North Putnam’s Emma Williams, South Team sweep SCAI North-South Softball All-Star Games

BLOOMINGTON – It wasn’t quite as close a series as many might have hoped for but Saturday’s Softball Coaches Association of Indiana North-South All-Star Game was a fun day Saturday at Indiana University.

The South Team won both games, winning by scores of 17-6 and 7-2 over the North Team.

North Putnam’s Emma Williams caught two innings in each game and was 2-for-4 on the day with a double, single and run scored.

“Honestly, it was super cool,” Williams said about the event. “It was awesome to see so much talent in one place.

“All of the girls were very nice and it was really awesome to be there. The facilities were nice, even if it was pretty hot and there wasn’t much breeze on the field.”

The players arrived Friday for a team practice and awards banquet before the two-game set on Saturday.

With three Ms. Softball candidates among the pitching staff on the South Team, Williams said she was uncertain of how she would fit in.

“It was honestly nerve racking,” Williams said about arriving for the practice the day before. “I didn’t know what to expect.

“The girls there were all throwing pretty hard and it was really a whole different ballgame honestly. They weren’t necessarily spinning the ball any more than others but they threw way harder than what I’ve seen before.”

With only around two hours to get to know several players and their pitching styles, Williams added there was enough time to get the basics down before getting on to the field.

“I warmed up most of the pitchers but didn’t get together with any of them too much,” Williams said about the preparation for the game. “We went over calls, as I made all the pitch calls during the game, but other than that, we didn’t work together too much until we were out on the field.”

Williams’ first action in game one came in the second inning, a one-out double to the right center field gap, later scoring on a single by Maddi Rutan of Columbus North.

It was the first run of the game for the South Team, cutting into what was a 2-0 lead for the North Team before a three-run home run later in the inning made it 4-2 and the South Team never looked back.

“It was really great,” Williams said about her hit and score. “I was not expecting to get on base, let alone with a double, and it was a big confidence boost.

“It made me feel like I was meant to be there. I knew the hit behind was a hard-hit ball into the gap, so I wasn’t surprised they sent me.”

Williams turned around and caught Rutan in the third inning before catching Bedford North Lawrence’s Annie Waggoner in the fourth inning, with no runs crossing in either inning.

Coming to bat in the fifth, Williams was denied a second hit when a liner back toward the pitcher was knocked down just enough for the infield to recover and get the out at first.

In game two, Williams flew out to center field in her first at bat before hitting a chopping single back up the middle in the fifth inning.

Williams caught Castle’s Brooklyn Ballis in the third inning, another scoreless outing, but ran into some trouble with Waggoner in the fourth as a single, wild pitch and passed ball allowed a run to score.

Waggoner would leave after feeling ill with Rutan returning to the circle. After a sac fly brought a second run in, Rutan retired the next two batters to get out of the jam with the North Team unable to score again.

“In the second game, we were all a little tired and the pitcher in that inning didn’t feel too great; she eventually had to be taken out,” Williams noted. “She wasn’t as accurate as the first game and that threw things off a bit.

“That said, it was pretty cool to see as many pitchers who can throw like they did.”

Aside from the array of talent on the field, including being teammates with Indiana Ms. Softball Keegan Rothrock of Roncalli among several other NCAA Division I commits, Williams said the atmosphere was one that was competitive and enjoyable at the same time and was a confidence boost ahead of heading to Oakland City University in the fall to play softball for the Mighty Oaks.

“It was truly awesome to be there,” Williams said. “I was nervous to go, not knowing anyone outside of their name, and nervous to share a hotel room with people I didn’t know, but it was super fun in the end and all the girls were a lot of fun to be around.

“This definitely gives me a little more confidence heading into college ball later this year.”