Early Lead Not Enough For Vikings To Advance LAGRANGE — It took Tippecanoe Valley just three batters to grab a 2-0 lead, courtesy of a two-run home run by Ally Betten.
Yet, in an about-face that was as abrupt as it was lasting, it took West Noble sophomore pitcher Kacee Click just 20 batters to net the remaining 20 outs as the Chargers rallied for a 5-2 win over the Vikings in Monday night’s Class 3A Lakeland Sectional softball opener.
“She really kept us off balance,” Valley coach Daryl Shoemaker said of Click, a sophomore who struck out seven and walked none while twirling a three-hitter.
“For the most part, we stayed aggressive,” Shoe-maker said, “but I think we just jumped on pitches we couldn’t drive and that forced us to pop some up. (Click’s) got three pitches and she mixed them up just enough. We talked at the beginning about jumping on fastballs and driving it, and I thought we kind of did, but later, she kind of mixed in everything and we were getting behind, so we had to be aggressive.”
Click (9-9) not only hushed the Vikings’ offense over the final six innings, but wasted no time delivering an answer to Betten’s homer when she drilled her own two-run shot in the bottom of the first to knot the score at 2.
West Noble (11-12) went ahead to stay in the second inning on an RBI double by Jaden Hanna and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by fellow senior Kourtnie Jones. Hanna also singled in an insurance run in the sixth.
The Chargers advanced to Tuesday’s second semifinal against defending sectional champion Fairfield, following the 5:30 p.m. semifinal between Wawasee and Lakeland. The title game is slated for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Valley (5-18) closed with losses in 14 of its final 16 outings, including its last six, but Shoemaker was encouraged nonetheless.
“Our record shows we didn’t win a lot, but to come out and play a solid seven-inning softball game tonight says a lot for this team and how they continued to play,” the fifth-year coach said. “I thought Mayde Fear and Macy Kirchenstien both pitched well,” Shoemaker added. “They controlled the game for the most part and the defense played great. We had a couple errors, but only one led to a run, and Sydney Howard played amazing at short. She just does a good job on the field and captains the defense out there. We communicated well and that was a high point. I was proud of them.”
Howard registered a gem in the fourth inning when she made an over-the-shoulder catch of a humpback liner and fired to first base to double off a late-retreating Charger baserunner.
Fear, a junior, worked the first 4? innings in the circle, then got clutch relief help from Kirchenstien, a freshman who entered in the fifth with just one out and runners on second and third.
She worked out of that jam without letting in a run, and the one she allowed in the sixth was unearned.
Betten’s blast to right-center in the opening inning — her team-leading third homer of the season — was preceded by fellow junior Amy Baca’s lead-off single.
After that, the Vikings managed just two more baserunners — on a West Noble error in the fourth and Betten’s single in the seventh — but each was erased, one on a caught stealing and the other on a pick-off play.
Betten finished the season as exactly a .400 hitter thanks to her 2-for-3 performance. She decisively led the team in batting average, extra-base hits (12) and runs batted in (22). Valley loses just four seniors in Howard (.350 average entering Monday) and fellow starters Alex Gomez (.321), Kirsten Prater (.281) and Taylor Czichilski (.213).
“I hate to lose my seniors,” Shoemaker said, “but we’ve got a good class coming in and good, young players here. I like every class that I have but these (seniors) really matured as they moved along. They grew up together, played well together, got more vocal as they got older and got a lot better defensively.”
Yet, in an about-face that was as abrupt as it was lasting, it took West Noble sophomore pitcher Kacee Click just 20 batters to net the remaining 20 outs as the Chargers rallied for a 5-2 win over the Vikings in Monday night’s Class 3A Lakeland Sectional softball opener.
“She really kept us off balance,” Valley coach Daryl Shoemaker said of Click, a sophomore who struck out seven and walked none while twirling a three-hitter.
“For the most part, we stayed aggressive,” Shoe-maker said, “but I think we just jumped on pitches we couldn’t drive and that forced us to pop some up. (Click’s) got three pitches and she mixed them up just enough. We talked at the beginning about jumping on fastballs and driving it, and I thought we kind of did, but later, she kind of mixed in everything and we were getting behind, so we had to be aggressive.”
Click (9-9) not only hushed the Vikings’ offense over the final six innings, but wasted no time delivering an answer to Betten’s homer when she drilled her own two-run shot in the bottom of the first to knot the score at 2.
West Noble (11-12) went ahead to stay in the second inning on an RBI double by Jaden Hanna and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by fellow senior Kourtnie Jones. Hanna also singled in an insurance run in the sixth.
The Chargers advanced to Tuesday’s second semifinal against defending sectional champion Fairfield, following the 5:30 p.m. semifinal between Wawasee and Lakeland. The title game is slated for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Valley (5-18) closed with losses in 14 of its final 16 outings, including its last six, but Shoemaker was encouraged nonetheless.
“Our record shows we didn’t win a lot, but to come out and play a solid seven-inning softball game tonight says a lot for this team and how they continued to play,” the fifth-year coach said. “I thought Mayde Fear and Macy Kirchenstien both pitched well,” Shoemaker added. “They controlled the game for the most part and the defense played great. We had a couple errors, but only one led to a run, and Sydney Howard played amazing at short. She just does a good job on the field and captains the defense out there. We communicated well and that was a high point. I was proud of them.”
Howard registered a gem in the fourth inning when she made an over-the-shoulder catch of a humpback liner and fired to first base to double off a late-retreating Charger baserunner.
Fear, a junior, worked the first 4? innings in the circle, then got clutch relief help from Kirchenstien, a freshman who entered in the fifth with just one out and runners on second and third.
She worked out of that jam without letting in a run, and the one she allowed in the sixth was unearned.
Betten’s blast to right-center in the opening inning — her team-leading third homer of the season — was preceded by fellow junior Amy Baca’s lead-off single.
After that, the Vikings managed just two more baserunners — on a West Noble error in the fourth and Betten’s single in the seventh — but each was erased, one on a caught stealing and the other on a pick-off play.
Betten finished the season as exactly a .400 hitter thanks to her 2-for-3 performance. She decisively led the team in batting average, extra-base hits (12) and runs batted in (22). Valley loses just four seniors in Howard (.350 average entering Monday) and fellow starters Alex Gomez (.321), Kirsten Prater (.281) and Taylor Czichilski (.213).
“I hate to lose my seniors,” Shoemaker said, “but we’ve got a good class coming in and good, young players here. I like every class that I have but these (seniors) really matured as they moved along. They grew up together, played well together, got more vocal as they got older and got a lot better defensively.”
