The last time Center Grove played a softball game that counted was 655 days ago.
Six hundred. Fifty. Five.
Just five Trojans who were on the roster back then will be in uniform when the 2021 season opens next week, but regardless of who’s still on the team, coach Alyssa Coleman has let the message ring loud and clear during preseason workouts:
We’re still the defending state champion.
It may seem like forever ago since Center Grove shut out Leo to win the Class 4A crown at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium back on June 8, 2019. But with last season getting wiped out by a pandemic, that title-game victory remains the last high school softball game of record played in the state of Indiana.
Coleman, who has not lost a state tournament game since 2017 (she coached Speedway to the 2A championship in 2018 before coming to Center Grove), has made a habit of reminding her players that they’re still the queens of the diamond.
“We’ve been very focused on the legacy that is CG, and that it’s now their turn and they need to figure out exactly what is their legacy going to be,” she said. “That’s the greatest part of the two-year practice we just went through — the girls are really bought into the team, and the culture’s never been stronger. They look really good, and they sound even better between the ears.”
Not having a 2020 season — and graduating the six seniors that would have led that squad — could have left the returning Trojans feeling a bit unfamiliar with one another when offseason work resumed. But by all accounts, no re-introduction period was necessary.
“I feel like everyone kind of fell right back in,” senior Camryn Lansdell said. “We’ve always been a really close group.”
Though the chemistry may still be there, Center Grove will have some holes to fill in its lineup, starting in the pitching circle. Abby Herbst, the 2019 Miss Softball winner, is now at Wisconsin, and while no one player is going to be able to replace her there, nobody is being asked to. Roles will be different, but there are plenty of talented players — younger and older — quite capable of filling them.
“It’s going to be a completely different look for us,” Coleman said. “It’s going to be a staff mentality with pitching; we’re going to have more intensity on the basepaths. Offensively, people have a great chance to step up, and it’s a huge opportunity to fill some big, big shoes that we would have loved to have seen last year.”
Some of the faces, of course, will still be the same. Senior Alexis Rudd and junior Lex Warner were integral parts of the batting order two years ago and will be again, and Rudd will be one of those counted on to handle pitching duties as well. Senior Abbi Patton, who held down an outfield spot as a sophomore, looks to take on a bigger role. Those vets should get help from an infusion of underclassmen that includes sophomore Ruby Thompson and freshmen Hannah Haberstroh and Riley Janda.
The starting lineup might not look the same in late May as it will for next Tuesday’s season opener against Whiteland, but regardless of who’s out there, the Trojans are just eager to finally be back in action.
“It feels really nice. We have a really good vibe going this year, and we’re all really excited. Knowing that we didn’t have last year just puts a little more energy into it.”
In addition to the pent-up energy on reserve after the season that never was, Center Grove will be playing with a different type of emotional edge after former coach Russ Milligan, who won 741 games and five state championships in 27 seasons before retiring in 2018, died last month as a result of COVID-19 complications.
Plans are in the works to name the school’s softball field after Milligan, and the players — especially the current seniors who actually got to play for him three years ago — hope to honor his memory with a successful season.
“Knowing that we have his legacy to uphold is putting a little bit more pressure on us,” Patton said, “because we do want to play for him, and we want to make sure we show off his legacy, even though he’s not here.”
Legacy is always a big word at Center Grove, nowhere more than on the softball diamond. The Trojans have won more state softball championships (seven) than any other school in Indiana — including the last one, no matter how long ago that might seem.
Until someone comes and takes the crown, it’s still theirs to wear.
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Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Alyssa Coleman
Top returnees: Camryn Lansdell, Abbi Patton and Alexis Rudd, seniors; Jasmine Cangany, Rachel Kring, Abby Matthews, Sydney McConnell and Lex Warner, juniors
Key newcomers: Ruby Thompson, sophomore; Hannah Haberstroh and Riley Janda, freshmen
Outlook: More than 20 months later, the Class 4A state champion Trojans get to begin their belated title defense. Many of the stars from that team are gone, but three starters — Patton, Rudd and Warner — are still around, as is McConnell, who scored the lone run in the 2019 state final at Purdue. Coleman, who hasn’t lost a state tournament game since 2017, also has two classes’ worth of promising newcomers entering the fold. There may not be a dominant Miss Softball candidate, but Center Grove should again be loaded with talented players, and expectations are always sky high. The Trojans own the crown until someone takes it.
