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WEST LAFAYETTE - It doesn’t get any more opposite-ends-of-the-state than Andrean vs. North Posey.

Geographical differences aside, however, the 59ers and Vikings take on the look of kindred spirits when softball becomes the sport of choice.

On Friday, North Posey’s third appearance in a Class 2A championship game proved to be the charm, as it claimed a thrilling 3-0 victory beneath a cloudless sky at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium.

Senior pitcher Erin Hoehn, who had already established a 2A title game record with 15 strikeouts while throwing a no-hitter, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run home run over the center field fence.

She had battled Andrean junior pitcher Abbey Bond to a full count before swinging her way into the history books.

“Man, hitting that home run just felt great, and I’m just so happy,” said Hoehn, who’ll play next season at the University of Michigan. “She threw me an outside fastball, I’m pretty sure.”

And to think Hoehn prefers to be pitched inside.

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The victory capped the Vikings’ perfect 29-0 season one year after dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker to Eastside in the 2A final. North Posey was also the 2A runner-up in 2007.

Sixteen of the Vikings’ wins this season were shutouts.

“It’s awesome,” Hoehn added after finishing her final prep campaign with a spotless 20-0 mark. “We’ve worked so hard the whole season for this, and we were determined to make it back to the state championship game.”

North Posey looked like it would strike first in the bottom of the first after sophomore second baseman Alyssa Heath nearly delivered a one-out solo home run.

Her launch to deep left field caromed off the padding near the top of the wall for a double. Bond responded for the 59ers by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.

The Vikings loaded the bases with one out in the third, but, again, Bond and the 59ers slammed the door shut. Lauren Kihn hit into a fielder’s choice and a force out at home plate, while Bond struck out junior catcher Sibyl Renshaw.

Finally, in the seventh, North Posey broke through.

Sophomore designated player Morgan LaVanchy, the No. 7 hitter in coach Gary Gentil’s lineup, connected with Bond’s first pitch for a single that was just missed by the second baseman and ended up in center field.

A fielder’s choice bunt by senior right fielder Maddy Olander moved LaVanchy to second; the No. 9 hitter, junior first baseman Ashton Elpers, drew a walk to set the table for Hoehn’s heroics.

Gentil, in his 15th season as North Posey’s coach, said the experience of the team’s loss at Bittinger Stadium a year ago, painful as it was, played a major role with what the 2023 squad was able to accomplish.

“That experience helped immensely throughout this year,” Gentil said. “With the schedule high school teams have anymore, it’s hard to believe anybody can finish undefeated.

“(Hoehn) is a once-in-a-generation girl. I’ve just been fortunate enough to have her for four years. She’s just such a humble young lady and is a team person.”

Renshaw, who rocket-armed throws from behind the plate in both the first and second innings to remove would-be Andrean base stealers, could, in time, see her stellar defensive performance dwarfed by Hoehn’s performance.

Rest assured, they were big.

“It was a dream. I was worried all day about how the outcome would come out. It was everything to me,” said Renshaw. “Losing here last season fired us up every day. Me and Erin worked almost every single day, and worked as hard as we could to get right back here.”

North Posey finished with six hits, led by Heath’s two. Andrean, which was making its ninth visit to a state championship game, winning the last of its three titles in 2012, finished with a 29-8 record.

Bond, who entered the game with a 21-3 record, had eight strikeouts and three walks.

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North Posey’s Madison Olander earns Mental Attitude Award

At the conclusion of the game, Madison Olander of North Posey High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award for Class 2A Softball. 

 

The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability and is nominated by her principal and coach.  

 

Madison ranked sixth in her graduating class of 90 students and is a member of the National Honor Society. She was also a part of Student Council and is a volunteer at her church and the Red Cross Blood Drive. Athletically, she is the team captain of the softball team and a two-time Pocket Athletic Conference champion.  

 

Madison is the daughter of Dustin and Amanda Olander of Wadesville, IN and will attend Indiana University Southeast to study Biomedical Science.  

 

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presented a $1,000 scholarship to North Posey High School in the name of Madison Olander.