All six Shelby County golfers failed to break 80 in Thursday’s regional tournaments bringing an end to the local high school sports season.

Shelbyville carded a team score of 342 at Champions Pointe in Henryville to finish 10^th in the Providence Regional.

The top three teams advanced to the State Finals. They were Center Grove (292), Floyd Central (300) and Columbus North (303).

The top two low individuals not on an advancing team also moved on to the state championship tournament. They were Providence’s Baline Beckort (70), the regional medalist, and Borden’s A.J. Agnew (72).

Eli Baker (photo), a senior, led Shelbyville with a 9-over par score of 82 (41-41). DaMiles McDuffey (43-43) and Jake Garrison (44-42) each shot 86. Brock Wischmeyer followed at 88 (44-44) and Logan Reinhart posted 107 (50-57).

Triton Central’s Oliver Gearlds did not make the cut at the Muncie Central Regional.

At the Players Club Thursday, Hamilton Southeastern (289), Tipton (303) and Noblesville (306) advanced to the State Finals. Individually, Eastbrook’s Aaron Fulda and Chatard’s Will Pruitt each shot 75 to advance.

Hamilton Southeastern’s Mattingly Upchurch was the regional medalist after defeating Tipton’s Maverick Conaway in a playoff after each shot 70.

Gearlds started well, playing the front nine in 39 but could not go lower on the back nine and carded an 8-over par 80 in his final high school tournament.

Gearlds will play collegiately at Indiana University Kokomo.

The State Finals are Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

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Botox Katie and Santo Sanjur were not even part of the conversation in the pre-race analysis, but they certainly became the headline story at the end.

The duo scored the upset in the 20^th running of the $100,000 Shelby County Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.

Botox Katie began her six-furlong sprint from post two and was in last place as Forever Noted and Fernando De La Cruz and Betcha with DeShawn Parker aboard held down the top spots. Belle Bolle and Malcolm Franklin were also in the early mix with a swift pace setting up.

Horses began to make their move in the turn as the leaders held on gamely to their advantage. Botox Katie was behind the outer flow of traffic.

In the stretch, Botox Katie moved into contention and was fourth as Bella Bolle took control of the lead. Once she had clearance, the six-year-old kicked into a closing gear that drove her right past Bella Bolle for the win by one and one-quarter lengths. Liv Evie and Rodney Prescott closed in for third.

“There was a lot of speed in this race, so we just wanted to let the speed go because I knew she (Botox Katie) has a kick,” said Sanjur. “We wanted to get away from the break as well as we could and play it by ear from there. The race set up perfectly for her and when she came out, she was running.”

Botox Katie lit up the tote board, paying $185 for the win. The daughter of Domestic Dispute is owned by Thirstyacres Racing LLC and trained by owner Tianna Richardville. The mare was bred and raised by Richardville, who owns a farm complete with a breeding operation in Shelbyville, just minutes from Horseshoe Indianapolis.

She (Botox Katie) is a pretty special mare to us,” said Richardville. “She didn’t even start racing until she was five (last year). She had a slight tendon problem and we turned her out at three. She had a great year last year and proved just giving her the time she needed paid off.”

Botox Katie earned her first win of 2023 and her fourth overall. She now has more than $160,000 on her card in only two years of racing. It was the first time Sanjur had been aboard the mare in a race.

“I thought she needed a couple races to get fit this year,” said Richardville. “She ran well for us last year and had a good year, making almost $100,000. Santo was actually supposed to ride her in her last race, but he was sick that day and we had to make a rider change. Santo has been breezing her in the mornings. I thought she would be better running longer, but she ran a great race today. This is so exciting to get this win today.”

William Henry Harrison

Manuelito and Josh Morales used every bit of the six furlongs in the 20^th running of the $100,000 William Henry Harrison Wednesday. The five-year-old was in full gear as he chased down the leaders in the stretch to score the victory, his first win of 2023 and the first career premier racing win for Morales.

Manuelito (photo, center) was in the center of the gate when it sprung open and just as expected, several speed horses headed out to the lead. Mr Chaos had the early advantage inside, joined by Tay and Alberto Burgos on the outside through the early stages of the sprint.

Around the turn, Too Bad Justice and Joe Ramos began moving up to challenge with Manuelito waiting patiently for the stretch before advancing.

In the stretch, Manuelito moved widest of all and had a straight shot to the finish line. He passed a few horses and appeared to take a breather before hitting yet another gear, striding out for the win by a neck over Mr Chaos. Tay finished third.

“He was very good at the break, and we knew there was a lot of speed, so we just took our time,” said Morales. “He came up on the outside and it probably looked like he stalled a little, but he just has a habit of staying with the horses. I had a lot of horse at that point and knew he had a lot left.”

Manuelito paid $22.40 for the win. The five-year-old son of Majestic Harbor is owned by Haran Thoroughbreds. Trainer John Haran purchased the Indiana-sired gelding as a yearling from the ITOBA Fall Sale for $3,800 from breeder Dawn Martin. He now has more than $270,000 on his card with four career wins.

Morales has ridden him to victory in three of his four career wins, but the win in the William Henry Harrison was the first time the two connected this season.

“I can see a big difference in him this year,” added Morales. “He’s a lot more mature and a lot more focused. I get on him a lot in the mornings and I can really see a difference.”

Morales and his wife, Sharien, live year-round in Shelbyville. Their son, Owenne, just completed first grade at Coulston Elementary School.

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Aiden Smith arrived at Shelbyville High School as a freshman with plenty of “hype.”

A highly-successful travel baseball player, Smith (photo) fit in seamlessly with Shelbyville’s varsity squad and produced immediately on the mound and at the plate. And it earned him his first All-Conference selection.

The Hoosier Heritage Conference announced its 21-player All-Conference Baseball Team Monday and Smith was Shelbyville’s lone representative after a 14-14 season.

Smith finished his first season with a 5-3 record on the mound with a 2.40 earned run average. He pitched 46.2 innings and allowed 35 hits and just 16 earned runs while striking out 67.

Smith also led the Golden Bears in batting average (.430), doubles (10), runs scored (29) and runs batted in (21).

Also named All-HHC were Delta’s Zane Cline; Greenfield-Central’s A.J. Oden, Grant Shepherd, Conner Sims and Andrew Zellers; Mt. Vernon’s Eli Bridenthal, Nick Heitman, Konnor Scheidt, Cameron Sullivan and Joseph Wilson; New Castle’s Gavin Frazier; New Palestine’s Blaine Nunnally, Wes Stiller and Michael Thorpe; Pendleton Heights’ Nathan Gilmet and Spencer Leppink; and Yorktown’s Jackson Furnish, Jacob Grim, Jayce Key and Cole Temple.

Mt. Vernon was crowned HHC champion with a 13-1 record against conference foes. The Marauders finished the season 22-8.