Edinburgh Lancers
Coach: Ben Taylor
Top returnees: Kaitlyn Bailey, Morgan Calhoun, Gracie Long and Catey Streeval, seniors; Carly Cowan, junior
Key newcomers: Mackenzie Whetstine, senior; Gracie Crawhorn, sophomore; MacKenzie Bieker, Alix Streeval and Kyah Streeval, freshmen
Outlook: Taylor is excited about his mix of veteran players and talented underclassmen, all of whom come in with travel ball experience. The battery of Bieker and Kyah Streeval should be able to compete at the varsity level right away, and Crawhorn should add a big bat to the ones the Lancers already had coming back. The expectation will be the same as it has been in recent years — to compete for conference and sectional championships.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Shelby Biehl
Top returnees: Izzy Harrison and Macy Hussung, seniors; Morgan Carter, Maddie Hedges and Erin Lee, juniors
Key newcomers: Corin Dammeier and Maddie Stearns, sophomores; Mia Herbert and Sara Small, freshmen
Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs took eventual state champion Center Grove to extra innings in the 2019 sectional and believed they had enough talent to beat the Trojans last spring. They still do. Led by Kentucky-bound star Harrison and a trio of standout juniors who all started up the middle of the lineup as freshmen, Franklin should be a strong contender to win conference, county, sectional titles and perhaps more.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Greg Norwood
Top returnees: Alicia Ader and Kiley Hankenhoff, seniors; Anna Pritchett, junior
Key newcomers: Taylor Dick, sophomore; Courtney Hankenhoff, freshman
Outlook: The Woodmen will be very young — more than half the roster is made up of underclassmen — but Norwood’s cupboard isn’t entirely bare. Pritchett and the two seniors offer a base of proven varsity production, and there is some young pitching potential, particularly with Dick and the younger Hankenhoff. As with many other teams in the area, Greenwood enters the season with a lot of unknowns, but this usually ends up being a competitive outfit more often than not.
Greenwood Christian Cougars
Coach: Tami Haynes
Top returnees: Katie Potter and Maddie Smith, senior; Hailey Haynes, junior
Key newcomers: Savvanah Frye and Maddie Smith, seniors; Karis Goins, junior; Isabella Doria, sophomore
Outlook: Graduation eliminated the Cougars’ entire starting infield, so there will be some rebuilding to do, but with a solid pitcher in Hailey Haynes, a talented athlete behind the plate in Frye and a couple of tough veteran position players in Potter and Smith, there’s at least a working foundation in place. The rest is unknown for now, but if some of the newcomers can settle into regular roles and contribute, GCA might be able to enjoy some success this spring.
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: Gary Mitchell
Top returnees: Alley Fleener, Delaney Heminger and Makenna Hogue, seniors; Bobby Suttles and Emily Todor, juniors
Key newcomers: Bailey Dowty, Hannah Emenhiser, Ali Gavin and Riley Johnson
Outlook: The Braves have a small but solid nucleus of returning players, led by a strong pitcher in Fleener and a big bat in shortstop Todor, that should be bolstered by a deep sophomore class. Mitchell feels pretty good about the lineup he’ll be able to put on the field, and if Indian Creek can manage a reasonably potent output at the plate, it should be able to contend within the WIC — and, now that New Palestine has moved up to 4A, for a sectional title as well.
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: Katie Mitchell
Top returnees: Macy Cornelius and Jordan Smith, seniors; Trinity Borders, Debbie Hill and Haley Wilkerson, juniors
Key newcomers: Hailey Chambers, Halle Nett and Emma Piercy, sophomores
Outlook: The Warriors had a potent young lineup two years ago, and a good chunk of that group remains, led by the likes of Southern Illinois recruit Wilkerson. Hill figures to lead the way in the pitching circle. Whiteland has a demanding schedule to navigate, particularly in the always tough Mid-State, but it should have more than enough firepower to hold its own in the league as well as in the county and sectional tournaments.
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