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Speedway Wins first IHSAA Softball Title in School History
Proud classmates to this great success are:
Judy Lennie – granddaughter, Alexa Faulkner is a pitcher for Speedway.
Bob Maple – 7th & 8thgrade girls softball coach. Bob is occasionally helped by Pat Murphy and Glen Curtis.
CLASS 2A: SPEEDWAY 5, BREMEN 0
Sparkplugs win first state title
Freshman throws 1-hitter in championship game
Jordan Guskey
Indianapolis Star USA TODAY NETWORK
WEST LAFAYETTE – Speedway softball’s coach couldn’t help but laugh. This was her team’s first season with sectional and regional titles. This was her program’s first shot at a state title. This was her Sparkplugs’ shot at immortality. And they delivered in front of a throng of screaming fans at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium.
That’s Speedway,” sixth-year coach Alyssa Coleman said. “That’s just Speedway, and I’m lucky to be a part of it. It’s one big family. I’m pretty sure we brought the whole town.”
However much of the town that came saw their team defeat top-ranked Bremen, 5-0, for the IHSAA Class 2A state title. It was Speedway’s fourth straight shutout as the Sparkplugs haven’t allowed a run since beating Cardinal Ritter in sectional play.
Freshman pitcher Kaiah Fenters built on what could already be considered a team MVP season to pitch a one-hit, seven-inning shutout. Fenters entered the game with 209 strikeouts and a 1.85 ERA, and added 10 more strikeouts to her total. The record for strikeouts in a Class 2A state final by a single pitcher is 14.
It didn’t take long for Fenters to earn Coleman’s trust.
“Since day one,” Coleman said. “I mean the way she throws, the poise she shows, you can’t teach that. She has that.”
Fenters finished the season responsible for 21 of the team’s 22 wins, and even after such a stellar campaign, still carried the team’s bucket of softballs back from the dugout. The Sparkplug ace credited her confidence in the biggest game of her young career to the support her teammates gave her all season long.
With that and Speedway’s 21-out mantra, the Sparkplugs tried to stay loose as much as they could.
“From the beginning of the game, I think we just went into it thinking it was just another game,” Fenters said. “That’s just what we focused on today.”
Speedway (22-6-1) jumped out to a three-run lead in the bottom of the second inning. Small-ball strategy and Bremen (26-4) infielders’ misplays opened the door.
Once the Sparkplugs gave their ace a comfortable lead, Coleman started to think they had a shot at the win and a much better finish to their season than the 7-14 campaign a year ago.
“That’s exactly what we’ve done these past few weeks,” Coleman said. “That’s what’s gotten us the runs. It’s been nothing special or big hits. That’s where I think we’re hard to defend against, because it’s not like one big hitter.”
The Sparkplugs’ victory, which gave the team a 13-game winning streak to finish the season, handed the Lions their stiffest defeat since mid-April. Speedway became just the second opponent this season to shut out Bremen, which averaged more than 10 runs a game this season.
Thirteen of the Lions’ 26 wins came by way of a five-inning run-rule performance. Eleven different times Bremen scored 15 or more runs.
Coleman said quieting such a prolific offense meant “getting those leadoff outs” and “trusting our defense.” Key plays came from a range of players on a roster that lists 10 freshmen, one sophomore, five juniors and four seniors.
One of those seniors, Rylee Wade, won the IHSAA’s 2018 Class 2A Mental Attitude Award.
The Speedway High School team acknowledges their fans before the start of the 34th Annual IHSAA Softball State Finals class 2A game, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University, West Lafayette. Speedway High School won the game 5-0, over Bremen High School.
Speedway High School junior Rachael Gregory (5), left, and freshman Kaiah Fenters (17) prepare for the next inning on the mound during the 34th Annual IHSAA Softball State Finals class 2A game, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University, West Lafayette. Speedway High School won the game 5-0, over Bremen High School. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar
Speedway High School senior Rylee Wade (1) was announced the winner of the Mental Attitude Award after the 34th Annual IHSAA Softball State Finals class 2A game, Saturday, June 9, 2018, at Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University, West Lafayette. Speedway High School won the game 5-0, over Bremen High School.
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