By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
INDIANAPOLIS – Those special moments in sport where athletes make heroic plays are a case of preparation and focus meeting opportunity. Let’s face it: All of us dreamed when we were little about growing up to make the winning shot or get the winning hit in the game that sent our team to a championship.
In reality, few of us ever get the opportunity to make that kind of play, and even fewer are successful if the opportunity does come along. Well, consider Megan Mitchell of Harrison (West Lafayette) among the fortunate few.
The senior infielder blasted a grand slam home run with two out in the sixth inning June 12 to propel the 15th-ranked Raiders (25-7) past No. 16 Floyd Central and into the Class 4A title game Saturday evening versus fourth-ranked Center Grove. The blast broke open what had been a tense pitching duel for most of the evening at Ben Davis.
The teams traded single runs early in the game, but the offenses then stalled until the fateful sixth. Harrison loaded the bases with nobody out on an error, a single from Ashley Courtney, and a fielder’s choice ground ball off the bat of Jordyn Garrett. Floyd Central attempted to gun down the lead runner at third and failed, leaving everybody safe and the bags stuffed.
It looked as though the Highlanders (23-7-1) would squirm out of the jam. Brooke Jordan hit a sharp bouncer up the middle that was speared, and the throw forced the runner at home. Then, Morgan Stephens grounded into a similar fate.
That brought Mitchell to the plate. The senior sent a rocket over the fence in left-center to give the Raiders their eventual winning margin of 5-1.
After the game, Mitchell told Hoosier Authority it was a case of hard work paying off. She also made it clear the Raiders aren’t satisfied yet. Her comments are in the video player on this page.
Harrison will vie with Center Grove (32-3), which defeated unranked Lowell (23-11) by a 2-1 count in eight innings in the nightcap.
This was a game of wide-ranging emotions for the Trojans. They scored the game’s initial run in the opening frame when Liz Prince reached on a two-out error, went to third on a double by Emily Gwaltney, and scored on a single from Shelby Music. For the remainder of the contest, it looked as though Center Grove was about to break the game open against Lowell hurler Lauren Wells.
Somehow, they just never got it done. Mild threat after mild threat went by the boards as the game progressed. When the Red Devils’ Katherine Allert hit an RBI double in the fourth, the contest was suddenly tied 1-1.
The pitching took control for the rest of regulation. Wells settled down as the game went along, and the Center Grove tandem of starter Sarah Franklin and reliever Gwaltney were outstanding throughout.
Center Grove finally broke through in the top of the eighth, scoring the game’s winning run. It came on an RBI single from senior Brittney Shaner. The ball was not hit hard, but it nestled in the grass between a retreating second baseman and a charging outfield.
Gwaltney pitched an uneventful bottom of the frame to secure the victory.
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