to get a lot of these like this. In order to amp up the game way more, I’m going to have to make this catch.’
“Right after that, the whole dynamic changed.”
Blackwell’s diving grab, the type of play every outfielder dreams of making once in a lifetime, ended the Avon threat and helped propel the Class 4A No. 1 Royals to a 5-0 victory.
Such adrenaline-rush moments are nothing new for Blackwell, who has consistently provided a spark for Roncalli in every possible way. The junior is one of the main reasons why the unbeaten Royals will take the field at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium on Saturday evening with a chance to win their second consecutive state championship.
“She is our energy offensively and defensively,” Roncalli coach David Lauck said.
”She’s got speed and she can lay a bunt down,” Royals pitcher Keagan Rothrock added, “but then if you’re expecting a bunt, she’ll put that ball right over your head and get in for a triple. She’s a solid defensive player; she’s always going to be there to catch any ball. I think that was pretty obvious in the Avon game.”
In addition to her defensive prowess, Blackwell has done plenty of damage at the top of the batting order. Her .519 average is second on the team, and she leads the Royals with 49 runs scored.
What she does in between getting on base and scoring, though, might make the biggest difference. After stealing just 10 bases during her sophomore season, Blackwell has taken the governor off and become a full-blown terror on the basepaths this spring. She’s swiped a school-record 29 bags and kept opposing defenses on their heels with her aggressiveness.
She’s also been known to keep her coach guessing on occasion.
“She has developed an arsenal of ways of getting on base, and once she gets on base, you just never really know what Lyla’s going to do,” Lauck said. “We get on the same page about 50% of the time, and other 50% of the time we’re not — but that’s okay, because she has the green light, and when she does what she does on base and offensively, it sparks the whole team. It’s frustrates defenses, it frustrates the other teams, but that spark of energy adds to our offense, which leads to more runs.”
Blackwell acknowledges that she doesn’t always adhere to the signals that she gets when she’s on base, but she insists there’s a method to her madness. She’s constantly on the lookout for opportunities, even something as simple a second baseman take a step in the wrong direction.
It doesn’t matter if the catcher’s throw is on time, she reasons, if nobody’s there in time to grab that throw and apply a tag.
“If (Lauck) tells me no, which he has before, I’ll take it into consideration,” Blackwell said. “This last (semistate game against) Shelbyville, he told me no, but I read the defense perfectly, and when I came to third I was like, ‘Sorry, coach, I saw something.’ And he was like, ‘I’m all for it.’”
Lauck has developed a trust in Blackwell’s approach, knowing that every seemingly free-wheeling decision has some thought behind it.
“Just being fast doesn’t mean you’re a great baserunner,” he said. “She’s improved so much, not only with her speed but with her decision-making. When to steal, when to delayed steal, when to get into a rundown. … she’s figured it out with her speed, with her athleticism and the decision-making on the basepaths with her high IQ. It’s turned her into pretty much an unstoppable force offensively and on the bases.”
Blackwell’s motivation stems not only from a desire to do whatever it takes to win, but also a desire to maintain bragging rights under her own roof. Lyla’s younger sister Adeline just finished up a solid freshman season as the shortstop at Franklin, where she hit a team-best .417 and swiped even more bases (42) than Lyla did.
The sibling rivalry pushes both Blackwell sisters to put their best foot forward.
“I think it makes me a better player knowing my sister is just as good as me,” Lyla said. “It’s like, well, if I don’t go 3 for 4 this game, she’s going to go 3 for 4; stuff like that. If I do something in a game, she’ll be like, ‘Oh, I can do that too,’ or if she does something cool I’m like, ‘Oh, I can do that.’ We kind of feed off of each other and everything, so it’s kind of cool in our house because it’s like, ‘How many steals did you get today?’”
At the moment, the older sister has the upper hand because her team is one of the few still playing.
Being in the state championship game isn’t anything new for the elder Blackwell, but the environment on Saturday will offer a bit of a change now that the title tilts are being contested at Purdue again after pandemic restrictions forced the 2021 finals to be moved to Center Grove.
Blackwell, who is already committed to play collegiate softball at Virginia Tech, is eager for the opportunity to showcase her talents on a bigger stage.
“I think we’re a little more excited than we were last year, because it is a bigger stadium,” she said. “We’re playing in this huge stadium, and everyone gets to see how good we do. I think everyone’s so excited because it’s big, and we love big crowds.”
And if an opportunity arises to make a game-changing play, whether it’s on defense or on the basepaths, Blackwell will be ready to pounce upon that opportunity.
It might look reckless in the moment — but it’s not. At least not entirely.
“You’ve got to read it; you can’t just go,” Blackwell said of her mindset on the bases. “You have to give yourself a couple of pitches and figure out — when one girl takes one wrong step, that’s your only chance to go.”
Don’t expect her to pass on that chance.
IF YOU GO
Class 4A state championship
Roncalli (32-0) vs. West Lafayette Harrison (28-1)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Bittinger Stadium, Purdue University
Admission: $12 (children 24 months and younger free)
Video: IHSAAtv.org
Radio: roncallimedianetwork.com
