It was bad enough for Rachel and Kaylee Cowan that they had to miss last high school softball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So when the sisters from Columbus North both came down with COVID early in this season, they were more than a little frustrated.
“It was very hard for me,” said Rachel, a junior. “Just a couple weeks beforehand, I had surgery, and then I was out for COVID. It was just really hard to get back into it. My hitting was down, my pitching was down, everything was just down. But with my team’s help, I definitely got better and the team chemistry helped me out a lot.”
Now that they’re back on the field, the Cowans have provided a big spark to help the Bull Dogs win sectional and regional titles and reach the semistate. They will play Roncalli at around 1 p.m. Saturday at Center Grove, and if they win, would face Bedford North Lawrence or Mt. Vernon in the 7 p.m. final.
Rachel missed more than a month of the season during her bout with COVID. She was planning to come back after the mandatory two-week quarantine, but had a bad reaction and was out another two weeks.
Kaylee, a sophomore, missed the two weeks for quarantine, then had to get in five practices before she could resume playing.
“It was really tough because when I got back into it, I felt like I wasn’t all there, and I felt like I was letting the team down,” Kaylee said. “But the team tried to keep us up the whole time and was really there for us.”
Rachel gave North (25-4) a huge lift in last week’s Shelbyville Sectional. She pitched four perfect innings to earn a save and preserve a 4-1 semifinal win against Bloomington North. The next night, she went 3 for 4 at the plate in a 6-1 win against East Central in the title game.
“It felt really good, honestly,” Rachel said. “I just really wanted to be there for my team since I wasn’t there for a lot of it.”
Tuesday night, it was Kaylee’s turn to shine. She hit a three-run homer in the second inning to break a scoreless tie in the Bull Dogs’ 6-0 regional win at Center Grove.
“It’s very exciting because my freshman year, we lost to this team 7-0, and coming back and beating them junior year just means a lot to me,” Rachel said.
“I wasn’t there when they lost (in 2019), but it really means a lot to me because after losing a year and then coming back and getting this far, it’s just amazing,” Kaylee added.
Kaylee has been playing shortstop for most of the time since her return from COVID. She is hitting .297 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
Rachel has done a little pitching and has been the designated player the past couple games. She is 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA in the circle and has been batting cleanup after top pitcher and hitter Maddi Rutan.
“It was tough for them to come back when they did, but they worked their way back in there,” McDonald said. “Rachel has been hitting so good. Kaylee has come in and played shortstop for us, which has really helped us fill that position, and I’ve been having a hard time finding anybody to bat behind Maddi in the lineup, and Rachel kind of helped do that and at least give (opppnents) the doubt by what she did in the sectional that they didn’t want to walk Maddi to get to her.”
While the Cowans weren’t thrilled with losing part of their seasons on a North team that has put together the most wins in school history, they’re happy to be back making history for the Bull Dogs.
“We were communicating a lot (with the team and coaches) while we were out,” Rachel said. “There’s definitely team chemistry for all of us. They all missed us, and we were ready to get back to playing and I’m just glad we’ve gotten over COVID.”
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Center Grove Semistate (Class 4A)
Saturday
11 a.m.: Bedford North Lawrence (28-4) vs. Mt. Vernon (22-5)
1 p.m.: Columbus North (25-4) vs. Roncalli (28-2)
7 p.m.: Championship
Admission: $8 per session or $10 for both sessions
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