Yorktown was conference runner-up at 19-7 (11-3 HHC) ahead of New Palestine (23-9, 9-5), Greenfield-Central (15-11-2, 8-6), Shelbyville (14-14, 6-8), Pendleton Heights (13-14, 5-9), Delta (11-17, 2-12) and New Castle (7-19, 2-12).

New Palestine’s Shawn Lyons and Yorktown’s P.J. Fauquher were named HHC Co-Coaches of the Year.

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The new artificial turf playing surface and new track project at Shelbyville High School’s J.M. McKeand Stadium is underway.

Work started Tuesday with the grass playing surface being stripped and hauled away.

An artificial turf playing surface will be installed in time for Shelbyville’s football home opener on Aug. 25 when Rushville comes to town for a week two game.

The Golden Bears open the 2023 season on Aug. 18 at Greensburg before hosting Rushville and Delta in back-to-back weeks.

For more on the project, go to https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/664628

Steve Bush photos

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Despite hitting .237 going into the Conway Regional, Damon Lux felt good about his swing.

Duke was the benefit of the Shelbyville graduate’s confidence. Lux had five hits, including two doubles and two home runs, and eight runs batted in to help Duke advance to the Super Regional.

The Blue Devils routed Coastal Carolina, 12-3, Monday at Springs Brooks Stadium to win the Conway Regional in front of a stadium-record crowd of 5,102. Lux had a walk, a double and scored a run to improve Duke to 38-22 this season.

“I’m feeling good,” said Lux prior to the start of the postseason. “I feel really good at the plate but the numbers don’t really say that. I’ve had some games with some good swings and just pop out. My approach is solid so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and good things will happen and things will fall.”

In Duke’s opener Friday against North Carolina Wilmington, Lux had two hits, two runs scored and three RBIs in a 12-3 win. With the game tied in the fourth inning, Lux smashed a two-run home run to stake Duke to a 4-2 lead it never surrendered.

On Saturday, Lux delivered a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to get Duke a 2-1 victory over Rider and a berth in the regional championship game.

“In the situation, I was just trying to get something far enough into the outfield to where he could tag up and score. With (Giovanni DiGiacomo) on third, it wasn’t going to be difficult to get something deep enough,” said Lux in a postgame media interview. “I wanted to do it as early as possible to avoid being in a pitcher’s count. I got an elevated fastball and was able to drive it deep enough for Gio to score.”

Coastal Carolina forced a second championship game in the double-elimination format with an 8-6 win Sunday. Lux (photo) had a second-inning grand slam that put Duke up 5-4 but the Blue Devils could not hold on to the lead to set up a winner-takes-all championship game Monday.

Lux was one of 12 players named to the All-Regional Team based on his performance.

Duke and Virginia open a best-of-three series Friday at noon at Disharoon Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. The game will air on ESPN2.

The two teams meet again Saturday at noon on ESPN2.

The Blue Devils won two game in a three-game series in late April at Virginia. Duke secured 17-5 and 7-3 wins. Virginia won the middle game of the series, 10-2.

The super regional winner advances to the College World Series.

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Oliver Gearlds wants to close out his Triton Central golfing career at the state championship tournament. The Indiana University Kokomo commit took the first step toward making that happen Monday by winning the sectional title at the Greenfield-Central Sectional.

Playing at Hawk’s Tail Golf Course in Greenfield, a course Gearlds (photo) knows well, the recent TC graduate played the front nine in 2-over par 38 and shot even par on the back nine to post a 74 which bested the 11-team field.

Gearlds, Shenandoah’s Bryce Craig (79) and Tri’s Gracen Huffman (81) advanced to the Muncie Central Regional along with the top three finishing teams – Greenfield-Central (319), Mt. Vernon (324) and New Palestine (341).

Triton Central finished seventh in the team standings with a 372. Following Gearlds on the scorecard were Chase Chandler (96), Derreck Uhls (98), Maxwell Ray (104) and Garrett Eberhardt (112).

Regional Preview

Gearlds and the Shelbyville Golden Bears will compete in regional tournaments Thursday.

Gearlds heads northeast to the Muncie Central Regional that will be contested at The Players Club. He will have to post one of the top two low scores from golfers not on an advancing team to qualify for the State Finals on June 13-14 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

The Muncie Central Regional features the qualifiers from sectionals hosted by Norwell, Indianapolis Cathedral, Noblesville, Monroe Central and Greenfield-Central.

Shelbyville finished third Friday at the Greensburg Sectional to earn a regional berth. The fivesome of Eli Baker (84), Jake Garrison (73), Brock Wischmeyer (83), DaMiles McDuffey (86) and Logan Reinhart (89) all shot below 90 to get the Golden Bears the final qualifying spot behind Columbus North and Columbus East.

Shelbyville will compete Thursday in the Providence Regional played at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville. Another top-three finish will be needed to advance to the State Finals.

The Providence Regional features the qualifiers from sectionals hosted by Franklin, Richmond, Greensburg, Madison and Providence.

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The Dirty Wagon took the right path to victory Saturday during the first of six all-Quarter Horse racing days at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville. Guided by German Rodriguez, the three-year-old Indiana-sired gelding scored his first career stakes win in the ninth running of the $108,900 Harley Greene Derby.

Starting from post two, The Dirty Wagon (photo) was a factor from the start, holding his ground inside with the rest of the field. Midway through the 350-yard dash, it was anyone’s race to win with the entire field stretched across the track. It wasn’t until the final strides that The Dirty Wagon finally got a nose in front and proceeded to take the title by a neck over Tachas Street and Fernando Morin. AJK Forgiven and Jose Ruiz finished another half length back in third along the inside.

Less than a length and a half separated the top five finishers in the race.

“He’s a little difficult to ride, but that is why I stuck with him,” said Rodriguez. “I rode him last year as a two-year-old and then stuck with him this year. He’s not easy to ride. The main thing is to just try to keep him calm. He is too fired up all the time.”

The Dirty Wagon paid $6.80 to his backers. The On the Wagon gelding is owned by Keith Bode and Debbie Smith and trained by Horseshoe Indianapolis nine-time leading trainer Randy Smith. Amy Youngblood Peoples bred the sophomore, who earned his fourth career win in nine career starts. After winning his trial, he was ranked eighth on the list of qualifiers. The Dirty Wagon is now 2-for-2 in 2023.

“I told Randy last year he just kept going and going at 300 and he would be better this year at 350,” said Rodriguez. “He just keeps getting better and better and he’s definitely a distance horse.”

Born Runner Classic

Stone Lake (photo) has now won at least one race for four consecutive years at Horseshoe Indianapolis. His latest trip to the winner’s circle was in the 14^th running of the $83,000 Born Runner Classic. The five-year-old son of Escondido Beach now has more than $387,000 on his card and is inching closer to a spot in the top five all-time leading Indiana-sired Quarter Horses in state history.

Stone Lake and L.D. “Danny” Martinez were the last in the gate of the 400-yard dash and began their journey from the outside in post 10. When the gate sprung, Stone Lake was wide to the outside of the rest of his opponents until midway through the race. Sarahs Violin and Jose Ruiz were the early leaders but as the wire neared, so did Stone Lake along with HH CJ Shake and Cesar Esqueda and Beach Blast with Juan Marquez aboard. The trio closed with a burst of speed to land at the wire together, giving Stone Lake the edge by a neck over HH CJ Shake. Beach Blast finished another nose back in third.

Stone Lake was overlooked by the bettors, paying $22.20 for the win. The time of the sprint was 19.833 seconds, the second quickest in the 14-year history of the event. Bred by Sheri Miller’s Miller Ranch of Shipshewana, Indiana, Stone Lake earned his third career stakes win for owner-trainer Tony Cunningham.

The petite chestnut gelding now has nine wins in 22 career starts.

“Every year, he seems like a slow starter,” said Cunningham. “In his last race, he finished fourth to this group, but he stepped out and ran his race today. He’s a good horse, and he’ll do that at the gate, but they load him in from the side, so you generally don’t see it, but he was last in today, so it was more noticeable.”

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Two Triton Central softball players were named All-Conference by the Indiana Crossroads Conference.

Sophomores Brylie Couch (main photo) and Lillie Fillippinie earned the designation based on strong performances this season for a team that finished 20-6.

The pair combined to win 15 games this season in the pitcher’s circle and racked up more than 200 strikeouts.

Fillippinie (photo), .536 batting average, and Couch (.471) also led the Tigers in batting average and combined for 11 home runs, 20 doubles and 59 runs batted in.

A total of 18 players were named All-ICC – a conference that crowned four regional champions.

Also named all-conference were Cascade’s Grace Gray, Ava Allen, Megan Walker, Ruby Gray and Tara Gruca; Beech Grove’s Malone Moore, Lillianna Jansen and Kylee Robinson; Indianapolis Lutheran’s Leyla Miller, Mystic Means, Brooklyn Barger and Kayla Burns; Speedway’s Ella Hedrick; Monrovia’s Ashley Lewis, Indianapolis Ritter’s Dayna Cram; and Indianapolis Scecina’s Campbell Guss.

Cascade won the ICC title with a 7-0 mark. The Cadets finished with a 24-5 record.

Lutheran (20-8, 6-1 ICC) was the conference runner-up with Triton Central (20-6, 5-2), Beech Grove (21-7, 3-4), Speedway (10-9, 3-4), Monrovia (4-18, 3-4), Scecina (5-15, 1-6) and Ritter (1-21, 0-7) following in the standings.

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Triton Central grabbed the early lead over Hauser in the Class 2A Forest Park Semistate semifinal game Saturday morning but could not keep the Jets grounded.

A 4-run first inning for the Tigers was countered by a 6-run second inning by the Jets. Two more runs in the third created a 10-6 lead Triton Central could not overcome.

Hauser advanced to the semistate championship game Saturday night with a 10-7 victory. The Jets were defeated by 2A No. 1 North Posey, 10-0, in the title game.

Hauser starting pitcher Paige McDaniel was roughed up early, allowing four runs in the first inning but limited the Tigers to single runs over the next three innings while her team’s offense heated up. The junior allowed 11 hits and one walk while striking out four to earn the win.

Lillie Fillippinie and Brylie Couch combined to allow 10 Hauser hits and three walks. The sophomores had six strikeouts.

Madison Collins had a bases-clearing triple in the first inning and finished with four runs batted in for Triton Central (20-6).

Madi Peterson had three hits, a run scored and a run batted in.

Kyra Meister and Lucie Asher each had three hits for Hauser (25-8). McDaniel had a home run and drove in three runs.

Triton Central added a second sectional championship to its program history this season -- and secured the program’s first regional title. The roster had no seniors and just two juniors in the starting lineup Saturday.

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With three golfers finishing within three strokes of each other, Shelbyville secured the final advancing position at Friday’s Greensburg Sectional.

Jake Garrison posted one of the best rounds of the tournament with a 73 and Brock Wischmeyer (83), Eli Baker (84) and DaMiles McDuffey (86) stayed close together to get the Golden Bears a team score of 326 – good enough for a third-place finish at the Greensburg Country Club.

Columbus North captured the sectional title with a 292, led by Tyler Wilks’ 71 and Jack Schiavello’s 72.

Columbus East was runner-up with Pierce Arnholt posting a 72.

Garrison had the next best round and helped Shelbyville hold off Greensburg (328), North Decatur (331), Batesville (332) and East Central (337). Also competing Friday were Milan (351), Hauser (365), Jac-Cen-Del (385), South Ripley (419), Waldron (Inc.), Southwestern (Inc.) and South Decatur (Inc.)

In addition to the three advancing teams to Thursday’s Providence Regional, the top three scoring individuals not on an advancing team qualified and advanced. They are North Decatur’s Carson Parmer (75) and Jack Koehne (78) and Greensburg’s Colten Schroeder.

Shelbyville’s scorecard was completed by Logan Reinhart’s 89.

For Waldron, Lucas Shaw shot 87. Lucas Mitchell (96) and Josh Kellems (99) completed the lineup.

Southwestern’s Brayden Dunbar posted 126.

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FAIRLAND -- The Indiana Crossroads Conference crowned four softball regional champions Tuesday night. Two are on the road to Ferdinand, Indiana, for Saturday’s Forest Park Regional.

Class 2A, No. 6 Cascade (24-4), the ICC champion, will take on 2A No. 1 North Posey (26-0) in the second semifinal game.

In the opener at 11 a.m. (EST), unranked Triton Central (20-5) will face unranked Hauser (24-7).

The semistate championship game is slated for 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Class 2A State Championship Game on June 9 or June 10 on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette.

Triton Central head coach Aaron Pyle took a huge gamble Tuesday night, trusted his sophomore pitcher, and prevailed 4-3 in eight innings at Union County to capture the program’s first regional title.

Leading 3-2 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, Pyle knew starting pitcher Brylie Couch would have to deal with Union County’s twin powerhouses, senior Shelby Hill (.539 average, 11 home runs, 55 runs batted in) and junior AnnaLea Adams (.813, 15 home runs, 56 RBIs), one more time.

With the tying run at second base and two outs, Pyle intentionally walked both to load the bases. A base hit would not only tie the game but, potentially, seal the regional title for the Patriots.

“We looked back throughout the game and it was their two top batters getting the majority of the hits,” explained Pyle. “We felt we had better luck with 4-9 (in the lineup).”

