Penn softball rolls to its 10th straight sectional crown; South Bend St. Joe is next

MIDDLEBURY — Neither light rain, nor swirling wind, nor a freak collision with a wayward umpire could keep Penn softball from claiming its 10th straight Class 4A sectional title on Friday night at Northridge High School.

The defending state champions run-ruled Elkhart 12-1 in five innings behind an 18-hit attack and a complete-game one-hitter by senior right-hander Aubrey Zachary. Sophomore right fielder Logan Rumble broke the game open with a grand slam in a six-run fourth.

“She’s really blossomed, come out of her shell,” Penn coach Beth Zachary said of Rumble, a two-year starter. “The bigger the game, the better she does. That tends to be the trend for all of our kids.”

Next up is Tuesday’s regional showdown with 13th-ranked South Bend Saint Joseph, 8-0 winners over Mishawaka on Friday.

Ninth-ranked Penn, improving to 25-6 with its ninth straight win, will enjoy home field with a fully rested Olivia Signorino to match up against Huskies ace Berkley Zache, MVP of the Northern Indiana Conference.

Penn outscored its three sectional foes by a combined 36-2.

Elkhart (15-9) managed just two late walks and a first-inning single against Aubrey Zachary, who struck out six in an 85-pitch effort. The Lions, who fell 7-0 at home to Penn on April 17, avoided the shutout when Ava Walker stole second and scored on a strange play with one out in the bottom of the first.

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The throw from catcher Peyton Dwigans sailed past shortstop Shannon Rudge, who went sprawling after colliding with base umpire Dave Davenport. The game was halted briefly while the Penn training staff checked on Rudge, who had the wind knocked out of her and twisted her neck.

“Oh, that was brutal,” Beth Zachary said. “Umpire running into our player — I mean, you can’t help that. I was just scared that she was hurt for a second. That was one of those freak things, like, ‘Oh my gosh, that did not just happen.’ “

Rudge accepted a fist bump and a friendly explanation from Davenport once he’d dusted himself off.

“He apologized,” Rudge said. “He said he didn’t see me there. The throw was off-line and I went to go get it, but the umpire happened to be there and I kind of turned my neck. It’s all good.”

Penn softball lineup is 'fierce'

Scoring at least once in all five innings, the Kingsmen finished 8-for-19 with runners in scoring position. They chased Lions starter Laci Stimac with a 5-1 lead in the third after making her throw 55 pitches to secure just seven outs.

After opening the game with consecutive bunt hits, Penn piled up six extra-base hits the rest of the way.

“Our lineup, top to bottom, it’s fierce,” Beth Zachary said. “We’ve got speed, power, versatility. The kids can slap a bunt or they can hit a grand slam. Our offense is strong.”

So is the whole Penn program, which annually plays a packed schedule in preparation for this time of year. All but one of its losses have come against teams ranked in the latest Top 15, and their 6-4 start included losses to Castle, Lake Central and Center Grove, all currently ranked in the top five for Class 4A.

“That’s a championship-caliber team,” Elkhart coach Matt Walker said. “If we’re going to continue to grow as a program, that’s who we aspire to be. Coach Zachary does it the right way. Those girls play hard from the first pitch to the last. Real detail-oriented. Again, that’s a direct reflection of her coaching.”

Like Elkhart, Penn started just two seniors in the sectional final, but Zachary likes the look of her team at the most important time of the season.

“You can tell,” she said. “They’re just ready to go. It’s a whole other level. They kind of find another gear. They know what it feels like to get to Purdue and they want that again.”

The 2023 title was just the second in program history, ending a 24-year wait.

“Once you have that feeling and that taste of it, that’s what you strive for and you’re not going to be satisfied until you get there,” Zachary said. “We have the experience and leadership to do that. Super excited to try to do whatever we can to make that happen.”

Follow staff writer @MikeBerardino on social media.