Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
_________________________________________________________________________
June 10, 2008
McCUTCHEON EDGES FRANKLIN CENTRAL FOR
4A TITLE
McCutcheon
(31-5) scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning and made its one run
lead hold up the rest of the way to beat Franklin Central, 2-1, for the Class
4A state title at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.
It was the
first softball championship in school history in its third trip to the state
finals. The Mavericks had finished as runner-up in 2005. McCutcheon owns two
baseball titles – 1999 and 2003 (both 4A).
No. 6
Franklin Central (28-5) scored first in the top half of the fourth on Mallory Massingille’s double to left center with two outs
scoring Denise Coram from second base. Coram was pinch running for Chanda Bell who had singled up the middle to start the
inning.
McCutcheon
answered in the bottom half of the inning with all three of its hits in the
game.
Kelsey Rummel led off with a single to right field. She advanced
to second on a wild pitch by Franklin Central’s Chanda
Bell who then gave up a single over the shortstop by Maggie Tull
advancing Rummel to third. Tull
stole second base before Tori Collins grounded out.
Tristan Wilcox then singled to second base scoring Rummel
and the throw to first was off target and allowed Tull
to score.
From there,
Collins, the McCutcheon pitcher, struck out five batters ending the game with
11. Bell matched her with 11 K’s as well.
The game
also featured a pair of long-time coaches -- McCutcheon’s Jim Bates is in
his 23rd year while Franklin Central’s Kathy Stricker is in her 29th season. Stricker led the Flashes to their first appearance in the
softball state finals.
In
semifinal action, Franklin Central ended East Central’s (30-4) season,
6-0, in a game that started on Friday but couldn’t finish until Monday
afternoon due to heavy storms. McCutcheon earned its way into the championship
game with a 4-1 victory over LaPorte.
EAST
CENTRAL’S KALLEN HOVLAND NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Kallen Hovland of
Hovland
ranked 3rd in a class of 318 with a cumlative
grade point average of 4.19 on a 4.0 scale and is highly involved in numerous
clubs and activities in both her school and community. Kallen has
demonstrated leadership by participating as an officer for two years in the French
Club, member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team, and was
the National Honor Society vice president.
She has
received a Purdue University Trustee Scholarship, East Central Citizenship
Award and was named a Hoosier Scholar.
In addition, Kallen participated in the IHSAA’s Role Model Poster Program and was a
Wendy’s High School Heisman Award winner.
Her
volunteer work in her community includes her participation as a DHUMC Nursery
Volunteer as well as a mission trip to assist the victims of hurricane Katrina
in
Athletically,
Kallen has excelled in both softball and basketball
at East Central.
She is the
daughter of John and Betty Hovland.
In the
fall, she will attend
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000
scholarship to
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official photographer for all state
championship events and one of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t
be there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (