Mark Hensley does not see arrogance in his Shelbyville softball squad – plenty of confidence, but definitely not arrogance.

After a rain-delayed 12-2 victory over Columbus East was finished Friday, Class 4A, No. 10 Shelbyville quickly readied for a sectional rematch with 4A No. 6 Columbus North.

“They were 100% sure they were going to win that game,” said the Shelbyville head coach Sunday afternoon. “There was no other talk about it.”

The Golden Bears entered the sectional championship game at Bloomington North High School with three straight losses to Maddi Rutan and her Bull Dogs, including a heartbreaking 4-2 loss at the 2021 sectional played at Shelbyville.

“There was no talk about how good Maddi Rutan was,” said Hensley. “They were 100% sure they were going to win that game walking in.”

Karissa Hamilton flamed that fire in Shelbyville’s first at bat of the game off Rutan, who was 2-0 in three career appearances against the Golden Bears with 27 strikeouts and three runs allowed in 18 innings in the circle.

The senior launched a Rutan pitch into a stiff wind and over the wall for a quick 1-0 lead.

“Talk about setting a tone,” said Hensley. “The wind was blowing in. We didn’t think anyone was going to hit a home run in this game.”

Kylee Edwards followed with a single and a stolen base to put pressure on Columbus North early.

Addie Stieneker laid down a sacrifice bunt to Rutan’s left. The pitcher corralled it, took one look toward third base then fired an off-balance throw to first base that was not handled and Edwards scored to make it 2-0.

Rutan’s counterpart, Shelbyville sophomore Cheyenne Eads, wanted the start in the championship game and she delivered. Eads allowed just three hits and three walks that led to one Columbus North run.

And when her team needed her to seal the deal in the seventh, Eads was dominant. She induced a pop fly to left field, a slow grounder back to the circle and then struck out Josie Lemmons to end the game and start the celebration.

Those two first-inning runs proved to be enough to get Shelbyville a 2-1 victory and the opportunity to play one more game on its home field.

The Golden Bears (22-5) will host 4A No. 2 Whiteland (24-2) Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the one-game regional format. The winner advances to the Bedford North Lawrence Semistate on June 4.

Hensley continues to see a team not as deep in talent as in years past find ways to overcome adversity in games.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve had better teams in the past that didn’t win a sectional,” he said. “This team just doesn’t quit … not much phases them.”

Not even three rainy weeknight trips to Bloomington.

Shelbyville survived its sectional opener with 4A No. 14 Bloomington South, 6-5 in nine innings Tuesday. The final out came near 11 p.m. as rain kept postponing the playing schedule.

Shelbyville returned to Bloomington Thursday for a quarterfinal contest with Columbus East that started and then was postponed until Friday.

Kiley McIver had three hits, including a three-run home run, and drove in five runs to lead the Golden Bears to a 12-2 victory and a berth in the sectional finale. The senior terrorized the Olympians the last two seasons, hitting .733 (11-for-15) with six runs scored, four extra-base hits including two home runs, and nine RBIs.

Eads started in the circle Thursday but only pitched one inning. Hailey Pogue and Aliyah Lewis finished the game off allowing three hits and two runs over the final four innings.

That left Eads determined to shut down Columbus North (20-4), a team she had not beaten in her career.

“She wanted the ball,” said Hensley. “There are days where you know they are tired and beat up but she looked like she hadn’t pitched in a month.”

Eads held the Bull Dogs scoreless in the first two innings. In the third, Kaylee Cowan delivered a two-out double that scored Emalee Heafner to cut Shelbyville’s lead in half.

The Golden Bears had chances to extend the lead in the fourth and fifth innings but could not get a decisive hit off Rutan, a junior who will pitch collegiately at Eastern Kentucky University.

Kirsten Danford started the sixth inning with an infield single, but Eads took care of the next three batters to shut down a late rally.