Couch ended up walking the ensuing batter to tie the game but got the next hitter out to send the game to extra innings. The escape provided momentum for the eighth inning.

Jadyn Capps led off the eighth with a triple and Hailey Harris doubled to quickly get Triton Central back in front.

Bolstered by the lead again and the bottom half of the order on tap, Couch set down the Patriots and closed out a complete-game performance where she had 16 strikeouts.

Triton Central had eight hits in the win, including Brooklyn Adkins’ first career home run.

The Tigers will now drive nearly three hours southwest to Ferdinand to battle a softball program located just 29 miles from its Fairland campus.

“We know it will be a good game,” said Pyle. “If we both play our game, it will be one of those 1-run or 2-run games. Whoever starts hitting the quickest will come out on top.”

Hauser (photo) will start junior Paige McDaniel (20-7, 2.78 earned run average, 138.1 innings, 155 strikeouts) in the circle. She eclipsed her 60^th career win earlier this season.

Triton Central will counter with sophomore Lillie Fillippinie (7-2, 1.53 earned run average), who has 102 strikeouts in 55 innings this season.

“We are going to go with Lillie starting out and ride with her,” said Pyle, who will then have Couch ready in relief if necessary. “I have total faith that she can go all the way.”

Pyle won’t let himself game plan just yet for a Saturday night game. The Tigers either will get a rematch with Cascade, who defeated TC, 9-1, on April 25 or face unbeaten North Posey and senior standout pitcher Erin Hoehn (17-0, 0.35 ERA, 119.2 innings, 261 strikeouts), who will pitch collegiately at the University of Michigan.

“I have kind of looked to kind of see, but that’s pretty much to the extent that I’ve looked at,” admitted Pyle.

The other two ICC teams playing Saturday for semistate titles are Beech Grove and Indianapolis Lutheran.

In the Class 3A Jasper Semistate, Beech Grove (21-6) faces 2022 3A state runner-up Tri-West (25-5), ranked No. 6 in 3A, in the first semifinal game. No. 9 Silver Creek (27-9) and No. 2 Gibson Southern (27-4) meet in the other semifinal.

Class A, No. 7 Lutheran (19-7) opens the North Daviess Semistate against No. 6 Lanesville (24-5). The other semifinal game pits No. 1 Tecumseh (22-9), the defending Class A state champion, against No. 13 Clay City (18-9).

“That just proves to show that the ICC is a tough conference,” said Pyle. “If you are going to be in the top half (of the standings), you are going to have to know how to play and be tough, play good defense and put offense together too.”

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The Indiana Crossroads Conference champions placed four athletes on the All-ICC Girls Tennis Team.

Triton Central finished 5-0 against ICC foes this season to earn the conference title.

Representing Triton Central on the All-ICC squad are Maryrose Felling, Lauren Grant, Audrey Canter and Maddy Brown.

The 10-player squad also included Indianapolis Lutheran’s Rachel Bolton and Malin Bullock and Speedway’s Alex DeLisle, Daniella Galvez, Hser Ler and Isabel Moreno.

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Shelbyville High School track and field coach Nick Blakey will conduct a Youth Track Clinic later this month.

Youth in incoming grades 4-8 interested in track sprinting will learn how to be better and faster sprinters under the direction of Blakey and several Shelbyville track athletes and alumni.

The clinic will go four days from June 26 through June 29 at Waldron High School. Shelbyville’s McKeand Stadium is getting a new track surface this summer and is unavailable for use.

The clinic runs four consecutive days from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Registration fee is $50 per athlete and can be completed online at feedthebears.run/youth.

Registration also can occur at the first session. Checks should be made out to the Golden Bear Booster Club with “Track & Field” in the memo line and brought to the first session the athlete attends.

All proceeds go directly to the Shelbyville High School Track and Field program.

All four camp sessions will start at 6 p.m. and follow a similar format with water breaks scheduled.

• 6 p.m. – brief warm-up
• 6:15 p.m. – sprint drills
• 6:45 p.m. – short timed sprints (10 meters, 20m, 35m, 40m)
• 7:15 p.m. – competitive time trial (100m, 150m, 200m, 400m)
• 7:25 p.m. – stretch and cool down
• 7:30 p.m. – session ends

To get the most out of the clinic, athletes should arrive in athletic clothing and running shoes (spikes optional) and have a water bottle.

For more information, contact Blakey at coachblakey1@gmail.com

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The Hoosier Heritage Conference announced the 2023 All-Conference Softball squad.

The highly-competitive conference that has produced two regional champions in Pendleton Heights and Yorktown honored 20 athletes with its All-HHC designation.

Shelbyville seniors Kylee Edwards and Hailey Pogue, junior Cheyenne Eads and sophomore Addie Stieneker were selected to represent the Golden Bears.

Edwards, a Mississippi State commit, hit .557 this season with eight doubles, 16 home runs and 47 runs scored.

Pogue (main photo), an Indianapolis commit, hit .457 with 17 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 26 runs batted in and 32 runs scored. She also finished with a 7-2 record in the pitcher’s circle.

Eads, Shelbyville’s No. 1 pitcher, collected 13 wins and 193 strikeouts this season. She also hit .344 with nine doubles, four home runs and 23 RBIs.

Stieneker (photo) followed up her strong freshman season with a .436 batting average with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 40 RBIs.

Also selected All-HHC were:

• Greenfield-Central’s Camille Burelison and Olivia Roberts
• Mt. Vernon’s Shelby Rakosky and Easton Wampler
• New Castle’s Madi Moffitt
• New Palestine’s Aglaia Rudd, Allie Blum, Paige Ernstes and Sydney Oliver
• Pendleton Heights’ Bo Shelton, Katelin Goodwin, Kiah Hubble and Shelby Messer
• Yorktown’s Lexy Morris, Caitlyn LaFerney and Abbie Booher

Shelbyville head coach Mark Hensley was named HHC Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Bears to a share of the HHC title for a second-consecutive season.

Shelbyville (20-8, 6-1 HHC) and New Palestine (23-5, 6-1 HHC) shared the HHC team title.

Pendleton Heights (24-5-1, 5-2) finished third ahead of Yorktown (17-8, 4-3), Greenfield-Central (18-9, 3-4), Mt. Vernon (14-11, 3-4), New Castle (9-15, 1-6) and Delta (1-24, 0-7).

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A pair of Triton Central baseball players were selected to the Indiana Crossroads Conference’s 18-player All-Conference squad.

Mathew Shircliff, a junior, and freshman Eli Sego – Triton Central’s two leading hitters this season – were honored with All-ICC status.

Shircliff hit a team leading .377 with four doubles, three home runs and 26 runs batted in.

Sego followed at .357 for Triton Central and had seven doubles and 25 runs scored.

