Karissa Hamilton joined Bill Garrett as the only Shelbyville High School athletes to receive their respective sport’s top honor.
On Saturday at the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana’s North/South All-Star Game, Hamilton, who recently finished her senior year at Shelbyville, was named Indiana Miss Softball.
“I had no idea,” said Hamilton of receiving the award. She was one of five announced finalists from around the state. “They are all such amazing athletes. You could have picked any one of them out of a bag.”
Hamilton closed out her Golden Bear career hitting .526 in 30 games with 53 runs scored, nine doubles, five triples, 11 home runs and 39 runs batted in.
She helped Shelbyville capture its first softball regional title and propelled the Golden Bears into the semistate championship game with a mammoth walk-off home run in the eighth inning against Bedford North-Lawrence in the semistate semifinal round.
That home run may have secured the final votes needed to hold off Pioneer’s Hailey Cripe, Kokomo’s Karley Trine, Westfield’s Avery Parker and Gibson Southern’s Brenna Blume for the state’s top individual honor.
Shelbyville’s only other top award winner is Garrett, who led Shelbyville to the 1947 boys basketball state championship and was named Mr. Basketball.
For her career, Hamilton hit .533 in 86 games and collected 28 doubles, 14 triples, a program-best 40 home runs and 120 RBIs. She will play collegiately next season at the University of Kentucky.
For more on Hamilton's decision to play at the University of Kentucky: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/603974
Kentucky issued a press release Sunday announcing Hamilton’s award and noting she is ranked as the No. 22 overall player in the Class of 2022 by Extra Innings Softball and the No. 7 catcher in the nation.
With a 4-0 win over No. 2 Whiteland on May 31, Shelbyville captured its first regional championship and set up a scheduling conflict for the following Saturday with semistate and graduation on the same day.
The four seniors on the softball squad were allowed to walk across the stage first that morning so they could get on a bus and head to Bedford.
“That whole entire day was a rollercoaster of emotions,” said Hamilton. “I got my diploma … the four seniors got to go first. We turned our tassels right before we left … we did it together and then we went to Bedford.”
Shelbyville first had to deal with the host Stars, ranked No. 5 in the final coaches poll and making their second-straight semistate appearance.
The Golden Bears, ranked No. 10, got on top early but the Stars recovered to tie the game and send it to extra innings. After holding Bedford North Lawrence scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, Hamilton was unsure if she would get a chance to swing the bat in the bottom of the eighth.
“I wondered if they would walk me?” thought Hamilton at the time. “But they pitched to me. She pitched me inside and I turned on it. I knew that one was over. I took about one-and-a-half steps and threw my hands up!”
Hamilton's walkoff home run courtesy of Bedford North Lawrence's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/BNLAthletics1/status/1533165768606728195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1533165768606728195%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indystar.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F2022%2F06%2F04%2Fihsaa-softball-semistate-karissa-hamilton-hits-walk-off-hr-vs-bedford-north-lawrence-indiana%2F7515044001%2F
Hamilton circled the bases in a flash and unleashed a massive stomp on home plate to signify the victory.
“That was the fastest home run trot I’ve ever had,” she said.
Shelbyville needed extra innings to dispatch of Bloomington South in its sectional opener 11 days earlier. That win was the first postseason win for Hamilton in her three seasons of varsity softball – her sophomore season was cancelled due to the pandemic.
With wins over Columbus East and Columbus North to secure the sectional title and Whiteland and Bedford North Lawrence, Shelbyville set up a semistate championship contest with Roncalli, the defending state champions and No. 1 ranked team in the country.
“For me, I was thinking it’s my senior year. Who knows what can happen?” said Hamilton. “We had nothing to lose at the semistate. We already made school history. It was all crazy.”
Hamilton is familiar with Roncalli ace Keagan Rothrock, who will be a Southeastern Conference foe in the future. Rothrock is committed to Florida as the top player in the country in the Class of 2023.
Shelbyville struck early for a 1-0 lead off Rothrock and Roncalli but could not find more offense and eventually lost 7-1. The Royals went on to crush Harrison (West Lafayette), 16-0, in the Class 4A state championship game to complete a 33-0 season. Roncalli is 64-2 the last two years.
Hamilton represented Shelbyville one last time Saturday in the North-South All-Star games played at Indiana University.
At the conclusion of the first game of the doubleheader, Hamilton was announced as Miss Softball and donned the white No. 1 jersey for game two.
Hamilton quickly transitions back into the travel ball circuit with her Indiana Magic Gold squad. She is headed to Colorado today to play in a national tournament before returning home to close out her travel ball career with trips to Columbus, Ohio, and then one final national tournament held at Championship Park in Kokomo, Indiana.
With a move-in date at Kentucky of Aug. 17, it is hard not to look ahead to joining the nationally-ranked Wildcats program.
“At this point, my mindset is just being a Kentucky player,” she said. “I am working out like a Kentucky player now. I am lifting (weights), doing cardio and getting my ducks in a row. I’m getting after it.”
Nothing less would be expected of someone now known as Miss Softball.
