Lady Miners close in on state softball crown

By B.J. Hargis The Lady Miners celebrate after a 5-2 win in the Class 2A softball state semifinals Friday night at Indianapolis North Central. [Order this photo]

"The girls came here with one thought in mind and that was to win," Linton-Stockton head coach Jill Flater said. "And now there is just one team standing in their way."

The Miners erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie, which proved to be too big of a hill to climb for the Lady Bearcats.

By B.J. Hargis Lady Miner second baseman Savannah Mason throws out a runner in action Friday night. [Order this photo]

"We hadn't faced that big of a deficit all season," Wheeler head coach Marc Bruner said. "But I was proud that we came back and scored two in the bottom but it was just too much for the girls to overcome."

The Miners proved early that they were not afraid of Bearcats starting pitcher Lanay Parks, who entered the contest with a microscopic 0.05 ERA on the season. The Miners would have at least one runner on base in each of the first four innings before they finally broke through in the fifth, including leaving them loaded in the third inning.

"We knew coming in that she (Parks) was a good pitcher," Flater said. "But we also have a pretty good pitcher on our side that we have faced everaday in practice, so the girls were ready."

By B.J. Hargis Linton-Stockton Head Coach Jill Flater, at right, and assistant coach Troy Church watch some early inning action at the IHSAA Class 2 softball semi-finals Friday in Indianapolis. [Order this photo]

Flater mentioned the girls may have had some jitters in making their first state finals appearance at the beginning of the game as they stranded six runners through the first four innings.

"We have talked all season about making contact and putting pressure on the other teams defense from the beginning," Flater said. "I think the girls came out a little nervous, but after the first few innings you could see them gain more and more confidence."

It looked as if they would up the count to nine runners left on base through five innings but Murray was able to deliver the clutch hit on a full count with two outs.

"I was so nervous going up to the plate," Murray admitted. "I think everyone in the stands could see that I was shaking so bad. But my dad always told me not to think when I am in a pressure situation like that and it paid off this time."

Needless to say she was overcome with joy after breaking the scoreless tie.

"It was the best feeling ever," Murray said. "To get the team started like that is just amazing. There are just so many emotions that I have right now."

Bruner admitted Parks had not been hit as hard as the Miners hit her Friday night all season.

"They (Linton) came out and hit the ball really well tonight," the first year head coach said. "They were definitely one of the better hitting teams we had faced all season."

Stephanie Fougerousse improved her season mark to 17-1 on the season with the complete game two-hitter. The junior fanned nine batters, including the final batter to end the game that sent the Miner faithful into a frenzy.

"We had seen good pitching on the season, but her change-up tonight was just devastating," Bruner said of Fougerousse. "I thought we did pretty well against her fastball, but the change-up was definitely the difference in the game tonight."

Fougerousse battled the last two innings with back spasms, but Flater said she is expected to be starting inside the circle for the championship contest.

"She has battled through that all season, so it's not really a surprise to us," Flater said. "We expect her to be 100 percent ready tomorrow."

Wheeler ended their season with a 27-3 record.

"I am extremely proud of the girls this season," Bruner said. "We were able to accomplish what no other sports team has done at the school. It made it an easy transition for the coaching staff in our first season together.."

The Lady Bearcats were playing without the services of their starting catcher and rightfield, who had combined to produce 30 runs driven in and two home runs for the season.

Darien Huffman, Fougerousse and Samantha Butt recorded the other hits for the Lady Miners.

With the win the Miners broke the school record for wins in a season and are one win away from the schools first ever state title.

"No one expected a little school from Greene County to get this far," Flater said. "This was our dream from the beginning of the season. No team here deserves this more than our girls. We are here to win it all.

The Miners will face the winner of Indianapolis Scecina (27-4) and Madison-Grant (22-6) at 1:30 p.m. at Ben Davis High School.

*Note* There will be a running game blog available on the website throughout the championship game on Saturday.

Linton-Stockton 000 050 0 -- 5 7 1

Wheeler 000 020 0 -- 2 2 4

Stephanie Fougerousse and Hali Murray; Lanay Parks and Caitlyn Herzog. W -- Fougerousse, 17-1. L -- Parks, 20-2. 2B -- Samantha Butt (L).