Also selected as All-ICC:

• Cascade’s Logan Gibbs, Evan Lanphier, Jonas Johnson, Noah Dasgupta, Carson Bassett and Toby Savini
• Speedway’s Zach Warrum and Ben Heaviland
• Indianapolis Lutheran’s Josiah King and Owen Lecher
• Monrovia’s Darius Compton
• Beech Grove’s Cam Brown and Logan Muffler
• Indianapolis Scecina’s David Mendez and Adam Young
• Indianapolis Ritter’s Jake Dill

Cascade won the ICC title with a 12-2 record. The Cadets finished the season at 20-8.

Speedway was the runner-up at 15-13 (10-4 ICC) with Triton Central (14-14, 7-7) in third. Lutheran (16-12), Monrovia (10-17), Beech Grove (12-11) and Scecina (11-17) all finished 6-8 in the ICC standings. Ritter completed its season at 12-16 (3-11).

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Damon Lux is enjoying the down time in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, less than 24 hours before the first pitch of the NCAA Conway Regional.

Lux, a 2018 Shelbyville High School graduate, is a starting outfielder for Duke, the No. 2 seed at the four-team regional being played in Conway – just northwest of the South Carolina tourist destination.

 The Blue Devils (35-21) take on the No. 3 seed, the University of North Carolina Wilmington (34-21) at 1 p.m. Friday. At 7 p.m., No. 1 seed and host Coastal Carolina (39-19) takes on Rider (35-19).

The double-elimination regional continues through the weekend with the championship game slated for 6 p.m. Sunday. The “if necessary” game would be Monday.

The winner of the Conway Regional advances to the best-of-three Super Regional round to face the winner of the Charlottesville Regional, which includes Virginia, East Carolina, Oklahoma and Army.

The College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, follows from June 15-26.

Duke was playing like a World Series contender in late April and early May. A 4-3 win over Rider on May 10 pushed the Blue Devils’ record to 33-14 and they were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally.

However, Duke lost two of three in its final two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series with Georgia Tech and No. 11 Miami and went 0-2 in the ACC Championship tournament.

“We had a hot streak there in April,” said Lux Thursday afternoon. “We were feeling good … playing good baseball. Then we finished up school and we got a little off offensively and our pitching gave up some hits and runs. It’s not that we’re playing bad baseball now, we’re just not playing as good as we were.”

Duke and UNC Wilmington did not face each other this season. Lux expects to get deeper into the scouting report on the Seahawks, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and tournament champion, later today and Friday morning.

“For them to get to this point, we are not taking them lightly,” he said.

Coastal Carolina earned the No. 10 national seed in the NCAA tournament and the right to host the regional. Lux sees the Conway Regional as an open battle between four hard-nosed squads.

“This regional has a whole lot of gritty baseball teams that won’t go down without a fight,” he said.

With each win, Lux extends his playing career, which will come to an end after this season, another day.

“This will be it,” said the fifth-year senior who has a bachelor’s degree and one-year Master’s degree in his back pocket. “I don’t have the desire to go and play at the next level. I’m satisfied with what I’ve done to this point.”

And he has no regrets about choosing Duke University.

“They always say it’s the best of both worlds because of the sports and the academics,” said Lux. “They are exactly right. It’s a great education and the sports teams are top notch.”

Lux will pursue a career in financial management when his playing days are over.

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Two Shelbyville softball players have earned All-State designation and senior Kylee Edwards has been selected to play in the 2023 North/South All-Star Game.

Edwards was one of 25 players named Class 3A/4A First Team All-State. The Mississippi State recruit led the Golden Bears with a .557 batting average, 16 home runs and 47 runs scored.

Other notable players honored with 3A/4A All-State status were Mooresville’s Alex Cooper, Roncalli’s Lyla Blackwell and Keagan Rothrock, Columbus North’s Maddi Rutan, New Palestine’s Aglaia Rudd, Connersville’s Sara Ruble and Columbus East’s Makenzie Foster.

Edwards also was one of 43 players selected for the June 24 North/South All-Star Game that will be played at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Shelbyville junior pitcher Cheyenne Eads (photo) was named Class 3A/4A Third Team All-State. She finished the season with a 13-7 record and 2.30 earned run average while leading the Golden Bears to their second-consecutive share of the Hoosier Heritage Conference title.

Eads was 5-1 with one no decision in starts against HHC competition. She also went 3-0 at the Columbus North Sectional to help the program capture its fourth sectional championship in the last six seasons.

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Shelbyville golf wrapped up its regular-season schedule with an 18-hole invitational Wednesday on its home course – Blue Bear Golf Course.

Frankton Gray captured the team title with a score of 333. Shelbyville finished runner-up at 335. Mooresville was third at 339.

Shelbyville’s Eli Baker earned the medalist honor with the low round of 80. Frankton’s Jace Scott and Shelbyville’s Jake Garrison each posted 81.

Also playing for Shelbyville were Brock Wischmeyer (86), Logan Reinhart (88) and DaMiles McDuffey (90).

Other teams competing in the invitational were Heritage Christian (358), Franklin Central (377), Frankton Red (382), Eastern Hancock (397) and Waldron.

Lucas Shaw topped Waldron with a 96.

In another golf invitational Tuesday:

Triton Central Invitational

Triton Central senior Oliver Gearlds brought home the medalist honor in his final regular-season golf match.

Gearlds posted a 73 at Hawk’s Tail Golf Course in Greenfield and helped the Tigers to a third-place finish.

Mount Vernon won the team title with a 312. New Palestine was runner-up at 345 with Triton Central Green shooting 350. Shenandoah was fourth (354), finishing ahead of Frankton (380), Blue River Valley (401) and Triton Central White (423).

Also competing for TC Green were Chase Chandler (82), Max Ray (97), Derreck Uhls (98) and Garrett Eberhardt (101).

The TC White roster consisted of Braden Brown (95), Taggart Goul (108), Andrew Mennel (109), Dayne Bailey (111) and Mason Yeoman (117).

IHSAA Sectionals

Triton Central will return to Hawk’s Tail Monday for the 12-team Greenfield-Central Sectional.

In the sectional format, the top three teams advance to the regional round of the state tournament and the top three low individuals not on an advancing team will qualify for a regional.

Teams competing at the Greenfield-Central Sectional are Blue River Valley, Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central, Knightstown, Mt. Vernon, New Castle, New Palestine, Shenandoah, Triton Central, Tri and Union (Modoc).

The Greenfield-Central Regional is one of five sectionals that feed into the Muncie Central Regional, which will be played at The Players Club on June 8.

Golfers representing Shelbyville, Southwestern and Waldron will compete Friday in the Greensburg Sectional at the Greensburg Country Club.

The 14-team sectional also includes Batesville, Columbus East, Columbus North, East Central, Greensburg, Hauser, Jac-Cen-Del, Milan, North Decatur, South Decatur and South Ripley.

