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Grace Kinkead named Putnam County Softball Player of the Year
There were a few things consistent about North Putnam’s softball program the past few years.
One was the lack of consistency when it came to manager’s seat as there were three different coaches the past four years.
A second was, despite the turnover in the dugout, the upward trajectory of the Cougars, who turned in a winning season for the first time in nearly a decade in 2021 and shot to an 18-8 season in 2022.
A third was having the class of 2022 at its center, a group that finally broke through with a sectional title for North Putnam on the basketball court.
Among those seniors, Grace Kinkead was a pillar for North Putnam in her three years of softball, regardless of where she was posted.
Returning to the circle in 2022, as well as maintaining her new home from the year prior at first base, along with stops in right field, second base, third base and even as an auxiliary catcher, Kinkead was not always the biggest bat but was often at the heart of the big moments the Cougars needed and earned the honor as Putnam County Softball Player of the Year for the 2022 season.
Kinkead hit .488 for the season, topping the charts with 40 hits in 82 at-bats, scoring 32 runs and driving in 20 with nine doubles and a triple.
The senior was a difficult to get the better of, striking out only twice in 92 plate appearances, drawing eight walks and stealing a team-high 19 bases. Kinkead had an on-base percentage of .538, a slugging rate of .621 and an OPS of 1.160.
Despite being a mainstay in three spots, Kinkead only committed three errors in 81 total chances, recording 65 putouts and 13 assists for a .963 fielding percentage.
In the circle, Kinkead had a 2.91 ERA in 17 appearances totaling 55 1/3 innings pitched, allowing 49 hits, 39 runs, 23 earned, 14 walks and four hit batsmen against 39 strikeouts.
Along with being the Putnam County Player of the Year, Kinkead was also earned All-WIC and Third Team All-State honors in Class A/2A from the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana.
Kinkead was a part of a trio of freshman that made waves in 2019 for North Putnam even if the season had a few more bumps in the road than what was to come.
“I came in and started varsity as a freshman, did a lot of pitching but had a minor shoulder injury and had to DH several games at the end of the season,” Kinkead said. “Junior year was a little different with a new coaching staff as I played more first base, a place I hadn’t played a lot before.
“This season there was a different environment. (North Putnam head coach) Kerry Rousey stepped in and helped make a great team environment which helped make it a great year for us.”
With COIVD wiping out her sophomore season, the 2021 season came with a change in the dugout as Chase Hiland stepped down and Lee Minton took charge.
North Putnam was able to break the .500 mark with a 14-12 record by season’s end though Kinkead said there were some struggles during the year.
“It was hard because every time you had a different coach, you didn’t know what the expectations were going in,” Kinkead said about having a different coach each season. “We had a rocky patch to start last season because of people being moved around but we made do with it.
“We weren’t as close as a team early on because we were almost fighting for spots. We eventually came together and had a decent season.
“This year, we had a different coach again but we had almost the same team coming back, which made us grow stronger,” Kinkead added. “We knew we could come together no matter who was coaching and that helped us form a bond as a team.”
Rousey said Kinkead was the kind of player every coach wanted to have in the lineup.
“(Grace) led us in hitting and moved up the order as the season went along, starting in the back of the order, working to the middle, up to the two-spot and eventually the three hole,” Rousey said. “She was our most consistent player and consistency is the key.
“She may not have been the MVP of every game but she was consistently among our best players every game. She hit safely in all but one game and while she was not a home run hitter, her consistency at the plate was key.
“Defensively, she pitched after effectively sitting out her junior year in the circle and, whenever we had an injury, she was quick to fill in,” Rousey added. “She played in five positions this year, warmed up our pitchers and we wish her the best at Franklin next year.”
The Cougars were half an inning from winning a sectional title in 2021 before falling 5-2 to South Vermillion in the final, a heavy motivating factor going into the 2022 season according to Kinkead.
“We started open gyms later as we had a new coach again,” Kinkead said. “We were upset about the way the season ended last year after having the sectional in the palm of our hands, so we had the drive that we wanted.
“Our indoor practices were very intense and we felt pretty good going into the season.”
While Kinkead had pitched some during the 2021 season, she was mostly stationed at first base but was told early on by Rousey she was getting back into the rotation for her senior season.
“I never really quit pitching as I still pitched for my travel ball team,” Kinkead noted. “I got used to playing at first last year as I wanted to step and play for the team.
“When coach Rousey told me he wanted me to pitch, I was excited to be back in the circle and was feeling good.”
Rousey was impressed with the way Kinkead handled moving back into the circle despite the other two members of the staff, Kyndal Brewer and Karyssa Miller, also returning.
