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NEWBURGH — Lily Greenwell had zero clue on the location of the softball.
Her first instinct, and the correct one, was to sprint out of the batter's box on contact. Not even as Greenwell burned past second base did it occur that the ball was sitting 15 feet beyond the right field wall at Lockyear Field. It took seeing her teammates spill out of the dugout for everything to finally click.
That swing won the Class 4A regional championship.
More: Six Evansville-area baseball teams win IHSAA sectional championships
No. 13 Castle defeated Seymour 5-4 on Tuesday, June 2, to earn its seventh regional title in program history. This one, highlighted by Greenwell's walk-off bomb, will be towards the top of the list.
The Knights (23-6-1) move on to face No. 5 Center Grove in the semi-state semifinal this Saturday, June 6 at noon CT at Bedford North Lawrence.
"We didn't quit," Castle coach Pat Lockyear said. "We were struggling the whole game and managed to get some runs there at the end. All fight in our kids."
Castle was two outs from its season ending on its home field. First came an infield single by Danielle Neel. Then stepped in Greenwell. The only idea germinating in her mind was "hit something as hard as I can." She fouled the first pitch over the home dugout. The second was lasered over the outfield wall.
Greenwell ran at such a pace around the bases that she nearly beat her teammates to home plate. The senior finished 3-for-4 in the regional, including an RBI double in the first inning.
Nothing may ever beat her final swing at Lockyear Field.
"I was so nervous," Greenwell said. "I just wanted to do it for my team, because we can't end here. Being a senior, you just gotta take a leadership role and do what you can with it."
This moment is amplified considering it was Greenwell who made the play. She struggled to find a spot in the lineup, partly due to talented classes ahead and her own effectiveness at the plate, in past years.
The player who stepped into the box against Seymour, really since game one this season? A complete revelation.
The senior is second for the Knights with a .532 average, boasts a team-high 32 RBIs and has produced 14 extra-base hits. Greenwell elevated her game in ways that surprised those in her own program. It enabled the Knights to stitch together a lineup averaging 9.1 runs per game.
Lockyear used to harp on her during on-field batting practice because of her insistence on swinging for the fence. He'll never say another word.
"It just evolved that way," Lockyear said. "This year she showed a lot of power. She was very aggressive and swings the bat really hard. Her exit velocity is phenomenal. I'm not even surprised at the home run. She's hit the ball that hard all year."
It nearly didn't occur because of how the championship played out. Seymour built a 3-1 lead through aggressive play and several Castle mistakes. Case in point was the final out of the fifth. Emma Bruggenschmidt scored on a wild pitch before the ball got away from Seymour pitcher Taylor Stuckwisch covering the plate. Greenwell attempted to sprint home past year but was tagged out by another infielder.
More: Castle softball completes 3-peat with 4A sectional championship victory
Everything started to flip the next time up. Maddie Rose sent a 2-2 pitch into the parking lot, hitting the top of car, to knot the scoreboard at 3-3. The Owls countered in the seventh with a two-out double by Mackenzie Bryson to retake the lead.
Castle needed to dig deep again to earn a spot in the semi-state, leading to Greenwell's heroics.
"We didn't want this to be our last game," Rose said. "We told ourselves to pipe up all the energy and do what we knew how to do. I was telling myself to go back to my old mechanics (on the home run) that I've known since I was little. Trust my hands and let it loose.
"(Greenwell) came into her spot and did what she needed to do. It was just amazing. It was beautiful."
Seymour (16-11) had five players register two hits apiece in its first regional appearance. Most of the damage came early before Castle subbed in pitcher Ella Pickard. The junior allowed only two hits with two strikeouts over the final three innings.
The Knights now journey to Bedford for the second time in three years. The path starts with No. 5 Center Grove, who run-ruled No. 12 Brownsburg. A victory could result in a meeting with No. 10 Terre Haute North, who hasn't lost since April 11, for a spot at Purdue University.
Castle has a few days to finalize the next step. It's only possible though because of the fight shown with the season on the line. Nor does it occur without Greenwell connecting on a swing that left the softball complex buzzing long after the ball landed in the grass behind the wall.
A moment with few comparisons in recent memory for the Knights.
"We managed to fight through not really playing well," Lockyear said. "Scratched some runs there in the fifth and sixth. Then they got a run. Total respect for (Seymour). They absolutely played to win. There was no fear. It was a fight the entire game. That's the way these games are this time of year."
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Castle softball wins IHSAA regional championship on walk-off home run
Continue reading...