The teams and individuals advancing from the Greensburg Sectional travel to Henryville on June 8 for the Providence Regional that will be  held at Champions Pointe Golf Course.

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MOORESVILLE -- In Mooresville’s regular-season win over Shelbyville, Zoey Kugelman pitched a gem to lead the Pioneers over the Golden Bears.

In Tuesday’s Class 4A regional championship game, Kugelman did not get the call to start the game in the circle. So she set forth to do damage at the plate.

The Mooresville junior had three hits, including a solo home run in the  bottom of the first inning, and Kendall Lowry drove in three runs to lead the Pioneers to a 4-1 victory and the program’s first softball regional title.

Class 4A, No. 9 Mooresville (29-3-1) will face 4A No. 12 Pendleton Heights (24-5-1) in the second semifinal game Saturday at the Center Grove Semistate. The first semifinal pits 4A No. 1 Roncalli (29-3-1) against either Evansville North (24-3) or 4A No. 11 Floyd Central (26-7).

Kugelman set the tone early for Mooresville blasting a 2-2 pitch off Shelbyville starting pitcher Cheyenne Eads out of the facility for an early lead.

An Alex Cooper triple and Lowry groundout extended the lead to 2-0 before the inning was over.

Shelbyville, who finished the season 20-9, spent the first half of the game searching for the “big” hit.

Mooresville starting pitcher Reagan Bauer loaded the bases in the first and third innings but escaped unscathed with key strikeouts. The Golden Bears finished the game leaving 10 runners on base.

“We left the bases loaded twice. We were a hit away from cracking that game open,” said Shelbyville head coach Mark Hensley, who informed the team after the game that he will be stepping down as coach. “When you leave 10 on base, especially seven through the first three innings, that could have been a totally different game.”

Two walks and a fielder’s choice in the top of the first inning loaded the bases for Shelbyville but Bauer struck out Riley Maulden to end the threat.

In the third, Pogue had a leadoff double and Bauer walked Stieneker and Abby Brenner to load the bases but struck out Maulden and Destiney Johnson to end the inning.

“It was a tough (loss) because we did so much work to get to this point and I felt like we had everything about where we wanted it and we just could not get over the hump,” said Hensley, who has led Shelbyville to all four of its sectional championships during his tenure.

The fifth inning sealed Shelbyville’s fate. Kugelman reached base on a two-out single and moved to second on a throwing error. With first base open, Shelbyville intentionally walked Cooper – the Indiana University commit, and Lowry made them pay with a two-run double to make it 4-0.

Shelbyville’s lone run came on senior Kylee Edwards’ 16^th home run of the season in what fittingly was her final at bat as a Golden Bear.

“Kylee’s last at bat was a home run and Hailey’s last pitch was a strikeout. Even though we didn’t win the game, that was a really nice way to end their careers,” said Hensley.

Pogue, also a senior, pitched the sixth inning and struck out two of the three batters she faced. She will play collegiately at the University of Indianapolis next season.

Shelbyville graduates four – Edwards, Pogue, Brenner and Riley Maulden -- from a squad that added a third straight season with at least 20 wins and back-to-back Hoosier Heritage Conference titles.

Over the last three seasons, the Golden Bears were 68-20 (18-3 in HHC games) and won two sectionals and a regional title and played in the 2022 Class 4A Semistate championship game.

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Triton Central’s 20^th win of the season netted the softball program’s first regional championship.

On Tuesday in Liberty, Indiana, Brylie Couch stifled Class 2A, No. 10 Union County for eight innings and got enough run support to secure a 4-3 win in eight innings.

Triton Central (20-5) will travel south to the Forest Park Semistate Saturday to face Hauser (24-7) in an 11 a.m. semifinal contest. The second semifinal at Forest Park will feature 2A No. 1 North Posey (26-0) and 2A No. 6 Cascade (24-4).

The semistate championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.

Triton Central, making just its second regional appearance, scored solo runs off Union County starting pitcher Bailey Mathews in each of the first two innings Tuesday to stake Couch to the lead.

Union County countered with a solo run in the third to cut the lead to 2-1.

Both teams scored again in the sixth inning before the Patriots pushed a run across in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

Jalynn Keith was the only Tiger with two hits in the win. The freshman scored one of TC’s four runs.

Lillie Fillippinie, Hailey Harris and Brooklyn Adkins, who had a solo home run in the win, delivered big hits that produced runs.

Couch struggled to get Auburn-recruit AnnaLea Adams out as most pitchers have this season. Entering the game hitting over .800, the junior had three hits, two doubles and a home run, and scored two runs but Couch limited the rest of the Patriots to just four hits and struck out 16.

Mathews surrendered eight hits and three walks while striking out 10 for Union County.

Triton Central and Hauser did not play each other this season.

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The Indianapolis 500 purse record was shattered for the second year in a row after a monumentally successful 107^th running of the Indianapolis 500, with race winner Josef Newgarden (photo) of Team Penske earning $3.666 million from the total purse of $17,021,500.

After record-breaking payouts in 2022, this is the largest purse and largest winner’s payout in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The year’s average payout for NTT Indycar Series drivers was $500,600, which also exceeds last year’s average of $485,000.

In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200 and the year’s winner payout was $3.1 million. Prior to 2022, the largest Indianapolis 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.

Second-place finisher Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing took home $1.043 million, exceeding the take-home prize for last year’s second-place finisher.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles said. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107^th running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

The month of May was full of major milestones as Indianapolis Motor Speedway welcomed more than 330,000 fans to the Racing Capital of the World for Sunday’s race, making it the second-largest Indianapolis 500 crowd in more than two decades.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Benjamin Pedersen earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors for his performance during the month. Pedersen earned a $50,000 bonus for being named Rookie of the Year, adding to a take-home prize of $215,300.

Renew Tickets for 2024

Fans can renew or upgrade their Indy 500 tickets at ims.com/review, by calling 317-492-6700 or by visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office. The renewal window will continue through June 20.

These are the best prices of the year for renewals and upgrades. Prices will increase when tickets go on sale this fall, and again in 2024 before each event.

“More than 325,000 fans filled IMS on Indianapolis 500 Race Day for the biggest and most memorable celebration of all that is May,” said IMS President J. Douglas Boles. “Whether 2023 was your first trip to IMS or your 50^th, we encourage you to renew or request an upgrade for seats by June 20 to reserve their spots for next year for another great celebration of speed and tradition.”

Steve Bush photo

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A Final Four team in 2022 with its pitching staff intact and a Miss Softball candidate in the lineup appears to be labeled an underdog in the 2023 postseason. Shelbyville head coach Mark Hensley is fine with that notion.

“I love it,” said Hensley ahead of Monday’s final practice before tonight’s regional championship game. “I don’t want the target on my back. All the pressure is on everybody else. We are probably one of the lowest seeds in (Class) 4A still alive. If we can somehow find a way to squeeze past Mooresville and get down to where there are only eight teams left, I like our chances.”

