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Schmitz grand slam punctuates 10-run third as Cougars rout Wolves
CLINTON – After a week of no games, North Putnam needed to be patient just a little bit longer at the start of IHSAA Softball Class 2A Sectional No. 44’s second game against Parke Heritage.
The first meeting between the two teams had ended 15-11 with the Cougars having to rally from an early deficit, but no rally was needed Monday night as a 10-run third inning, capped by a Brilye Schmitz grand slam, was enough in an 11-1 win over the Wolves in five innings.
“We haven’t played in a week, so we’re happy with tonight’s performance,” North Putnam head coach Kerry Rousey said. “That said, we know we’re going to need our A-game (Tuesday) night.
“Parke Heritage is a good team but it was our night, not theirs. At this point, we’ll take any win we can get and keep moving on.”
A straight-forward first 1 1/2 innings was ended with North Putnam striking first as a Samie Hoops double plated Kendyl Brewer for a 1-0 lead.
Parke Heritage responded in kind in the top of the third as Abbi Henderson doubled with two outs and came in on a Kailyn McKinney single to tie the game at 1-1.
The Cougars struggled in the first two innings laying off Emma Norman’s rise ball and high strikes but that changed in the bottom of the third after Grace Kinkead doubled with one out and Schmitz singled.
Emma Williams drew a walk on five pitched and Brewer singled to plate a run to retake the lead at 2-1.
Karyssa Miller was able to work a walk to force home a run while Kyla Willis hit a ball to deep center field that hung up enough for only one run to safely score.
A quick punch out made it two outs but Ashlynn Stacks and Ashley Weir both worked walks to make it 6-1 before a grounder off the bat of Kinkead evaded both left sided infielders and brought home a sixth run in the inning.
Schmitz’s return trip lasted one pitch as the junior crushed a ball to center field for a grand slam and an 11-1 Cougar lead.
In total, North Putnam would send 14 batters to the dish, forcing 46 pitches out of Norman through 12 batters.
“We wanted to lay off the high stuff,” Rousey said about plate discipline as the game went on. “We knew they wanted to come in high and inside and we bit on it a bit, popping up and striking out early.
“We just had some patience and it paid off. (Norman’s) control got a little off but it helped our decision making a little bit.”
Kinkead, meanwhile, rolled through the Parke Heritage lineup the in the fourth and Brewer closed things out in the fifth to settle the game and secure advancement to Tuesday’s semifinal round.
North Putnam will face four-time defending sectional champions South Vermillion in the second semifinal Tuesday, a contest that would have been previewed last week until weather forced the game to be cancelled.
It is also the same Wildcats that tore the 2021 sectional title away from the Cougars and reached the semistate, one Rousey
“We just have to play our game,” Rouse said. “I still think we’re the better team, we just have to go out and play our game.
“We were a little rusty tonight but in the third inning, we came alive and had some crucial hits. We got runners on, which is our style, and then we get the big hit.
“Schmitz had the big hit that put the nail in the coffin tonight,” Rousey added. “We need that tomorrow night, to have timely hits and be aggressive.”
Parke Heritage 001 00 — 1 4 1
North Putnam 01(10) 0X — 11 10 1
WP — Kinkead 4 IP, 3 H, R, 3 K
LP — Norman 2 2/3 IP, 8 H, 11 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 6 K
GS — Schmitz
2B — Henderson; Kinkead, Hoops
RBI — McKinney; Schmitz (4), Weir, Brewer, miller, Willis, Hoops, Stacks