State of euphoria - Post-Tribune

SOFTBALL

State of euphoria

Smith breaks scoreless tie with dramatic go-ahead run in 9th as Crown Point wins state title

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Crown Point pitcher Paige Liezert, center, reacts as she receives the trophy after defeating Center Grove.

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Crown Point’s Lexi Smith, right, celebrates after scoring the first run of the Class 4A state championship game against Center Grove in the top of the ninth inning at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette on Saturday. Andy Lavalley/ Post-Tribune photos

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By Michael Osipoff Post-Tribune

WEST LAFAYETTE — Crown Point senior Lexi Smith was not going to be denied in the Class 4A state championship game on Saturday.

Not by split-seconds. Not by precarious predicaments. Not by weather.

So the Marian commit hustled home on junior left fielder Nevaeh Rangel’s flyout in the ninth inning, trying to break a scoreless tie.

“It was crazy,” Smith said. “At first I slid, and (the umpire) obviously called me out, and I really thought I was in there.

“Then I got up, and the ball was behind me, and I stood on the plate and looked at her, and she said I was safe. Then I was just jumping up and down.”

Smith’s go-ahead run backed a dominant performance by junior ace Paige Liezert as the Bulldogs edged Center Grove 2-0 at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium to win the state title in a game that was suspended due to weather on Friday.

Crown Point coach Angie Richwalski said it was a “giant breath of air and a relief all at once” when Smith scored. Richwalski, who said Smith would be the No. 1 pitcher on virtually any other team and was serving as the designated player, wasn’t surprised she made things happen.

“I don’t think we get through semistate without her,” Richwalski said. “That two-games-in-one-day format is tough. She was throwing to our hitters during the week in order to help them prepare for the change-up as well. Wednesday, if you would’ve seen the way we were hitting, you didn’t know how this game would go because she’s that good. She was striking our own batters out with a change-up they knew was coming and have seen her throw a million times.

“Her speed on the bases is a huge factor. As we see, she’s the knock-it-open run, just being fast and being athletic and knowing she was going to put it all on the line to get that run across.”Rangel made it possible with her sacrifice fly to center field. Freshman shortstop Lulu Johnston followed with a single that scored junior third baseman Ashlyn Kita as Crown Point (31-4) took control against the tradition-rich Trojans (26-4), who have won a state-best seven championships.

“When I was up to bat, I was just trying to get a run in — a sacrifice fly, a base hit,” Rangel said.

The two runs were more than enough for Liezert, an Illinois-Chicago commit who scattered four hits, walked two and struck out 16.

“My poor little pitcher who had to go the whole time with the nerves on her face,” Richwalski said. “She did phenomenal, and we knew our hitters would come through eventually as long as we could keep it 0-0 long enough. It’s what we’ve been doing all season.

“She’s a great kid. She doesn’t even know how good she is. You see the nerves on her face. That’s because she’s not sure. But we are all sure behind her. That feeds into getting through those tough moments, that she has such a good defense behind her. She’s a phenom, man.”

Liezert escaped bases-loaded jams in the third and the eighth, setting the stage for the ninth.

“Knowing that my defense has my back no matter what, that’s a peace of mind,” she said. “I was definitely stressed out. I had to focus on my mechanics and know what I could do, working deep within myself to get that last out and knowing my team would have my back.

“I just needed to get that last out. It worked out. It was pretty exciting.”

Smith, who went 11-2 with a 2.59 ERA this season and entered the game batting .411 with 33 runs scored, certainly appreciates what Liezert did.

“I cannot imagine the stress she was going through,” Smith said. “I know as a pitcher I would be freaking out. Paige has been through those situations so many times this postseason, and she’s done a great job. I admire her for it.”

Richwalski became the second person to win a state title in softball as both a player and a coach. She was a sophomore on Lake Central’s 2004 state championship team. She joins Beth Zachary, who won the 2001 3A title as a player for Castle and won the 2023 4A title as Penn’s coach.

Richwalski said the suspension of the game in the second inning Friday helped her team.

“We are so happy that we came back,” she said. “For whatever reason, Friday the 13th, whatever it was, we all felt off last night. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt good. Then we got the rain delay, and we came back this morning.

“We got to go home. We did everything that we normally do. All the big awards stuff was out of the way, and we just showed up. They put on different uniforms because they didn’t like the uniforms they had on yesterday. We felt so much better today. They came in relaxed and ready to go.”

Smith is one of just four seniors on the Bulldogs’ roster. Three of them started in the state championship game.

“I feel like since the beginning of the season we felt like we had the ability to do this,” Smith said. “All of us have great team chemistry and such a great bond. We did it for our team. We all had each other’s backs.

“Honestly, I’ve had my ups and downs this season. We all know that. But I always want what’s best for our team, and if Paige is the one who’s doing it for us pitching, I just contribute in the way I can, which is hitting. Whatever I can do to contribute, that’s what I’ll do.”