In the celebration that followed the latest of her memorable pitching performances, Keagan Rothrock smiled while posing for pictures with the trophy awarded to the Roncalli softball team.
One would half expect the Whiteland resident’s right arm to be fatigued hoisting the hardware after a day in which the sophomore faced 54 batters over 17 innings and struck out 39, but it wasn’t an issue.
Another inning? Rothrock was ready. Two or three more trips to the mound at Center Grove’s Russ Milligan Field?
Just give her the ball.
“I love these games, actually,” said Rothrock after the Royals won a Class 4A semistate with a 1-0 victory over Mt. Vernon in a 10-inning classic Saturday night that no doubt frayed the nerves of everyone seated and standing in the two spirited cheering sections.
“I perform better under pressure.”
Asked afterward how many more innings she had in her, Rothrock, who fanned a school-record 24 in the finale after striking out 15 Columbus North batters in a 4-0 semifinal win earlier in the day, replied, “As many as I needed to.”
Roncalli (30-2) sealed its bid for Saturday’s 4A title game against Lake Central (31-1) when senior leadoff hitter Chloe Parks beat out a single in the bottom of the 10th with a headfirst slide, scoring junior Cate Lehner from third in the process.
The hustle of Parks, one of eight seniors on the Royals roster, was a fitting way for Roncalli to qualify for its fourth state championship game.
“I couldn’t be more proud of (Parks), and it couldn’t happen to a better kid,” Roncalli coach David Lauck said.
Lehner led off the Royals’ half of the inning with a single and moved to second on a bunt by Abbie Carr. Lehner took third on a groundout by catcher Ally Walesky.
Afterward, a sweat-soaked Lauck could only praise both teams after taking part in a game that will be talked about for years to come.
“That was a really well-played game by both teams. Both pitchers were dialed in,” Lauck said. “I was happy for our girls. We threatened multiple times, and finally we cracked through there at the end on a crazy play. A great effort by both teams. It’s unfortunate that one team had to lose that game.”
Mt. Vernon senior Maddie Taylor, a left-hander, pitched a masterpiece of her own in the loss, working all 10 innings, yielding eight hits and recording 10 strikeouts.
At one point against the Marauders, Rothrock struck out eight straight. During two other stretches, she fanned four consecutive batters, including the last four she faced. One Mt. Vernon hitter struck out all four at-bats; six others whiffed three times.
“She’s just a blessing to coach,” Lauck said of Rothrock. “I asked her after the ninth inning, ‘Are you still good?’ and she said, ‘Oh, yeah, I love this stuff.’ And, sure enough, she did what Keagan Rothrock does.”
That includes at the plate, too.
Rothrock singled and doubled for the Royals, while fellow Johnson County resident Lyla Blackwell, a sophomore center fielder from Franklin, produced a pair of singles. Other Roncalli starters include junior right fielder Courtney Keller (Greenwood), who singled, and senior first baseman Kaelin Cash (Bargersville).
Keller credits the chemistry among the 18 players as one of the main reasons Roncalli finds itself vying for a fourth state championship (the 1999 and 2001 squads won 2A titles and Lauck’s 2011 team took the 3A crown).
“We have a really good bond that I don’t think anybody else has,” Keller said. “We have great senior leaders who keep people up and keep it going whenever we need it.”
