IHSAA softball sectionals: 5 storylines in Greater Lafayette

It's softball sectional week throughout Indiana with tournaments beginning Monday at various sites.

Here are five things to look at as teams begin their postseason paths.

First-round game to see

It's a Clinton County rivalry that will open the Class A sectional at Rossville with the host Hornets playing Clinton Central at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Rossville made program history a season ago. The Hornets won their first sectional championship, then backed it up with a regional title and coming up just short of advancing to the Class A state championship game.

Three of Rossville's top five hitters are gone from that squad, but the Hornets upped the schedule and still boast a solid young group of talent, including last year's Journal & Courier Player of the Year Avery Layton.

Rossville defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 in eight innings in last year's sectional semifinal.

The two split a pair of regular season meetings, with Rossville beating Clinton Central 5-4 last month and the Bulldogs returning the favor with an 11-9 victory last week thanks to Kortney Surber's six RBI.

Another Raider run?

Last season, Harrison caught fire early in the year and piled up 27 straight victories to reach the Class 4A state championship game.

Several key components to that team are catalysts for a team that recently won the North Central Conference championship, including top hitters Chelsea Parker, Ava Mobley and Kylie Dugan, who have combined for 24 doubles, five triples, six home runs and 98 RBI. Harrison is currently 22-5, coming off a one-run loss to a 26-1 Western team, just Harrison's second setback in its last 19 games.

The Raiders do have the toughest path to a championship in the 4A sectional on their home field. Harrison will have to win three games in four days against Kokomo, Logansport and then either McCutcheon or Lafayette Jeff. McCutcheon owns a victory over Harrison this season.

West Side redemption

There was a lot of patience through recent seasons for West Lafayette to get to this year.

West Lafayette is 17-6 and eagerly anticipates a likely semifinal matchup against Class 3A No. 2 Western at Twin Lakes. The Red Devils performed admirably, going toe-to-toe with the Panthers in a 3-1 loss in the May 12 Hoosier Conference championship.

Freshman pitcher Izzy Ascarelli struck out nine Western hitters that night and gave up just four hits. Now West Side gets a second chance, assuming Western wins its sectional opener against Northwestern and comes in with junior shortstop Adrianne Tolen swinging a hot bat, recently driving in eight in a single game to bring her season total to 36 and raise her batting average to .534.

2A tussle

The sectional tournament at Delphi is congested with contenders, including the host Oracles. Benton Central, which has had its fair share of success in Class 3A in recent years including a sectional title last season, drops down a class and faces Delphi in the opening round.

With a 19-6 record, Seeger awaits the winner while owning the best regular season record in the field. The Patriots haven't won a sectional title since 1997.

Carroll is just outside the top 10 in the Class 2A coaches poll and will play the winner of Clinton Prairie and Tipton. The Cougars are hitting .379 as a team, led by sophomore Kaylin Randle, who has seven home runs, five triples and five doubles this season. Carroll's only postseason success came with four straight sectional titles from 2012-15 which included a run to the Class 2A state championship game.

Path for Central Catholic?

While most relate Central Catholic athletics with postseason success, the softball program hasn't won a sectional championship since 2012.

The end that drought, the Knights need to get through the Class A tournament at Riverton Parke, beginning with Monday's opening round against Attica. A win by the Knights would set up a rematch of a classic battle earlier this week against Fountain Central, which CC rallied to win 13-9. Riverton Parke is on the other half of the bracket and is the only team in the field with a winning record.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.