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EVANSVILLE — The strongest high school softball tournament in Indiana is back.
The third annual Castle Softball Invitational presented by Peoples Bank arrives April 10-11 at Deaconess Sports Park. Twenty-five teams, with most guaranteed four games across both days, make up one of the stronger fields you'll find this spring. Ten teams are currently ranked in the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana poll – two are defending state champions.
More: 75 high school softball players to watch in Southwestern Indiana in 2026
Single day tickets are $10 with tournament passes at $15. A look at the top teams and players to watch, plus schedule:
It's impressive how good this tournament has become in only three years.
Eight of the top 15 in Class 4A are scheduled to play this weekend including defending state champion No. 2 Crown Point. The rest from this group: No. 1 Penn, No. 4 Floyd Central, No. 6 Brownsburg, No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 12 Fishers, No. 14 Avon and No. 15 Castle. Throw in defending sectional champions Elkhart and Monrovia. Add Logansport, ranked No. 13 in Class 3A, into the mix. Carmel was also receiving votes in the 4A poll last week.
The depth of this field isn't limited to big schools. Tecumseh is the defending Class 2A state champion and ranked No. 1 again behind star pitcher Audrey Seiler. Or how about out-of-state competition? Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) won 25 games last season and returns a handful of Division I athletes. Henderson County (Ky.) was the state runner-up last June, a run which included a victory over Daviess County (Ky.) in the quarterfinals.
The other participants from Southwestern Indiana are Reitz, Wood Memorial, North Posey, Boonville and North.
The amount of individual talent in this event is once again too long and arduous to list. But here are the Division I recruits that are publicly committed or signed, not including rising underclassmen, in alphabetical order.
Mackenzie Bacha, Lincoln-Way East - Louisville; Mia Balta, Lincoln-Way East - Oakland; Ayden Bennett, Henderson County - Evansville; Shelby Bennett, Daviess County - Indiana State; Emma Bruggenschmidt, Castle - Indiana; Sophia Cain, Daviess County - Princeton; Zoey Chavez, Avon - Bowling Green; Kylie Clark, Daviess County - Louisville; Brooke Clayton, Fishers - Butler; Regan Cooper, Avon - Eastern Illinois; Caitlyn Denny, Penn - Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Maggie Grogan, Henderson County - Murray State; Brooklynn Hagerty, Logansport - Texas; Molly Hancock, Daviess County - Liberty; Lily Heath, Avon - Northern Illinois; Maddie Henry, Lincoln-Way East - Penn State; Cassidy Jagielski, Lincoln-Way East - Notre Dame; Ashlyn Kita, Crown Point - DePaul; Jayden Kleiner, Carmel - Michigan; Paige Liezert, Crown Point - Miami (Ohio); Melanie Pfeiffer, Tecumseh - Indiana State; AG Pouge, Brownsburg - Southern Indiana; Kinley Miller, Reitz - Southern Indiana; Annie Newman, Daviess County - Kentucky; Logan Rumble, Penn - Northwestern; Saniya Shields, Henderson County - Southern Indiana; Marissa Silva, Avon - Evansville; Grace Swedarsky, Hamilton Southeastern - Virginia Tech; Addisyn Trackwell, Eastern Hancock - Louisville; Addy Ware, Floyd Central - Florida State (injured).
The field will be split into eight groups of three. Most will play a round-robin schedule at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. CDT on Friday. The final group of games (each team plays twice) on Saturday feature crossover play to be determined by prior results at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. Note: Wood Memorial only plays once.
Here are the opening-round groups:
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What to know for the 3rd annual Castle Softball Invitational
Continue reading...
The third annual Castle Softball Invitational presented by Peoples Bank arrives April 10-11 at Deaconess Sports Park. Twenty-five teams, with most guaranteed four games across both days, make up one of the stronger fields you'll find this spring. Ten teams are currently ranked in the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana poll – two are defending state champions.
More: 75 high school softball players to watch in Southwestern Indiana in 2026
Single day tickets are $10 with tournament passes at $15. A look at the top teams and players to watch, plus schedule:
Top Teams to Watch
It's impressive how good this tournament has become in only three years.
Eight of the top 15 in Class 4A are scheduled to play this weekend including defending state champion No. 2 Crown Point. The rest from this group: No. 1 Penn, No. 4 Floyd Central, No. 6 Brownsburg, No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 12 Fishers, No. 14 Avon and No. 15 Castle. Throw in defending sectional champions Elkhart and Monrovia. Add Logansport, ranked No. 13 in Class 3A, into the mix. Carmel was also receiving votes in the 4A poll last week.
The depth of this field isn't limited to big schools. Tecumseh is the defending Class 2A state champion and ranked No. 1 again behind star pitcher Audrey Seiler. Or how about out-of-state competition? Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) won 25 games last season and returns a handful of Division I athletes. Henderson County (Ky.) was the state runner-up last June, a run which included a victory over Daviess County (Ky.) in the quarterfinals.
The other participants from Southwestern Indiana are Reitz, Wood Memorial, North Posey, Boonville and North.
Top Players to Watch
The amount of individual talent in this event is once again too long and arduous to list. But here are the Division I recruits that are publicly committed or signed, not including rising underclassmen, in alphabetical order.
Mackenzie Bacha, Lincoln-Way East - Louisville; Mia Balta, Lincoln-Way East - Oakland; Ayden Bennett, Henderson County - Evansville; Shelby Bennett, Daviess County - Indiana State; Emma Bruggenschmidt, Castle - Indiana; Sophia Cain, Daviess County - Princeton; Zoey Chavez, Avon - Bowling Green; Kylie Clark, Daviess County - Louisville; Brooke Clayton, Fishers - Butler; Regan Cooper, Avon - Eastern Illinois; Caitlyn Denny, Penn - Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Maggie Grogan, Henderson County - Murray State; Brooklynn Hagerty, Logansport - Texas; Molly Hancock, Daviess County - Liberty; Lily Heath, Avon - Northern Illinois; Maddie Henry, Lincoln-Way East - Penn State; Cassidy Jagielski, Lincoln-Way East - Notre Dame; Ashlyn Kita, Crown Point - DePaul; Jayden Kleiner, Carmel - Michigan; Paige Liezert, Crown Point - Miami (Ohio); Melanie Pfeiffer, Tecumseh - Indiana State; AG Pouge, Brownsburg - Southern Indiana; Kinley Miller, Reitz - Southern Indiana; Annie Newman, Daviess County - Kentucky; Logan Rumble, Penn - Northwestern; Saniya Shields, Henderson County - Southern Indiana; Marissa Silva, Avon - Evansville; Grace Swedarsky, Hamilton Southeastern - Virginia Tech; Addisyn Trackwell, Eastern Hancock - Louisville; Addy Ware, Floyd Central - Florida State (injured).
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What is the schedule?
The field will be split into eight groups of three. Most will play a round-robin schedule at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. CDT on Friday. The final group of games (each team plays twice) on Saturday feature crossover play to be determined by prior results at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. Note: Wood Memorial only plays once.
Here are the opening-round groups:
- Pool A - Hamilton Southeastern, Tecumseh, Reitz
- Pool B - Carmel, Floyd Central, Crown Point, Wood Memorial
- Pool C - Henderson County, Brownsburg, Lincoln-Way East
- Pool D - Penn, Logansport, Daviess County
- Pool E - Castle, Fishers, Eastern Hancock
- Pool F - Columbus North, Monrovia, North Posey
- Pool G - Boonville, Avon, Bedford North Lawrence
- Pool H - North, Elkhart, Shelbyville
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What to know for the 3rd annual Castle Softball Invitational
Continue reading...
