Softball sectional pairings announced

by Beau Wicker
Pharos-Tribune sports writer

Fri, May 16 2008

— The field for the 24th-annual IHSAA Softball State Tournament Series was set Thursday morning at the IHSAA Office in Indianapolis.
This year’s state tournament consists of 371 teams and begins with sectional play 10 days from now.
In the Class 4A Sectional 7 at Harrison, Logansport (14-7) will face fourth-ranked McCutcheon on Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. Lafayette Jeff and Kokomo will play on Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. followed by the host Lady Raiders versus the Logan-McCutcheon winner at 7:30 p.m. The championship game is set for Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
Last season McCutcheon defeated Logansport 4-3 in the sectional final en route to a state finals appearance. Earlier this season the Mavericks blanked the Berries 7-0 in Logan’s fourth game of the year.
Logan coach Gary Hoffman said the Berries were “flat” against McCutcheon earlier this season following a nine-inning win over Twin Lakes earlier in the day and that “in this sectional, you know you’re going to have to beat (McCutcheon). You might as well play them right off the bat. They’ve beat every team in the sectional this year,” he said. “It’s a tough sectional. There quality teams. Any team over there can win it.
“Whoever gets hot is going to win it.”
In the Class 2A Sectional 34 at Winamac, the host Lady Warriors (17-5) will face North Newton on Monday, May 19 at 8 p.m. following the 6 p.m. contest between Culver Community and sixth-ranked Boone Grove. The winners of those two games play at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, followed by Hebron versus North Judson at 8 p.m. The championship game is set for Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
The Warriors are two-time defending sectional champions, though their sectional field is different this season. Winamac coach Jennifer Belcher said the new field is “definitely tougher.”
Belcher added it would have been nice to draw the bye but, “In the last two years we’ve always played the Monday game and it’s worked out very well for us before. You have to beat who you’re supposed to beat.”
Belcher said North Newton’s record is around .500 and that “records don’t matter anymore.”
At Class 2A Sectional 37 at Clinton Central, Delphi will face Fountain Central on Monday, May 19. at 5 p.m. Carroll (4-17) will face the host Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday, May 20 at 5 p.m. Seeger will face the Delphi-Fountain Central winner on Wednesday, May 21 at 5 p.m. The championship game is set for Thursday, May 22 at 5 p.m.
“Every team in it can win,” said Carroll coach Chad Myers, whose squad has lost to its first-round opponent, Clinton Central, twice this season. “They’re a good team,” Myers said of the Bulldogs, “but I think we can play with them.”
At Class 2A Sectional 39 at Wabash, Cass (8-9) will face Manchester on Monday, May 19 at 5 p.m. followed by Northfield versus Southwood at 7 p.m. The winners of those two games face each other on Tuesday, May 20 at 5 p.m. followed by the host Lady Apaches versus North Miami at 7 p.m. The championship game is set for Thursday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Kings have won four sectional titles in a row and coach Scott Rouch said they’ll be in the mix again this season.
“Four out of the six teams have a good shot at it, and we’re one of those four,” Rouch said. “It’s definitely who plays well that day. I like how we’re playing right now.”
Rouch added Southwood has the best record entering the sectional and that Cass’ first-round opponent, Manchester, “has been strong the last few years and always has a good program.”
In the Class A Sectional 52 at Caston, Pioneer (7-13) will face Triton at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20. The host Lady Comets (5-13) drew a bye and will face the Monday, May 19 winner between Argos and West Central on Tuesday, May 20 following the Pioneer-Triton game. The championship game is set for Wednesday, May 21 at 5 p.m.
Although the IHSAA Class A sectional field was realigned this season, the Lady Panthers are the only defending champion in Sectional 52. In fact, they have won nine sectional titles in a row and are just two away from tying Pike Central’s state record of 11 sectional titles in a row gained from 1988-98.
. “Everyone figures Pioneer is the team to beat again, but I like our chances as well,” Caston coach Tim McCready said. “We’ve had some problems, but we’ve been working on things and improving as the season has gone along.”
Beau Wicker can be contacted at (574)732-5113 or via e-mail at beau.wicker@pharostribune.com