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EVANSVILLE — Deaconess Sports Park might be host to the strongest high school softball tournament in Indiana this weekend.
The second annual Castle Softball Invitational presented by Peoples Bank returns on Friday and Saturday with 24 teams guaranteed to play six games across two days. Thirteen are currently ranked in the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana poll – four are defending state champions.
More: 70 high school softball players to watch in Southwestern Indiana in 2025
Yeah, the field is that good.
The cost is $10 per day or $15 for the weekend. Here is a look at the top teams and players to watch, plus schedule:
If there is a deeper field in Indiana this season, please point me in its direction.
Ten of the top 15 in Class 4A are scheduled to play this weekend including defending state champion No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern. The rest from this group: No. 5 Zionsville, No. 6 Floyd Central, No. 7 Avon, No. 8 Penn, No. 9 Castle, No. 10 Brownsburg, No. 12 Crown Point, No. 13 New Prairie and No. 15 Fishers. These rosters include some of the top pitchers in Indiana.
That's just the big schools. Cascade won the 2A state title last year – the Cadets moved up a class because of the success factor but returned the bulk of their roster. Tecumseh and Eastern Hancock are both ranked in the top five in 2A. Saint Charles North and Henderson County were both state champions in Illinois and Kentucky, respectively.
The other participants from Southwestern Indiana are Boonville, Jasper, and North.
The amount of individual talent in this event would be too long and arduous to list. But here are the Division I recruits that are publicly known, not including rising underclassmen, in alphabetical order. Note: Louisville commit Addisyn Trackwell of Eastern Hancock is currently injured.
Aubrey Baker, Castle - Middle Tennessee State; Emma Bruggenschmidt, Castle - Indiana; Ava Geyer, New Prairie - Western Michigan; Kendall Graves, Bedford North Lawrence - Butler; Grace Gray, Cascade - Ball State; Molly Hancock, Daviess County - Iowa; Zeah Helton, Zionsville - Indiana; Lily Heath, Avon - Northern Illinois; Anna Kemp, Henderson - Southern Indiana; Ashlyn Kita, Crown Point - DePaul; Jayden Kleiner, Carmel - Michigan; Paige Liezert, Crown Point - Illinois-Chicago; Katelyn Marx, Tecumseh - Southern Indiana; Kate Murray, Fishers - Butler; Izzy Neal, Brownsburg - Ohio State; Riley Nelson, Edwardsville - Saint Louis; Annie Newman, Daviess County - Kentucky; Mackenzie Patterson, St. Charles North - Loyola; Peyton Pryor, Boonville - Southern Indiana; Ava Ratliff, Bedford North Lawrence - Auburn; Olivia Signorino, Penn - Toledo; Addison Stieneker, Shelbyville - Marshall; Grace Swedarsky, Hamilton Southeastern - Virginia Tech; Addy Ware, Floyd Central - Florida State; Ava Zachary, Penn: Notre Dame; Abby Zawadzki, St. Charles North - Ole Miss.
The field will be split into six groups of three. They'll play a round-robin schedule at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. CDT on Friday. The one exception is Pool H will have its third game at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The final three games will feature crossover play to be determined by prior results at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. depending on the group.
Here are the opening-round groups:
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA softball: Castle Invitational returns to Decaoness Park
Continue reading...
The second annual Castle Softball Invitational presented by Peoples Bank returns on Friday and Saturday with 24 teams guaranteed to play six games across two days. Thirteen are currently ranked in the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana poll – four are defending state champions.
More: 70 high school softball players to watch in Southwestern Indiana in 2025
Yeah, the field is that good.
The cost is $10 per day or $15 for the weekend. Here is a look at the top teams and players to watch, plus schedule:
Top Teams to Watch
If there is a deeper field in Indiana this season, please point me in its direction.
Ten of the top 15 in Class 4A are scheduled to play this weekend including defending state champion No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern. The rest from this group: No. 5 Zionsville, No. 6 Floyd Central, No. 7 Avon, No. 8 Penn, No. 9 Castle, No. 10 Brownsburg, No. 12 Crown Point, No. 13 New Prairie and No. 15 Fishers. These rosters include some of the top pitchers in Indiana.
That's just the big schools. Cascade won the 2A state title last year – the Cadets moved up a class because of the success factor but returned the bulk of their roster. Tecumseh and Eastern Hancock are both ranked in the top five in 2A. Saint Charles North and Henderson County were both state champions in Illinois and Kentucky, respectively.
The other participants from Southwestern Indiana are Boonville, Jasper, and North.
Top Players to Watch
The amount of individual talent in this event would be too long and arduous to list. But here are the Division I recruits that are publicly known, not including rising underclassmen, in alphabetical order. Note: Louisville commit Addisyn Trackwell of Eastern Hancock is currently injured.
Aubrey Baker, Castle - Middle Tennessee State; Emma Bruggenschmidt, Castle - Indiana; Ava Geyer, New Prairie - Western Michigan; Kendall Graves, Bedford North Lawrence - Butler; Grace Gray, Cascade - Ball State; Molly Hancock, Daviess County - Iowa; Zeah Helton, Zionsville - Indiana; Lily Heath, Avon - Northern Illinois; Anna Kemp, Henderson - Southern Indiana; Ashlyn Kita, Crown Point - DePaul; Jayden Kleiner, Carmel - Michigan; Paige Liezert, Crown Point - Illinois-Chicago; Katelyn Marx, Tecumseh - Southern Indiana; Kate Murray, Fishers - Butler; Izzy Neal, Brownsburg - Ohio State; Riley Nelson, Edwardsville - Saint Louis; Annie Newman, Daviess County - Kentucky; Mackenzie Patterson, St. Charles North - Loyola; Peyton Pryor, Boonville - Southern Indiana; Ava Ratliff, Bedford North Lawrence - Auburn; Olivia Signorino, Penn - Toledo; Addison Stieneker, Shelbyville - Marshall; Grace Swedarsky, Hamilton Southeastern - Virginia Tech; Addy Ware, Floyd Central - Florida State; Ava Zachary, Penn: Notre Dame; Abby Zawadzki, St. Charles North - Ole Miss.
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What is the schedule?
The field will be split into six groups of three. They'll play a round-robin schedule at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. CDT on Friday. The one exception is Pool H will have its third game at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The final three games will feature crossover play to be determined by prior results at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. depending on the group.
Here are the opening-round groups:
- Pool A - Castle, Zionsville, Cascade
- Pool B - Hamilton Southeastern, Edwardsville, Daviess County
- Pool C - Henderson County, Floyd Central, Eastern Hancock
- Pool D - Penn, Saint Charles North, Avon
- Pool E - Tecumseh, Brownsburg, Shelbyville
- Pool F - New Prairie, Fishers, Boonville
- Pool G - Jasper, Carmel, Bedford North Lawrence
- Pool H - Livingston Central, North, Crown Point
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA softball: Castle Invitational returns to Decaoness Park
Continue reading...