Unranked Shelbyville (20-8) travels to 4A No. 9 Mooresville (28-3-1) today for a one-game regional championship game at 7 p.m. The Pioneers defeated Shelbyville, 2-1 on May 6 at Shelbyville.

“I don’t think they played their best game and we definitely didn’t play our best game so I am assuming this game may look a lot different than that first one,” said Hensley. “It still may be kind of low scoring but I felt like our energy level wasn’t great when we played them.

“We came out a little flat and gave up a couple of runs. I don’t think they played their best game either. They didn’t look like they were all that excited to play on a Saturday morning either and they had a little bit more in the tank on that particular Saturday.”

The pitching matchup sets up for a low-scoring game. Shelbyville junior Cheyenne Eads is 13-6 this season with a 2.17 earned run average and 187 strikeouts over 122 innings. After giving up two runs in the first inning against the Pioneers she faced just four batters over the minimum over the final six innings.

On Friday, she limited nationally-ranked Columbus North to five hits and two walks in another complete-game performance.

“Nothing was going to keep me from finishing that game,” said Eads, whose six losses this season have come by a combined nine runs. “I was really dead set on staying in that game and getting it done for my team.”

Mooresville will likely counter with junior Zoey Kugelman, 11-0 with a 1.30 ERA. She limited the Golden Bears to five hits and one run on May 6.

“She is not going to blow it past anybody. She reminds me a little bit of the East Central pitcher in that she won’t blow it past you. We don’t have many strikeouts against that type of pitcher but we also don’t seem to square them up very much either,” said Hensley.

The game also features a battle of two of the top shortstops in the state – both signed to Division I programs.

Shelbyville senior Kylee Edwards, a Mississippi State recruit, is hitting .558 with eight doubles, 15 home runs and a team-high 46 runs scored. In three sectional games, she had six hits and two walks and scored six runs.

Mooresville senior Alex Cooper is committed to Indiana University. She is hitting .576 with 11 doubles, 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. In sectional wins over Center Grove (11-5), Bloomington South (10-0) and Martinsville (6-1), Cooper also had six hits, including four home runs, scored six runs and drove in 10 runs.

“There is a reason she is a Division I shortstop,” said Hensley. “That girl can flat-out hit. We will have to be real careful and pick and choose the pitches we want to throw to her. Hopefully we can find a way to keep the ball in the park when she swings at it.”

Also dangerous for Mooresville are senior Kendall Lowry (.500, 12 doubles, 36 RBIs), junior Madison Poulson (.440, 50 runs scored) – an Indiana State commit, Kugelman (.388, 36 RBIs) and senior Maddie Gainey (.367, 28 RBIs).

Shelbyville has its own wicked trio at the top of the batting order with Edwards, senior Hailey Pogue (.467, 16 doubles, 32 runs scored) – a University of Indianapolis commit, and sophomore Addie Stieneker (.451, 12 doubles, seven home runs, team-leading 40 RBIs). Those three went 7-for-10 in Friday’s 5-2 sectional championship win over 4A No. 2 Columbus North, which was labeled an upset in the minds of the Bull Dogs’ followers.

“(Columbus North) had some pretty high rankings and if you lose one game all year and tie another one you probably deserve to get a lot of press,” said Hensley. “I think they were as high as No. 14 in the country when we beat them. I guess in most people’s eyes it was an upset. We came in to that game fully expecting to win. I don’t think anybody in our dugout thought it was an upset.”

Shelbyville’s Final Four run in 2022 also featured Eads (.337, nine doubles, four home runs, 23 RBIs) and sophomore catcher Kali Laycock (.253, seven doubles, 15 RBIs) but the rest of the 2023 roster has limited postseason experience.

“There are seven or eight that were on that team last year when we made that run all the way to the Final Four,” said Hensley. “Our girls believe, there are 16 teams left in 4A, I think they all believe they are one of the best 16 teams in the state.

“Confidence is a factor with that and obviously some experience. We still have a lot of youth on our team with four sophomores and a handful of freshmen. Even though they are young, they’ve all sort of been there, done that. Even most of our freshmen have played fairly high-level travel seasons and played in big games.”

Mooresville captured its eighth sectional championship but just the program’s first since 2007.

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The last words Triton Central head coach Aaron Pyle told his team after its final practice Monday morning before the regional championship was give 100% on the field, make the plays the best you can so you don’t beat yourselves.

For the first time since 2015, and just the second time in program history, Triton Central advanced out of the sectional round of the softball state tournament. The Tigers (19-5) travel to Liberty today to face Class 2A, No. 10 Union County (21-4) at 6 p.m.

The Patriots, winners of four straight sectional tournaments, will have the experience edge on a Triton Central roster that features no seniors and three underclassmen pitchers.

“They do have a little bit more experience at this stage of the game,” said Pyle. “They are solid top to bottom.”

Union County has a devastating one-two punch in junior AnnaLea Adams (.806 batting average, 14 home runs, 55 runs batted in) and senior Shelby Hill (.554, 11 home runs, 55 RBIs). Adams, one of the nation’s leading hitters, is committed to Auburn.

“We will not take them lightly but we’re not going to focus on just those two,” said Pyle.

Union County has four more hitters in the lineup batting at least .360.

Pyle knows he will start a sophomore pitcher tonight, but which one will be a close-to-game-time decision. Sophomores Brylie Couch (7-3, 1.91 earned run average) and Lillie Fillippinie (7-2, 1.53 ERA) have been equally impressive this season.

“I am going to have both warm up and based on which one warms up the best (will be the choice),” said Pyle. “Both will be ready to go.”

Freshman Madi Peterson (5-0, 1.65 ERA) also is part of a pitching staff that has not allowed a run in 25 consecutive innings.

If the pitching staff and defense can do its part, Triton Central just needs to find a way to put runs on the scoreboard.

Union County will counter with junior Bailey Matthews in the pitcher’s circle. She is 18-3 this season with a 2.33 ERA and 174 strikeouts over 114 innings.

“I will be expecting something like the Beech Grove game (2-1 win) or the Southport game (1-0 win) or even the last Heritage Christian game (3-0 win) where it is who gets the bat on the ball first and who gets that first run.”

Fillippinie leads the TC offense, hitting .557 with eight doubles, five home runs and a team-high 31 RBIs. Couch follows at .508 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 26 RBIs.

Madison Collins, another sophomore, is hitting .478 with seven doubles and 26 RBIs.

Triton Central finished the 2015 season at 9-12 but broke through with the program’s first sectional title, just one season after Pyle stepped away from coaching the program. The Tigers lost in the regional semifinal to Monrovia that year, 26-0.

