Baleigh Fish was a huge threat for opposing teams in the circle and at the plate this season.
The Columbus East sophomore was the Olympians’ biggest producer in nearly every hitting and pitching category. Thus, Fish has been selected as The Republic Softball Player of the Year.
“I give a lot of credit to the people I was around. It’s really easy to get down on yourself when you’re not comfortable with the people you’re around,” Fish said. “Being around people you’ve known for a long time gives you a lot of confidence to be on the field, and a lot of credit goes to the coaches, too. If you don’t build a good relationship with your coaches, you’re not going to have a good season.”
Fish first got involved in softball through her father Adam when she was 6 years old. Adam signed Baleigh up for a session led by Joe King, who now is an assistant coach at East.
While Baleigh played other sports such as basketball and volleyball, it was softball that was closest to her heart. She knew softball would fit her best.
It turned out Fish was right. She was the leading hitter on the team with four home runs and 27 RBIs. She was second on the team with 36 hits, 10 doubles and a .444 batting average.
As good as a hitter Fish was, it was her performance as a hurler that brought her to the next level.
Fish became the top pitcher for the Olympians following the graduation of Heromine Robinson the previous year. Fish pitched 30 2/3 innings her freshman year with a 3.65 ERA in nine appearances. This season, Fish went over the century mark in innings pitched with 100 2/3 and had a 3.41 ERA in 17 appearances.
“Baleigh works hard in everything that she does,” East coach Rusty Brummett said. “She’s got a great work ethic. She’s really putting in the time to get better. With her pitching, I thought we did a better job as a pitching staff this year of getting our girls bullpen work. She’s done a really nice job stepping up and embracing that. At the end of the year, she really started shutting down some really good teams. Hopefully, she embraces that and keeps that up.”
Columbus East sophomore Baleigh Fish is The Republic Softball Player of the Year. She is pictured in a dugout on the Columbus East varsity softball field in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Fish will have a busy summer ahead with travel season for the Indy Crush.
The biggest thing Fish said she wanted to improve the most is being more mentally tough. She said one of the biggest exercises to help out her mental state is “to just breathe.”
“You have to remember it’s a game, and you’ve got to have fun,” she said. “You want to win, but in the long run, you’re here to have fun. You’re here to focus and just getting better and preparing for a bigger future. It’s definitely going to be a huge improvement for next year and my senior year.”
Fish was glad to see her hard work pay off. She was rewarded after the season with an All-Hoosier Hills Conference selection.
“I’ve been really dedicated to putting in the work and being able to do more than just pitching or just hitting,” Fish said. “Pitching hasn’t always been my go-to thing, but I’ve definitely put in the work to really support this team, and of course, travel ball is going to be big, as well, but I like being able to swing a good bat and pitch a good ball and be able to play any position that coaches need me to.”
“Anytime she hits the ball, she hits it pretty hard. She hit several home runs for us, and people pitched around her a lot more. It gave her the confidence that she can pitch really well,” Brummett said. “Baleigh works her tail off as a hitter. Whether it’s inside pitches, outside pitches, up the middle, or hitting it to the right side, hitting it to the left side, she works her tail off at that. What else can you ask for out of a sophomore? In our conference, she was one of the top pitchers. She just played really well, along with being one of the top hitters.”
With no graduating seniors, the young Olympians could potentially have the same lineup from this year’s sectional runner-up team. Fish hopes for much better results heading into next year.
“We have a lot of good girls. I’m hoping to be able to get through sectional, and hopefully, we can advance more next year,” Fish said. “I think getting through sectional the way we did is really inspiring to a lot of the younger girls, and I’m really hoping that they strive to do the same thing that me and a bunch of others have done and come out and play hard and hopefully go win a sectional next year.”
The Republic 2025 All-Area Softball team:
Baleigh Fish, Columbus East: The sophomore batted .444 with 10 doubles, led the Olympians with four home runs and 27 RBIs and went 8-8 with a 3.41 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
Lola Watkins, Columbus East: The sophomore led the Olympians with a .459 average, 13 doubles and 27 runs scored and had two home runs and 11 RBIs.
Jacque Boroughs, Columbus East: The freshman batted .380 with one home run and 20 RBIs.
Payton Morris, Columbus North: The junior led the Bull Dogs with a .488 average, six home runs and 30 runs scored, had 25 RBIs and went 3-4 with a 3.74 ERA.
Bailee Scruggs, Columbus North: The junior batted .407 with three home runs , led the Bull Dogs with nine doubles and 21 RBIs and went 9-7 with a 3.51 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
Miley McClellan, Columbus North: The junior batted .417 with seven doubles, 22 RBIs and 24 runs scored and led the Bull Dogs with four triples.
Kenna Streeval, Edinburgh: The junior led the Lancers with a .700 average, 12 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 41 RBIs and 47 runs scored and went 7-5 with a 2.50 ERA with 108 strikeouts.
Lucie Asher, Hauser: The senior led the Jets with a .533 average, one home run and 32 runs scored and had 10 doubles and 10 RBIs.
Izzy Brunner, Hauser: The senior batted .451 19 RBIs and 19 runs scored and led the Jets with two triples.
Haylin Campbell, Hauser: The senior led the Jets with 20 RBIs and batted .448 with one triple and 11 runs scored.
Maycie Ward, Jennings County: The sophomore led the Panthers with a .410 average, seven doubles, two triples and 23 runs scored and had 18 RBIs.
Claire Hack, Jennings County: The senior batted .392 with five doubles, two home runs and 22 RBIs.
Ryleigh Sporleder, Jennings County: The freshman batted .405 and led the Panthers with 23 RBIs.
Ava Sanders, Brown County: The senior batted .261 with six RBIs and was the Eagles’ top pitcher.
Riley Benge, South Decatur: The freshman led the Cougars with a .544 average, two home runs and 24 RBIs and went 9-2 with a 4.73 ERA,
Grace Lance, Trinity Lutheran: The senior had a 3.50 ERA with 118 strikeouts, batted .311 with nine RBIs and led the Cougars with four doubles and three triples.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Aubree Denton, Cami Keaton. Columbus East: Natasha Armstrong, Thaise Jessup, Taylor Wessel. Columbus North: Morgan Jarvis, Lily Retz, Avery Shehan. Edinburgh: Eloise Cox, Addy Ramey. Hauser: Lexie Hamilton, Haven Hartwell, Katie Robinson. Jennings County: Riley Byford, Arian Day. South Decatur: Raegan Benge, Daisy Martin, Dalilah Martin. Trinity Lutheran: Marissa Baker.
