By Rich Torres, Special to IHSAA.org
WEST LAFAYETTE – For some teams, a nearly 17-hour, overnight rain delay would derail anyone’s championship focus.
For Class 4A Crown Point, Friday night’s postponement of the 40th annual IHSAA softball state finals into Saturday afternoon at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium had the opposite effect.
With an evening to reset and literally swap out their uniforms, the fourth-ranked 4A Bulldogs resumed play in the top of the second inning against second-ranked Center Grove ready to make history in just their second state championship game appearance all-time.
“We were so happy that we came back. We, for whatever reason, Friday the 13th. I don’t know what it was, but we felt off last night. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt good,” Crown Point head coach Angie Richwalski said. “Then we got the rain delay, and we came back this morning. We hit at home. We did everything the way we normally do. We showed up.”
Junior right-handed ace Paige Liezert led the pack, as Crown Point outlasted Center Grove, 2-0, in nine innings to clinch the program’s second softball state title since 2017.
Liezert (20-2), an Illinois-Chicago commit, went the distance, throwing 158 pitches with 16 strikeouts, four hits allowed and two walks to lock down Crown Point’s (31-4) 11th consecutive win.
“They didn’t like the (red) uniforms they had on yesterday. They felt so much better today (in their white jerseys). They came in relaxed and ready to go,” Richwalski said. “It was a much better vibe all day today.”
Liezert kept the Bulldogs composed by picking up right where she left off on Friday.
After retiring the first three batters she faced the night prior, Liezert sat down four straight batters by strikeout on Saturday before Center Grove loaded the bases in the bottom of the third.
Liezert escaped the jam with a strikeout, which sparked a run of 13 straight batters retired.
Center Grove (26-4) relied on junior Riley Fuhr in the circle, and the right-hander pitched a perfect game through five innings until sophomore Kara Biever entered in relief for the final four frames.
The pitching formula, which the Trojans have utilized all season, worked until the Bulldogs’ offense broke through in the top of the ninth for two runs.
Fuhr struck out two in her five flawless frames, and Biever left three runners stranded and two in scoring position through the first three of her four innings pitched.
“We were getting to (Fuhr). I do think if they would have left her in, we would have found the runs that way, too. But we did do more preparation for Biever because we historically struggle with changeups and off-speed curveballs,” Richwalski said.
Crown Point and Liezert had to contend with another bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth before carrying their momentum over into the decisive ninth.
Center Grove led off the eighth with a single by junior Kiersten Hardin and put two runners on base after an ensuing fielding error.
A two-out, seven-pitch walk drawn by junior Brynn Meyer, an Indiana University recruit, loaded the bases, which prompted a quick mound visit.
“I was stressing out bad. My catcher Evi (Cuevas) had to come up and work me down. It was a key moment of that inning. Having them come and hype me up, telling me they know I can do it,” Liezert said. “Their confidence in me when I didn’t really have confidence really got us through that inning.”
A five-pitch strikeout ended the threat. Center Grove stranded seven runners in the game overall, including three in both the third and eighth.
“She’s a great kid. She doesn’t even know how good she is,” Richwalski said. “We are all behind her for sure. I think that feeds into getting her through some of these moments. That she has such a good defense behind her.”
The Bulldogs also did their homework.
“I do a lot of studying of the hitters, and Paige and I do a lot of studying of the hitters, and I think she has a lot of trust in that,” Richwalski said. “As soon as she sees one thing work, she’s like, ‘Oh, right, we know what we’re doing. We know we’re good.’”
Crown Point led off the top of the sixth, eighth and ninth with a base runner, and the third time proved instrumental, as senior Lexi Smith reached base with a leadoff walk.
A one-out single by junior Ashlyn Kita (1-for-4) advanced Smith to third base, and a sacrifice fly to right field by junior Nevaeh Rangel drove in the first run on a close play at the plate.
Freshman Lulu Johnston (2-for-4) added the insurance run with a hard single to left field that brought Kita home and put Crown Point ahead 2-0.
“We did an awesome job. My poor little pitcher had to go the whole time with the nerves on her face. She did phenomenal, and we knew our hitters would come through eventually as long as we could keep it to 0-0 long enough” Richwalski said. “We just did what we have been doing all season.”
Liezert allowed one base runner in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but a hard flyball to right field was hauled in by senior Samanthan Dunlap to clinch the title.
“It’s just an amazing accomplishment and to do it with this team, the closest team I’ve ever been on, the team, the relationships and everything, it’s so cool. We’re overjoyed and we’re going to go party,” Liezert said. “So much trust. I needed to rely on them to get through that last inning, and they had my back through the cheers on the field to them hyping me up when I was struggling a little bit. It’s so special.”
Center Grove’s Sydney Herrmann receives Mental Attitude Award
At the conclusion of the game, Sydney Herrmann of Center Grove High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award for Class 4A 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.
Sydney was a member of the National Honor Society and Student Government. She was a four-year varsity letter recipient and a four-time Academic All-Trojan winner. Sydney was also 2024 Central Indiana Super Team Honorable Mention and 2024 1st Team All-County.
She is the daughter of Chris and Jennifer Herrmann of Greenwood, IN and will attend Dartmouth College to study Health Services on a Pre-Med track.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presented a $1,000 scholarship to Center Grove High School in the name of Sydney Herrmann.