Now with a program-record 19 wins and a roster full of experienced travel ball players, Pyle does not expect his team to be nervous.

“I don’t think the girls will have too much nerves but I know the coaching staff will have some nerves,” said Pyle.

Win or lose, the experience will be invaluable for the Triton Central program in the coming seasons.

“Setting the school record for most wins, having a young crew pitching and catching with them being sophomores and freshmen makes this easy going forward,” said Pyle. “The next 2-3 years we will be solid. And we will know going forward, we can do this.”

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A defensive error in the fifth inning proved too much to overcome for Waldron.

In the Sectional 60 semifinal round Monday afternoon at Jac-Cen-Del, a costly error allowed South Decatur to score three unearned runs that finished off a 5-1 victory.

Devin Pate pitched into the seventh inning for South Decatur (17-8) and allowed three hits and three walks while striking out 12. Brock Lane needed three pitches to secure the final out and propel the Cougars into the championship game.

Pate and Colby Rathburn each had two hits to lead South Decatur.

Jacob Bennett matched up with Pate on the mound and was equally as impressive. The junior allowed eight hits in six innings and struck out seven. Of the five runs allowed, only two were earned.

Senior Bryce Yarling pitched a scoreless seventh inning to cap off his career. He also had two hits at the plate to raise his batting average to .463 this season. He finished the season with 31 stolen bases for Waldron (7-20).

In the championship game Monday night, North Decatur topped South Decatur, 8-4, to earn a regional championship game berth against Greenwood Christian, winner of the Morristown Sectional.

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COLUMBUS – Kylee Edwards came to pick a fight – and she brought some hungry Golden Bears with her to the Sectional 14 championship game.

The defending sectional champions had not had much success against Columbus North ace Maddi Rutan over the last three seasons. So Edwards did not want to waste time making a statement Friday and whacked the first pitch of the game off the fence for a leadoff double.

Addie Stieneker quickly delivered the senior home, one of three RBIs the sophomore would collect in the game. Hailey Pogue attacked a fifth-inning pitch from Rutan and sent it to the wall that scored two more and Shelbyville captured the program’s fourth sectional championship, 5-2 over the No. 2-ranked Bull Dogs.

The Golden Bears (20-8) will travel to Class 4A, No. 9 Mooresville (28-3-1) Tuesday for the regional championship. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Edwards played with a heavy heart all week. Her grandfather passed away Sunday. Two days later she belted her 15^th home run to help Shelbyville to a 2-0 win over East Central in the sectional opener. On Thursday, she had two hits and a walk, scored two runs and drove in two in an 8-3 win over Franklin.

She wasted little time getting to work Friday.

“As the leadoff batter I was attacking,” explained Edwards. “Starting the game, I knew she was going to throw me a strike first pitch to start off in a good way so I knew I was going to attack it. In my other at bats I had that same mindset. I was going to get to her before she got to me.”

Edwards tripled in the third inning on the first pitch from Rutan and after getting up in the count 3-0 in the fifth was intentionally walked. She added a double in the seventh inning and was part of a devastating trio of hitters at the top of Shelbyville’s lineup that went 7-for-10 with four extra-base hits, four runs scored and all five RBIs.

“Those first three hitters we have in the lineup, when they go we are hard to beat,” said Shelbyville head coach Mark Hensley. “Those are three of the best hitters in the state that we go back-to-back-to back with. They make a lot of chaos and make a lot of issues for people.”

While the top three did the discernible damage, the entire lineup put pressure on Rutan. The leadoff hitter reached in all seven innings.

“To do it against a pitcher like that … as far as I’m concerned she is a top-10 in the country type of player,” said Hensley of the Eastern Kentucky commit. “When you are a pitcher like that you can win every single day. You have a shot.”

The same can be said of Shelbyville pitcher Cheyenne Eads. The junior limited Columbus North (25-2-1) to just five hits, two walks and notched 10 strikeouts.

“That’s the difference, too,” said Hensley. “When ‘Chey’ is on and she is working her pitches, she is as good as anybody in the state. I think some people have kind of missed the boat on that but if you look out there and she is five-foot-four and about 130 pounds, some people don’t realize just how good she is. I’ve been screaming it from the rooftops for three years now to realize how good she is. Some of these colleges have been slow to the party with her but whoever pulls the trigger on that one is going to get a good one.”

The Bull Dogs quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first inning when Rutan doubled to score Kelsey Lovelace.

Both teams were held scoreless until the fifth.

Kali Laycock led off the inning with her second hit of the game. Edwards drew a one-out walk and Pogue laced the first pitch she saw past Columbus North second baseman Josephine Lemmons into the gap. Both runners scored to give Shelbyville a 3-1 advantage.

Stieneker brought Pogue home for her second RBI of the game.

Kaylee Cowan blasted a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 4-2.

Edwards doubled to start the seventh and scored on another Stieneker single to get Shelbyville within three outs of the title.

Miley McClellan started the final half inning with a single and Cowan ripped an Eads pitch into left field but Riley Maulden got a quick jump and made a diving catch to quell any momentum for Columbus North.

“I think that’s the best high school outfield catch I’ve ever seen,” said Hensley.

Eads struck out pinch hitter Bailee Scruggs and, fittingly, got Lemmons to roll a grounder at Edwards. The shortstop gobbled it up and fired it across the diamond to set off the celebration.

The sectional champions show appreciation to the large crowd in attendance Friday in Columbus.

“We all worked together really well. We all wanted this game so bad,” said Edwards. “You could tell on the field because our energy was up. Everybody was communicating. We were talking strategy the whole time. Our energy was way higher than theirs and I think that got us the win this game.”

Edwards and her family laid Pat Settles to rest today after she went 6-for-9 in the sectional with five extra-base hits, six runs scored and three RBIs.

“We have a lot going on with my grandpa,” admitted Edwards. “I wanted to go out and do this for my parents and my family. I wouldn’t want this any other way. I think this is a great opportunity and I was playing for him.”

Notes: Columbus North entered the game ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps. The Bull Dogs tied the program record for wins in a season. … Columbus North head coach Ron McDonald is retiring after building the program up since 2017. … Prior to the game, each Shelbyville player presented a rose to Mindy Edwards, daughter of Pat Settles. … With the win over Columbus North, Shelbyville is set up for a “revenge tour.” After losing 1-0 to Columbus North early in the season, the Golden Bears avenged that loss and now face Mooresville, who defeated Shelbyville 2-1 on May 6. The semistate bracket pairs the Shelbyville-Mooresville winner with the winner of the Lawrence North (22-7)-Pendleton Heights (23-5-1). HHC-member Pendleton Heights defeated the Golden Bears 4-3 on May 13. And the semistate championship game could yield a rematch with top-ranked and two-time defending state champion Roncalli, who topped Shelbyville 2-0 on May 9.

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