Roncalli’s Keagan Rothrock hoists the semistate championship trophy after Saturday’s victory over Pendleton Heights.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
Roncalli has yet to lose a postseason game with Keagan Rothrock on the roster.
The senior All-American hurler made sure that trend continued on Saturday, striking out 13 and tossing a no-hitter to help the Class 4A No. 1 Royals to an 8-0 triumph over Pendleton Heights in the championship game of the Center Grove Semistate.
Now 31-3-1, Roncalli will attempt to win a third consecutive 4A state title when it meets Penn this coming Saturday evening at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium.
The semistate final was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, when a two-out triple by Lyla Blackwell scored fellow senior Abby Willis with the first run of the evening. Emma Fegan and Abbey Hofmann followed with RBI base hits, and Hofmann then scored on a double steal to make it a 4-0 game.
Roncalli added some cushioning with four more runs in the sixth before Rothrock slammed the door shut on the Arabians’ season in the top of the seventh.
Earlier in the day, the Royals crushed Evansville North in a semifinal tilt, 16-1. Anna Dressman and Hofmann both hit home runs in the rout.
