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Cougars seek to avenge another loss in regional rematch with Cascade
BAINBRIDGE — The win over South Vermillion in the championship game of IHSAA Softball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 was a cathartic release for North Putnam, ending a 17-year wait for a sectional title as well as ending the season of the team that had defeated the Cougars in their past three postseasons.
It was a win that saw North Putnam enter a brand new world as the Cougars travel to Cascade Tuesday with a IHSAA Softball Class 2A Regional title on the line.
As practice resumed following Wednesday’s win, the players hadn’t come down entirely from the euphoric high that a sectional title brings along with it.
“I’m still kind of on a high about it,” senior Kyndal Brewer said about the win. “Brilye (Schmitz) and I both wake up and watch the video over and over again.
“When we were doing rehearsals for graduation, during breaks, we’d sit there and watch it. This is our life. This team has really worked hard for it.”
Amidst the end of school, graduation and the continuation of post season play, North Putnam will be looking to avenge another heavy loss suffered this season when the Cougars face the 23-4 Cadets for a second time, having lost 9-0 on April 3, the second game of the season for the team.
Cascade held North Putnam to a single hit and though the Cougars were able to add five additional base runners via walks, the team found Grace Gray a difficult puzzle to work out as the sophomore finished 16 strikeouts on the night.
Getting back to the right state to play the Cadets has come with a new set of challenges for the team in the days leading up to the regional.
“It’s definitely been weird,” senior Karyssa Miller said. “Now, our days are open and we’re waiting for practice to come.
“We don’t know quite what to do with our time right now.”
“Yes, it’s weird,” Schmitz added. “We’ve never practiced since we’ve gotten out of school before.
“We’re more focused than we were before sectionals. After the sectional win, we finally believe that we can win pretty much every game.”
North Putnam head coach Kerry Roussey said practices run for about an hour at this point in the season.
“It’s all mental at this point,” Roussey said. “We practiced (Thursday) mainly to just get the girls back together.
“We were in a euphoric atmosphere from Wednesday and we needed to bring the girls back down a bit. It’s all mental and about building confidence.
“We know we were beat by (Cascade) 9-0 last time we played them,” Roussey added. “We also know we didn’t play very well, so we have those things going for us.
“We just need to keep the team atmosphere. Right now, there are 16 teams left in the state of Indiana and it’s whoever is hot, whoever comes out and plays their game and as long as the other team doesn’t take them off their game, they’re going to be successful.”
Navigating graduation weekend was another item the Cougars have had to deal with, a hectic time for many with plenty of family and friends to see, parties to attend and the realization that school is over sets in.
Balancing the two sides can be tough but the seniors believed the chance for a regional title would keep everyone locked in on the task at hand.
“Practices are keeping us focused and we keep talking to one another about what we need to do to get ready for the game,” senior Ashlynn Stacks said. “We’re all really excited, especially since it’s our senior year. It’s been fun.”
“We won’t have a problem with getting lazy because of how bad we all want it,” senior Emma Williams added. “All of us seniors have been in a sectional final before and lost, so being in touching distance of a regional is enough to keep us from going, ‘Oh, I’m graduating and have a whole summer of being lazy before I go back.’”
Before the season started, winning the sectional may have been enough for the six seniors to ride off into the sunset with.
After having actually won the sectional, however, just one title doesn’t seem enough anymore.
“At the beginning of the season, we came in after losing to South Vermillion in sectionals twice in a row and said as long as we beat them and win a sectional, we’re happy and we don’t care about anything after that,” senior Kylie Rust said. “When we won the sectional, we all got on the bus and said we want more now.
“We’ve had a taste of victory and now I don’t think anything is going to stop us from wanting a regional championship.”
Regional play at Cascade begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday and while there are plenty of strong teams still left in the field, Roussey said if the girls played with the same energy they displayed late against South Vermillion, there was plenty left in the tank to keep the ride going.
“We have a tough road ahead of us,” Roussey said. “We’re probably the low man on the totem pole but if we get hot, play well like we did in the sixth and seventh and play like that for seven innings, I don’t think there’s anyone in the state that can touch us.”