INDIANAPOLIS — Hauser realized the importance of getting out to an early lead at Indianapolis Lutheran in Tuesday’s softball regional.
The Jets did exactly that, and the way Tessa Sims was pitching, it was a formula for success. Sims threw a two-hitter to lead Hauser to a 4-0 win for its third regional title in four years.
“That’s what we wanted,” Tessa Sims said. “We wanted to come out strong at the beginning and score a run in the first, and that’s what we did, so that helped out. We just wanted to put pressure on them, and defensively, we know we can play with a lead and we’re more comfortable.”
The Class A No. 7 Jets (21-5) move on to Saturday’s North Daviess Semistate, where they will face No. 8 North Central (Farmersburg) in the second semifinal at around 1 p.m. The semistate final will be at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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Tuesday, Hauser jumped on Lutheran from the beginning. Sydney Schoen doubled with one out in the first, went to third on a fly ball and scored when Sims reached on an error.
Schoen again was the catalyst for another run in the third. With one out, she reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a single by Shelby Fugate.
“(Scoring early) was really important,” Schoen said. “I knew that in order for us to be successful, we were going to have to start hitting the ball right off the bat. So early in the game, it was really important to get ahead and keep that lead the whole entire game.”
The lead could have been greater, but the Jets left runners at second and third in the first inning, at third in the third and at second and third in the fourth. In all, they left nine runners on base.
“When you get to this point in the season, you come into ballgames thinking you have to win 1-0 or 2-1,” Hauser coach Craig Sims said. “You don’t think you’re going to score four runs. We couldn’t come up with that two-out hit, but that’s what good pitching and good kids do to you. They don’t let you score.”
The Jets left the bases loaded in the sixth, but not before scoring a pair of insurance runs. Katie Taylor led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hunter Crain and took third on the throw to first. Hannah Johnson then laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to score Taylor and reach first.
Lauryn Starnes then sacrificed Johnson to second, and Zoee Nading reached on an infield single to load the bases. Mykenzie Ault then reached on another infield hit, allowing Johnson to score.
“”I think we stayed pumped up the whole time, and I’m just proud of us, the way we hit the ball and ran the bases and pushed some runs across,” Taylor said.
Schoen went 2 for 3, and Taylor finished 2 for 4 to lead Hauser’s nine-hit attack.
The Jets also had some big defensive plays. Taylor, who recently moved from second base to shortstop, caught five popups or flares, and Nading made a diving catch in center field.
“It helped me a lot knowing that my defense was behind me,” Tessa Sims said. “We had a really good defense tonight, so that was really good.”
Hauser committed only one error.
“I was really proud of our defense,” Craig Sims said. “I thought Tessa pitched a great game, but I thought our defense was stellar. We had that one mistake, but we didn’t let it cost us.”
The Jets are in the final eight in Class A. A pair of wins on Saturday would put them in the state finals for the second time in four years.
Schoen and Johnson were key players on Hauser’s volleyball team that made the Class A state finals. Now, they have a chance to do it in a second sport.
“It’s great just to know that our season isn’t over yet, just to keep competing and going into practice and working hard,” Schoen said. “It’s really great, just being able to continue on.”