Her first instinct, and the correct one, was to sprint out of the batter's box on contact. Not even as Greenwell burned past second base did it occur that the ball was sitting 15 feet beyond the right field wall at Lockyear Field. It took seeing her teammates spill out of the dugout for everything to finally click.
That swing won the Class 4A regional championship.
More: Six Evansville-area baseball teams win IHSAA sectional championships
No. 13 Castle defeated Seymour 5-4 on Tuesday, June 2, to earn its seventh regional title in program history. This one, highlighted by Greenwell's walk-off bomb, will be towards the top of the list.
The Knights (23-6-1) move on to face No. 5 Center Grove in the semi-state semifinal this Saturday, June 6 at noon CT at Bedford North Lawrence.
"We didn't quit," Castle coach Pat Lockyear said. "We were struggling the whole game and managed to get some runs there at the end. All fight in our kids."
Castle was two outs from its season ending on its home field. First came an infield single by Danielle Neel. Then stepped in Greenwell. The only idea germinating in her mind was "hit something as hard as I can." She fouled the first pitch over the home dugout. The second was lasered over the outfield wall.
Greenwell ran at such a pace around the bases that she nearly beat her teammates to home plate. The senior finished 3-for-4 in the regional, including an RBI double in the first inning.
Nothing may ever beat her final swing at Lockyear Field.
"I was so nervous," Greenwell said. "I just wanted to do it for my team, because we can't end here. Being a senior, you just gotta take a leadership role and do what you can with it."
This moment is amplified considering it was Greenwell who made the play. She struggled to find a spot in the lineup, partly due to talented classes ahead and her own effectiveness at the plate, in past years.
The player who stepped into the box against Seymour, really since game one this season? A complete revelation.
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The senior is second for the Knights with a .532 average, boasts a team-high 32 RBIs and has produced 14 extra-base hits. Greenwell elevated her game in ways that surprised those in her own program. It enabled the Knights to stitch together a lineup averaging 9.1 runs per game.
Lockyear used to harp on her during on-field batting practice because of her insistence on swinging for the fence. He'll never say another word.
"It just evolved that way," Lockyear said. "This year she showed a lot of power. She was very aggressive and swings the bat really hard. Her exit velocity is phenomenal. I'm not even surprised at the home run. She's hit the ball that hard all year."
It nearly didn't occur because of how the championship played out. Seymour built a 3-1 lead through aggressive play and several Castle mistakes. Case in point was the final out of the fifth. Emma Bruggenschmidt scored on a wild pitch before the ball got away from Seymour pitcher Taylor Stuckwisch covering the plate. Greenwell attempted to sprint home past year but was tagged out by another infielder.
More: Castle softball completes 3-peat with 4A sectional championship victory
Everything started to flip the next time up. Maddie Rose sent a 2-2 pitch into the parking lot, hitting the top of car, to knot the scoreboard at 3-3. The Owls countered in the seventh with a two-out double by Mackenzie Bryson to retake the lead.
Castle needed to dig deep again to earn a spot in the semi-state, leading to Greenwell's heroics.
"We didn't want this to be our last game," Rose said. "We told ourselves to pipe up all the energy and do what we knew how to do. I was telling myself to go back to my old mechanics (on the home run) that I've known since I was little. Trust my hands and let it loose.
"(Greenwell) came into her spot and did what she needed to do. It was just amazing. It was beautiful."
You must be registered for see images attach
Seymour (16-11) had five players register two hits apiece in its first regional appearance. Most of the damage came early before Castle subbed in pitcher Ella Pickard. The junior allowed only two hits with two strikeouts over the final three innings.
The Knights now journey to Bedford for the second time in three years. The path starts with No. 5 Center Grove, who run-ruled No. 12 Brownsburg. A victory could result in a meeting with No. 10 Terre Haute North, who hasn't lost since April 11, for a spot at Purdue University.
Castle has a few days to finalize the next step. It's only possible though because of the fight shown with the season on the line. Nor does it occur without Greenwell connecting on a swing that left the softball complex buzzing long after the ball landed in the grass behind the wall.
A moment with few comparisons in recent memory for the Knights.
"We managed to fight through not really playing well," Lockyear said. "Scratched some runs there in the fifth and sixth. Then they got a run. Total respect for (Seymour). They absolutely played to win. There was no fear. It was a fight the entire game. That's the way these games are this time of year."
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Castle softball wins IHSAA regional championship on walk-off home run
Continue reading...
