Record Number of Schools Entered in IHSAA Softball Tournament

A record three hundred seventy‐eight (378) teams – one better than 2010 ‐ were drawn and placed into brackets tonight for the start of the 33rd Annual IHSAA Softball State Tournament Series.
Sectional action runs May 22‐27 with the 64 survivors moving into a one‐game regional round on Tuesday, May 30. From there, 32 teams will square off in four‐team semi‐states on Saturday, June 3, with the four state championship games scheduled for Saturday, June 10 at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.
Host schools will announce playing schedules in the days to come which will then be added to the online brackets at MaxPreps.com.
Class A defending state champion Borden, also top‐ranked in this week’s state coaches poll from the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA), will take on South Central (Elizabeth) in Sectional 62 at Lanesville.
Other No. 1 teams include Class 4A Penn, last year’s state runner‐up, which will host LaPorte in the Sectional 3 bye game. Class 3A No. 1 New Palestine will host Herron in the Sectional 26 opener and Class 2A’s Union County will host Northeastern in the Sectional 41 opening game.
Among the other defending state champions, Class 4A’s Avon will meet Plainfield in Sectional 12 bye game at Terre Haute North Vigo. Lebanon, last year’s 3A state champion and currently ranked second, will face North Montgomery in Sectional 25 at Tri‐West Hendricks. Evansville Mater Dei, last year’s Class 2A champion and ranked sixth this week, will take on South Spencer in the Sectional 48 opening game at Forest Park.
Also of note, Tecumseh extended its state record 14th consecutive sectional championship a year ago and will look to continue that string after drawing the bye in Sectional 64 at Springs Valley.
About the Draw
To conduct the random drawing for the softball state tournament, the IHSAA places ping‐pong balls representing each school in a given sectional into a lottery‐style air mix machine. A motorized fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all 64 sectionals and eight semi‐states.
No. of Schools Entered: 378 teams.
Breakdown by Class: 96 in 4A; 96 in 3A; 97 in 2A; 89 in 1A.
Total No. of Games: 374 games in 20 days.
Schools Playing Up One Class due to Tournament Success Factor (3)
Gibson Southern (Class 4A, Sectional 16 at Evansville North).
Leo (Class 4A, Sectional 5 at Carroll (Fort Wayne)).
North Miami (Class 2A, Sectional 37 at Oak Hill).
Defending Sectional Champions
4A: Avon, Bloomington North, Decatur Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fishers, Floyd Central, Franklin Central, Gibson Southern, Hobart, Homestead, Indianapolis Cathedral, Leo, Munster, Pendleton Heights, Penn, Zionsville.
3A: Boonville, Connersville, Danville, Fairfield, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Griffith, Hamilton Heights, Jasper, Kankakee Valley, Lebanon, Mishawaka Marian, New Palestine, Norwell, Owen Valley, Silver Creek, Western.
2A: Boone Grove, Cascade, Cass, Eastern Hancock, Eastside, Evansville Mater Dei, Henryville, Indianapolis Scecina, Madison‐Grant, North Miami, South Adams, South Knox, Southwestern (Hanover), Union County, Wapahani, Whiting.
A: Borden, Edinburgh, Frontier, Hauser, Indianapolis Lutheran, Loogootee, Morgan Township, North Central (Farmersburg), Pioneer, Rockville, South Central (Elizabeth), Tecumseh, Tri, Trinity Lutheran, Triton, Wes‐Del.
Schools that Won First Sectional Championship Last Year
4A: Fishers.
3A: Owen Valley.
2A: None.
A: Trinity Lutheran.
Most Consecutive Sectional Championships
14 by Tecumseh, 2003‐current.
Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
14: Tecumseh.
13: Indianapolis Scecina Memorial.
10: Indianapolis Lutheran.
5: Griffith.
4: Decatur Central, Triton.
3: Borden, Eastside, Floyd Central, Gibson Southern, Hauser, Leo, North Central (Farmersburg), North Miami, Norwell, Penn, Tri.
Top 10 All‐Time Sectional Championships
21: Boonville.
20: Center Grove.
19: Indianapolis Lutheran.
18: Eastern (Greentown), Lake Central, Shenandoah.
17: Decatur Central, Floyd Central, Huntington North, Pendleton Heights, Pioneer.
16: Cass, Harrison (West Lafayette), Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Scecina, Jennings County, Roncalli, Tecumseh.
Most State Championships
6: Center Grove.
3: Andrean, Gibson Southern, Lake Central, New Palestine, Roncalli.
2: Carmel, Cass, Clinton Prairie, Eastern (Greentown), Hamilton Southeastern, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, Indianapolis Lutheran, Lakewood Park Christian, Martinsville, Merrillville, Portage, South Putnam, Tecumseh, Whiting.
Active Consecutive Tournament Win Streaks
7: Avon.
6: Borden, Evansville Mater Dei, Lebanon.