“Even though she had pitched before, she had two counterparts on the staff and had to work her butt off to get in the rotation and did that,” Rousey said. “She’s a good kid, a hard-working kid, a smart kid and the ideal athlete that coaches love to have.”
North Putnam started the 2022 season far smoother than in 2021, putting together a 4-2 start as opposed to the 2-5 start from the year prior heading into the Putnam County Championship.
“We came out a lot stronger than the previous season,” Kinkead said. “I compare us a lot to last year because we were effectively the same team, having the whole season prior to come together and be a team.
“The losses we had early we could have pulled out later in the year as we were adjusting to some things. We played to a pretty high potential but still built on that throughout the season.”
The confidence the Cougars had was shaken a bit in what would turn into the game of the 2022 season as Greencastle came out swinging in the opening game of the county tournament and despite two comebacks from North Putnam, the Tiger Cubs would win a 15-14 thriller and eventually the county title.
“It was very surprising that we lost,” Kinkead said about the county tournament. “We learned we couldn’t assume that we would beat teams just because we beat them in the past.
“We also couldn’t lay off of teams; we had to go out and play to the best of our ability even if it might be an easy game. It was an, ‘Oh, crap,’ sort of feeling. We would beat (Greencastle) in the regular season but we should have won the county title game.”
The Cougars took the loss to heart, finishing the remainder of the regular season 13-4 and 8-2 in WIC play, finishing tied for second in the conference standings with West Vigo, whom the team beat 3-2, only trailing WIC champions Sullivan.
North Putnam won six of its final seven games heading into postseason play, the only loss to Riverton Parke, a squad that won a sectional title in 2022, and handled Parke Heritage in the first round of sectional play, only to fall to hosts South Vermillion in the semifinal, a team that reached the Class 2A semistate final in 2022.
“I felt really good about the team going into sectionals,” Kinkead said. “We got closer this year and had a stronger bond than in previous years.
“We were pumped going into sectionals after a really good week of practice going in. Us coming together made us ready for sectionals and made us a better team on and off the field.”
Though the loss ended the season, Kinkead felt good about not only the team’s progress but her own play over the course of the year.
“We had a great season overall, worked hard, came out with a winning record and more wins than in the previous season,” Kinkead said. “We also came out of it closer friends outside of softball.
“I talk to everyone, even if I might not have done so before. Our underclassmen are also ready for vengeance next year.
“I reached all of my goals for the season,” Kinkead added. “I had my best batting average in my high school career, which is something I strived for, got the pitching and playing time I was looking for, made the All-Conference team, the All-County team and being Player of the Year is a goal of mine throughout my high school career.
“I grew as a player this year and our coaching staff was really wonderful. I felt confident going out onto the field and that’s a big thing for me, to have had the confidence to succeed this season.”
Rousey added that Kinkead’s demeanor was what drove North Putnam forward throughout the season and never let up at any point.
“Grace was great this season,” Rousey said. “Her confidence level kept growing and her talent got to show as a result.
“Early on, everyone has the fear of making mistakes but she overcame that quickly and was always playing to win. She believed in herself and it didn’t matter whether we were up or down, she had a never-quit attitude which rubbed off on others and was the foundation for our attitude this year.”
Despite only having three seniors in the lineup full time, Rousey said it would be hard to replace the trio, much like it would be in other sports for the Cougars.
“All the girls complimented each other,” Rousey said of his senior group. “We had four seniors, three of which had a lot of time on the field, were four-year letter winners and it’s a big loss to lose all of them as they complimented each other.
“Ashley (Weir) was a great lead-off, Grace maintained the attitude we took on and Kyla (Willis) grinds and claws to win. All three were competitive kids and they rubbed off on the others the value of hard work and never quitting.”
Kinkead, for her part, said she hoped the returning players understood that a team pulling in the same direction was the best one they could be in the future.
“I would say the way this team came together this past year,” Kinkead said about what she and the seniors left behind. “Even the underclassmen saw that when we came together as a team, we had a better season and most of the time the attitude we had, how we acted and the work we put in showed whenever we were on the field.
“The people who worked the hardest and had the best attitude played; it was not always about talent. That was the main thing we wanted the underclassmen to see, that having a good attitude about things helped our record.”
Kinkead, who will be playing at Franklin College in the 2022-23 school year as a utility player for the Grizzlies, said despite the constant changes, she was happy with how her time at North Putnam went on the softball diamond.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” Kinkead said. “It was a challenge to have different coaching staffs every year but I made a lot of close relationships with some people I might not otherwise have and it was a great experience to work with new coaches and teammates.”