Edinburgh’s MacKenzie Bieker came into this week leading the county with 12 home runs.
Daily Journal file photo
Pitchers know heading into a softball game against Edinburgh that the odds are very much against a 1-2-3 first inning. Even just surviving that opening frame isn’t always a guarantee.
Lancers coach Ben Taylor has the luxury of penciling three players with batting averages over .600 into the top half of his lineup, with freshman shortstop Kenna Streeval in the leadoff spot, senior third baseman Gracie Crawhorn at No. 3 and junior pitcher MacKenzie Bieker hitting cleanup.
Heading into Tuesday evening’s game against Living Water Homeschool, Crawhorn was hitting a team-best .632 with 11 doubles and 22 runs batted in. Streeval was close behind with a .630 average and 28 runs scored, while Bieker had a .615 average along with a county-high 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Those three, along with sophomore No. 2 hitter Alix Streeval (.385 average, .538 on-base percentage), have done much of the heavy lifting for what is otherwise a very young and inexperienced group of Lancers.
Taylor says the formula has been simple: Get Kenna and Alix Streeval on base, and whichever runners Crawhorn isn’t able to bring home generally get knocked in by Bieker.
“Mac in the 4 has been quite a pleasant surprise this year with the power,” Taylor said of Bieker. “She’s cleaning them all for us. Past that, that’s where we kind of fall into our freshman lineup … so we’re trying to get as many runs plated early as we can, and those four are doing a great job of getting that for us.”
Edinburgh has been scoring right around eight runs per game this season, and the production tends to come in bunches — especially early. The Lancers have scored in the first inning in more than half of their games, including an 11-run outburst to start a game at North Decatur last month.
The emergence of Kenna Streeval has been particularly important since her older sister, junior catcher Kyah Streeval, was lost before the season to a knee injury. While Kyah’s impact behind the plate can’t be replicated, Kenna has at least been able to fill the void on offense.
“Kenna’s stepped in huge for us this year,” Taylor said. “We’re used to having at least two, three, sometimes four for us that can produce offensively, and for being a freshman with what we’ve played, she’s come on huge for us.”
The Lancers’ schedule is even more back-loaded than usual this spring, with a make-up game against Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Hauser and a date with Class 4A foe Seymour serving as immediate preludes to this weekend’s Johnson County tournament. Edinburgh plays its opening-round game Friday at Indian Creek, the lone team to shut the Lancers out this season.
Those two squads battled to a scoreless draw through six innings last month before the Braves got three runs in the seventh to win it for freshman hurler Delaney Jones.
“We hadn’t seen anything like (Jones) in a good minute,” Crawhorn said. “She’s good; she has spin on the ball, she’s the fastest we’ve probably seen. One of the best pitchers in the county right now, for sure.”
Regardless of Friday’s outcome, the Lancers plan to use these late-season games to prepare themselves for what they hope will be a deep postseason run. Crawhorn and Bieker were part of a sectional championship team two years ago, but they’re hoping to take another step this spring and make it to the semistate for the first time since 2017.
Should that happen, Edinburgh’s players would gladly deal with any calendar inconveniences that might cause.
“This being my last year, I really want to go out with a bang, ” said Crawhorn, who recently signed a letter of intent to play at Hanover College beginning next season. “I’ll miss my graduation if we go to semistate. My graduation’s that day, (but) I’m completely fine with that. I would not care to miss my graduation to play in semistate with those girls.”
The law of averages would suggest that the Lancers have a decent chance to get there.
IF YOU GO
Johnson County tournament
Today
Greenwood at Whiteland, 5:30 p.m.
Greenwood Christian at Franklin, 5:30 p.m.
Edinburgh at Indian Creek, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
At Center Grove
Greenwood/Whiteland vs. GCA/Franklin, 10 a.m.
Edinburgh/Indian Creek vs. Center Grove, 10 a.m.
Championship, 12:30 p.m.
