Tears were shed and hugs were exchanged on the center-field grass of Russ Milligan Field as Center Grove’s softball season came to an end.
Using a six-run second inning and the pitching and hitting of sophomore Maddi Rutan, visiting Columbus North blanked the Trojans, 6-0, in a Class 4A regional on Tuesday night.
The Bull Dogs (25-4) return to Center Grove on Saturday to face Roncalli in a semistate game at 1 p.m. The Trojans close their season with a 21-9 record.
Third-year coach Alyssa Coleman saw things she liked about her squad’s performance, though allowing six runs to a team playing its best ball of the season makes for a rather steep uphill trek.
“It’s hard to fight that when it happens,” said Coleman, referring to the top of the second in which Rutan and fellow soph Kaylee Cowan belted home runs off of Trojan pitcher Alexis Rudd. “But I’m extremely proud of the way our players responded.”
Rudd pitched to 12 batters; she was relieved by senior Abbi Patton, who worked the final 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out four.
Rutan, meanwhile, was virtually untouchable. She permitted only three hits and struck out 15 compared to only one walk. The Bull Dogs’ No. 3 hitter was every bit as effective at the plate, with two singles and a double complementing the round-tripper she hit.
“She’s only allowed, probably less than five runs in the last month and a half,” said Columbus North coach Ron McDonald of Rutan, a right-hander. “She’s been pitching lights out. She’s been hitting lights out. We’re playing really well right now.
“We came through a really tough sectional with Shelbyville and East Central. Four seasons ago, we were 1-25. Here we are, four seasons later, winning the regional. We’ve come a long way.”
The Trojans made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth inning after freshman leadoff hitter Hannah Haberstroh had an infield single. Freshman second baseman Riley Janda followed with a single to left, and a fly ball from shortstop Ashlynn Wolff advanced the runners to second and third.
Third baseman Lex Warner walked with two out to load the bases, but Rudd’s grounder to third to force a fielder’s choice ended Center Grove’s best chance to produce runs. The only other hit recorded by the Trojans was catcher Payton Shimansky’s single in the bottom of the second inning.
One of five seniors on the Center Grove roster, Patton, like so many of her teammates, let her emotions show after the final out was recorded.
Regardless of the score, her team wasn’t going to quit.
“I just kept telling everyone that we have so much game left to play,” Patton said. “We didn’t want to give up because we want to play for our seniors, we want to play for Milligan and we want to play for each other.
“I think our biggest thing is that we are such a family and we have such a big support system. Bringing the energy is kind of the overall thing we brought.”
Along with Rudd and Patton, the senior group includes Paige Shimansky, Gracie Henson and Camryn Lansdell.
Coleman, who led the Trojans to a 4A state title in 2019 and then saw the 2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19, won’t forget them anytime soon.
“Since the moment I stepped in, they’ve open-armed welcomed me and they have pushed the culture and only excelled,” Coleman said. “Not many teams experience the team culture that we have, and they have only made it better.
“They’re irreplaceable. And they’re better humans than they are players.”
