Softball draw: Ranked Rochester, Winamac, N. Miami receive byes

Valley draws NorthWood; Caston gets state champs; Pioneer to face No. 6 Tri-County; Argos to match up with Elkhart Christian; Culver to take on O-D

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Of the three ranked RTC area softball teams, two of them received byes during the release of the IHSAA softball draw Sunday.

Meanwhile, Caston drew the defending state champions, Pioneer drew a ranked team, and undefeated Culver drew a conference rival.

This is the 41st annual IHSAA softball tournament.

Sectionals will begin May 25 and run through May 30, regionals are June 2, semistates are June 6, and the IHSAA state finals will be held at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette June 12-13.

Sectional tickets are $8 per session or $20 for an all-session ticket. Regional tickets are $10, semistate tickets are $12, and state finals tickets are $15 per person per day.

Here is a closer look at the draw:

Rochester

The Lady Zs already knew they would be playing Class 2A, Sectional 38 at home at Fansler Field, and now they will also receive a bye.

Rochester will face either Wabash or Eastern (Greentown) in the semifinals May 26. Rochester will face Wabash on the road in their regular season meeting at 5:30 p.m. today. Rochester already beat Eastern 13-4 April 20.

In the other half of the draw, Lewis Cass will square off with Manchester with the winner to face Oak Hill. Boasting seven freshmen on their roster, Oak Hill is 10-3.

Rochester is the two-time defending sectional champion. If they win the sectional, they would also host the regional.

Tippecanoe Valley

Valley drew host NorthWood in a Class 3A, Sectional 20 quarterfinal May 25.

Valley beat NorthWood 11-2 in their regular season meeting at Valley March 30.

The Valley-NorthWood winner will meet Columbia City in the semifinals. Columbia City is the defending regional champion, beating Valley in the sectional final along the way last year.

Valley will be seeking its third sectional title in school history.

In the other half of the bracket, the Fairfield-Wawasee winner will take on West Noble in the semifinals. Fairfield is 12-3 and owns a win over Wawasee. West Noble is 2-10.

Caston, Pioneer

Caston and Pioneer are both in Class 1A, Sectional 50, which sprouted last year’s state champion in North Newton.

North Newton will not have ace pitcher Sydney Rainford, now at East Carolina after graduating following a state tournament run in which she went unscored upon.

Now ranked No. 12, their first postseason game in the post-Rainford era will be against the No. 13 Lady Comets in a quarterfinal at North White. Caston has already won seven games this year after winning just five last year.

The North Newton-Caston prevailer will take on the Pioneer-Tri-County winner in the semifinals. Tri-County is ranked No. 6, which is noteworthy given that the five teams ranked ahead of them are in the north. Pioneer is 5-7, and one of their losses was a 10-4 loss to Tri-County at Herk Hoffman Field April 25.

Pioneer has won 21 sectional titles all time while Tri-County has won zero.

In the other half of the draw, North White will take on DeMotte Christian, and West Central will square off with South Newton.

Argos, Culver

Argos is 1-9 but will look to turn around their season when they meet Elkhart Christian in a Class 1A, Sectional 51 quarterfinal at South Central (Union Mills) May 25. The winner will meet Triton, who received a bye, in the semifinals.

In the other half of the draw, undefeated Culver (7-0) will meet winless Hoosier North rival Oregon-Davis (0-8) in the quarterfinals with the winner to meet the South Central-North Judson winner in the semifinals.

Culver and O-D will also meet in their regular season meeting in Hamlet on Tuesday. Culver also has regular season meetings ahead with South Central Thursday and North Judson May 14.

Winamac

Looking to break a nine-year sectional drought, No. 11 Winamac will have to wait until the semifinals after receiving a bye.

Their first opponent in Sectional 34 is LaVille, who is 3-8 and does not have a win over a team with a winning record.

In the other half of the draw, Knox drew Bremen with the winner to face Jimtown. Led by pitcher Cheryl Barnes, Knox is the defending sectional champion.

Winamac (10-1) does not face any sectional opponents during the regular season.

North Miami

North Miami (4-7) received a bye in Class 1A, Sectional 55 at Wes-Del and will await the Wes-Del-Southern Wells winner in the semifinals.

Wes-Del is 6-3 while Southern Wells is 4-5.

In the other half of the draw, Northfield will take on Southwood with the winner to face Tri-Central. Southwood is the only ranked team in the sectional at No. 15, and they are also the defending sectional champion.