May 14, 2009

25TH SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS UNVEILED

For the 25th consecutive year, the field has been set for the annual IHSAA Softball State Tournament which begins 11 days from now.

A total of 374 teams are entered this year with sectional competition beginning at 64 sites on Monday, May 25, with games continuing through Saturday, May 30. Each of the sectional champions will advance to regional play – four sites in each class – on Saturday, June 6. Each of the 16 regional tournaments will feature four teams with two semifinal games in the morning, followed by a championship game later in the day and a berth in the state finals on the line.

The 16 regional champions will advance to the state finals Friday, June 12, with the semifinal winners moving on to a state championship game on Saturday, June 13. The Class A semifinals will be played at Hamilton Southeastern, the Class 2A semifinals will be played at North Central (Indianapolis), the Class 3A semifinals will be contested at Pike, and the 4A semifinals, along with Saturday’s four state championship games, are scheduled for Ben Davis.

Among the top-ranked teams in the most recent poll from the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association, 4A No. 1 Homestead begins its tournament run at home against Huntington North in Sectional 6. In Class 3A, top-ranked and defending state champ New Palestine will host Mount Vernon (Fortville) in Sectional 27. Class 2A No. 1 Indianapolis Scecina will meet Park Tudor at home in Sectional 43. And Class A’s top-ranked Tecumseh drew home-standing Wood Memorial in Sectional 64.

Among the other defending state champions, Class 4A’s McCutcheon meets Lafayette Jefferson in Sectional 7 at Harrison (West Lafayette). Class 2A’s Cass will host North Miami in Sectional 39 and in Class A, Whiting will host Westville in Sectional 49.

Daily schedules for each tournament site will be listed on the IHSAA website as they become available from the host schools. Because of possible weather postponements and other conflicts, it is advised to check with the host school for precise day and time schedules.

State Tournament Pairings | State Coaches Poll

Notables

Defending Sectional Champions

4A: Avon, Castle, East Central, Fort Wayne Snider, Franklin Central, Homestead, Jennings County, LaPorte, Martinsville, McCutcheon, Munster, Noblesville, Northridge, Pendleton Heights, Penn, Warren Central.

3A: Andrean, Batesville, Bellmont, Benton Central, Columbia City, Corydon Central, Crawfordsville, Edgewood, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Gibson Southern, Hammond Gavit, Jasper, Mishawaka Marian, Mississinewa, New Palestine, Roncalli.

2A: Alexandria, Bloomfield, Boone Grove, Bremen, Brownstown Central, Cass, Delphi, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Garrett, Hanover Central, Indianapolis Scecina, Madison-Grant, South Putnam, South Spencer, Southwestern (Hanover), Union County.

A: Frontier, Henryville, Indianapolis Lutheran, Jac-Cen-Del, Lafayette Central Catholic, Lakewood Park Christian, Monroe Central, Morgan Township, North Central (Farmersburg), North Daviess, North Vermillion, Springs Valley, Tecumseh, Triton, Wes-Del, Whiting.

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships

11 by Pike Central, 1988-98.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)

6: Tecumseh.

5: Cass, Indianapolis Scecina, Northridge.

4: Edgewood, Jac-Cen-Del, Lakewood Park Christian, North Daviess.

3: Avon, Jasper, Whiting.

Most Sectional Championships Last 10 Years

9: Cass, Indianapolis Lutheran, Pioneer.

8: Eastern (Greentown), Northridge, Penn, Tecumseh, Whiting.

7: Center Grove, Eastside, Indianapolis Cathedral, Lake Central, Pendleton Heights.

6: Blackford, Castle, Clarksville, Clinton Prairie, Gibson Southern, Griffith, Indianapolis Scecina, North Daviess, Riverton Parke, Shenandoah, South Central (Union Mills).

5: Andrean, Bellmont, Boonville, Bremen, Edgewood, Forest Park, Hanover Central, Jac-Cen-Del, Portage, Roncalli, South Putnam, Southern Wells, West Lafayette.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships

17: Boonville, Center Grove, Eastern (Greentown).

16: Shenandoah.

14: Lake Central.

13: Huntington North, Jennings County, Northridge, Pendleton Heights.

12: Blackford, Decatur Central, Floyd Central, Pioneer, Western Boone.

STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS

Softball State Leaders | Baseball State Leaders

NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE STATE

Have an interesting note? A conference or school record, coaching milestone or something else of interest? Please e-mail IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org for consideration.

Josh Collier hit three consecutive home runs for Edgewood in a 13-7 win at Martinsville on April 24. The trio of long balls gave the Mustang senior a school career record 27 homers. Collier also tied another school record with eight RBIs in the contest.

Park Tudor senior Hannah Farley was recently named 2009 County Athlete of the Year by the Marion County Coaches of Girls Sports Association. Farley is a three-time 400 meter state champion and 200 meter state runner-up. In addition to track, she was Park Tudor's leading scorer in soccer and the school's top scorer and rebounder in basketball. Farley will attend Stanford University in the fall where she will run track and major in Chemical Engineering.

The Greenfield-Central softball team turned a rare triple play to end their game against Shelbyville. With the Cougars leading 2-0 in the top of the seventh and Shelbyville runners on first and second, Greenfield-Central shortstop Shelbi Gilliland made a shoe top catch off a line drive, fired the ball to first baseman Olivia Barnhart who immediately turned it to second baseman Kimmy Ellenberger for the third out. The F-6, 6-3, 3-4 play helped the Cougars improve to 16-2 overall this season.

Northfield senior Tyler Palmer pitched a perfect game on Wednesday, April 15.  Palmer struck out eight and threw only

83 pitches in a 3-0 win over Fort Wayne Wayne.

Don Wafer, Muncie Central head coach for both boys and girls tennis, won his 400^th career match on May 11 as the Bearcats defeated Blue River, 5-0.

Boonville softball coach Mike Wilson and Center Grove softball coach Russ Milligan each claimed their 500th career victories last week, the first coaches to reach the milestone in state history. Boonville defeated Heritage Hills, 6-5, on April 28, while Center Grove bested Warren Central, 10-0, on May 5.

IHSAA 08-09/34