The Class 1A IHSAA State Championship will feature Indianapolis Lutheran and Pioneer.
Take a look at the schools’ postseason paths to the State Final.
Indianapolis Lutheran
The Indianapolis Lutheran Saints have gone 20-7-1 overall and went 4-1-1 in Indiana Crossroads Conference play during the regular season.
The Saints took down Edinburgh in the first round of their Sectional. They then went on to defeat Waldron 13-3 in six innings. In the Sectional Championship, Indianapolis Lutheran beat Greenwood Christ Academy 10-0 in five innings.
In the Saints Regional game, they played Rising Sun and advanced with a 10-4 win.
Indianapolis Lutheran would then play Covenant Christian in the first Semi-State game; the Saints would defeat Covenant Christian 4-3.
In the Semi-State Final, Indianapolis Lutheran would take on West Washington to advance to the State Final.
Indianapolis Lutheran would get on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. Gabby Moore started the inning off with a walk, and Kayla Dillenger followed with a bunt single. The Saints would score their first run on a Miranda Dunn single to left and the other run as the ball got away from the catcher.
In the bottom of the second, Indianapolis Lutheran would add another run. With two outs, the Saints would get three singles from Kerri Selzer, Gabby Moore, and Kayla Dillenger. Selzer would score as the ball got away from the catcher giving the Saints a 3-0 lead.
The Saints would tack on two more runs in the fifth. Kaylee Gregory singled to start the inning and advanced to second as Miranda Dunn drew a walk. Both runners would come in to score as Rylee Morris drove a triple to right.
Indianapolis Lutheran would start the inning with a Hailey Black single followed by another single off the bat of Gabby Moore. Kaylee Gregory singled, but the runner was thrown out at home. A batter later, Miranda Dunn doubled to left giving the Saints a 7-1 lead.
The West Washington offense was unable to string anything together against the Saint’s pitchers, Kaylee Gregory, and Miranda Dunn. Gregory went four innings allowing one run, five hits while striking out six and Dunn pitched three innings allowing three hits and no runs.
Pioneer
The Pioneer Panthers have had a fantastic season as they sit at 31-2 overall and they went 7-0 in Hoosier North Athletic Conference play.
The Panthers defeated North White 9-0 in the first round of the sectional and then beat North Miami 3-2 in the next round. In the Sectional Championship, Pioneer took down South Newton in five innings with a score of 10-0.
Pioneer then would meet Morgan Township in the Regional and took a 2-1 victory.
In the first Semi-State game Pioneer shut out Cambridge City Lincoln 8-0.
Pioneer would have to get through Fremont to advance to the State Final game.
Fremont would take an early lead in the bottom of the second inning. After a single and two fielder’s choice, they had a runner on second base. A hard-hit groundball and an error allowed two runs to score in the inning.
Pioneer would respond with a solo shot in the top of the third off the bat of Hailey Gotshall.
The Panthers would then take the lead with a four-spot in the top of the fourth. The inning began with a single from Mackenzie Walker and a double from Madison Blickenstaff. Then the bases were loaded after Kylie Farris drew a walk. With two outs, Haley Gleitz drove a two-RBI double to left, and she was followed by an Alexis Robinson double to make the score 5-2.
In the top of the fifth inning, Pioneer would add on another four runs. Hailey Cripe doubled to center and advanced to second after Mackenzie Walker drew a walk. Then Madison Blickenstaff singled to bring in the first run of the inning. The inning would continue with Kylie Farris laying down a bunt single to load the bases. A batter later, Anna Parsley singled to make the score 8-2. With two outs, Alexis Robinson doubled again to score the ninth Panther run.
Pioneer’s Hailey Cripe was able to settle down as she went seven innings allowing one earned run, three hits while striking out eight.