By Will Willems, Special to IHSAA.org
WEST LAFAYETTE – Sydney Rainford was on a mission.
After three years of disappointing post-season results, Rainford knew this was her last chance to achieve the ultimate goal with her North Newton Spartan teammates of winning the school’s first state championship in any sport.
And the standout pitcher delivered when it mattered most, striking out 17 batters and driving in the go-ahead run in a 2-0 win over Clay City (21-7) that gave the Spartans their first-ever title.
“I just can’t believe it, I can’t believe we made it this far,” Rainford said. “I’m just so proud of every single one of our teammates. We came in here a little scared, not knowing what to do, because we had never been here before.”
North Newton had never reached the state finals in any sport prior to this year.
The stands at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium were packed, perfectly split with North Newton orange and Clay City purple.
The community support has been strong all year for the Spartans, and being able to bring the championship trophy back to them added to the moment.
“They’re a big part of this win,” Rainford said. “They just kept showing up for us and that helped us so much. It amped us up for sure and we got this win because of them.”
Katherine Messersmith led the Spartans to the title in just her second season as coach, having amassed a 44-7-1 record, including 24-3-1 this year.
The Spartans dropped their first game of the season to Wheeler, then dropped two in a row in mid-May to McCutcheon and Washington Township, but won 11 in a row to claim the title.
“This is just unbelievable,” Messersmith said. “This has never happened in school history – it’s just unreal; it’s just amazing. Sports have been a little rough here, but from the beginning of the season our fans have always traveled well and they showed up again tonight. Looking up and seeing all the orange, it was phenomenal.”
The win capped an unbelievable post-season run for the Spartans, who out-scored their post-season opponents 31-0.
They became the first team since Indianapolis Scecina in 2007 to go through the entire post-season without allowing a run.
Rainford pitched every inning of the run, striking out 108 batters and allowing just 11 hits. She finished the season with 373 strikeouts, which is tied for fifth nationally.
“I know that it’s my job to make sure they don’t score, so that’s just my mindset the whole time,” Rainford said of her post-season run. “I think that really helped all post-season, just having that mindset.”
The Spartans had 19 shutouts on the season, including the final nine games of the season.
“That’s very special,” Messersmith said. “They have a special bond that can’t be broken. They’ve shown it all season long, and they have worked for it.”
It was a hard-fought loss for Clay City, who finish the season 21-7.
They were also seeking the school’s first softball title. The Eels had won 11 of 12 coming into the game, but couldn’t get anything going offensively against Rainford, getting just two base runners in the game.
Rainford set the tone early.
She struck out the first five Clay City batters of the game, and nine of the first 12.
Rainford was perfect through four innings before giving up a lead-off single to Faith Mitchell in the fifth.
“When she got into the bullpen today to warm up, I have never seen her warm up so hard,” Messersmith said. “Out of everybody here, she wanted this the most.”
The Spartans threatened in the first with two on with one out, but failed to score and then struggled to get anything going against Clay City pitcher Lizzy Sinders (seven hits, two earned runs, five strike outs).
But in the fifth, Paige Culbreth and Macy Busboom hit back-to-back singles to lead-off the inning. North Newton then loaded the bases with two outs ahead of Rainford, who hit an RBI-single to left to get her team on the board.
“I really wanted to shorten my swing up, because the first two at bats I wasn’t seeing the ball well,” Rainford said. “I just shortened up and got my bat out, because I knew if it found green it was going to score a run.”
The Spartans got an insurance run in the sixth, with Macy Busboom driving in June Busboom with a single.
From there it was just up to Rainford and the defense.
She struck out the side in the sixth, and then in the seventh struck out the first two batters of in the inning before allowing a 2-out single.
After a conference on the mound, Rainford struck out the final batter for her 17th strike out and the title.
“We knew we had two outs and we just needed an out,” Messersmith said of the meeting on the mound. “We just told them, the next ball is going to come to you and we are going to be state champions.”
Culbreth and Macy Busboom each had two hits for the victorious Spartans.
Rainford receives Mental Attitude Award
At the conclusion of the game, Sydney Rainford of North Newton High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award for Class 1A 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 graduated as valedictorian of her senior class of 80 students. She was a member of North Newton’s National Honor Society.
On the field, Sydney has received All-Conference and All-State honors. She is a three-time sectional champion, two-time regional champion, and led the state this year in strikeouts. She also participated in Basketball and Volleyball for the Spartans.
Sydney is the daughter of Kevin and Tisha Rainford of Lake Village, IN and will attend the East Carolina University to continue her softball career and study exercise physiology.
Sydney is the first North Newton student-athlete in school history to receive an IHSAA Mental Attitude Award.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presented a $1,000 scholarship to the general scholarship fund at North Newton High School in the name of Sydney Rainford.