Beech Grove’s Hornets gather beside their travel bus before leaving for a first-time appearance in the IHSAA Regional at Morristown. The Hornets defeated Hamilton Heights and advanced to the Jasper Semistate for the first time. Team members are, from left, front, Brookelynne Rucker, Nevaeh Lyte, Holly Garrett, Jovi Storms, Aubree Bailey, Lillianna Jansen, coach Kacy Ferrell, back row, coaches Tim Babbit and Shane Carmichael, manager Iysis Simmons, Carmen Edmaiston, Mylee Boling, Kylee Robinson, Alyssa Stone, Malone Moore, Janessa Golder, Amira Mills, and coach Andrew Moore.
(SUBMITTED PHOTO)
(SUBMITTED PHOTO)
| Published in the Wednesday, June 14, 2023 edition By Al Stilley Editor Beech Grove High School’s softball team is coming off a history-making season and anxious to begin the 2024 campaign. This year’s team set all-time program benchmarks by winning 21 games, first-time sectional and regional championships and initial appearance in the IHSAA semistate tourney. The Hornets bowed out to 3A No. 1 Tri-West, 8-1 to reach the playoffs Class 3A Elite Eight and establish several individual single-season records. And the Hornets set numerous single-season individual performance records along the way with the potential to break some of their own records in 2024. “These girls are changing the history of softball at Beech Grove,” 10-year coach Kacy Ferrell said. “The goal was to win the first sectional in school history and they reached the semistate. That was incredible for the school, this community, for themselves. They’ll always remember that. “Now that we’ve been there, they are so hungry. We know what it’s like and are hungry to return there and go farther,” Ferrell emphasized. And all players on this year’s varsity roster – juniors Aubree Bailey, Holly Garrett, Janessa Golder, Amira Mills, Malone Moore, and Kylee Robinson and sophomores Mylee Boling, Carmen Edmaiston, Lillianna Jansen, Nevaeh Lytle, Brookelynne Rucker, Alyssa Stone, and Jovi Storms – are expected to return next season with a solid freshman class led by Moore’s younger sister, Harper Moore. The Hornets experienced support for the softball program that had never been experienced before. When the Hornets returned to the high school after shutting out Hamilton Heights, 10-0 for the regional trophy, fans, students, Mayor Dennis Buckley, community, and kids turned out to greet them. And they received a rousing community sendoff to the Jasper Semistate where they fell to the No. 1 ranked Bruins. “They welcomed our kids back (regional) and it made my heart sing, I was so happy for our girls,” Ferrell recalled. “The community really did rally around us and they did the same for our semistate sendoff. People had to take time off from work for that. Those are memories that the girls will remember the rest of their lives … and it’s just the beginning!” To understand how far the Hornets came, go back to the opening day of practice on March 6 when Ferrell gave birth to her second baby, Baylor, a boy who was born prematurely and with medical problems. Ferrell remained on maternity leave and left the coaching chores to assistants Drew Moore and Tim “Pappy” Babbitt and brought in veteran travel team coach Shane Carmichael. “Those three became the brains of the operation,” Ferrell said in the aftermath of a multitude of hospital visits with Baylor. “They took over the reins, everything. I came to games and was their biggest fan.” Carmichael, who had never coached high school softball, brought vast travel ball coaching experience along with Moore. “With Kacy in the background running things, we relied on our travel ball experiences and coached them like they were elite,” Carmichael said. “I think that helped in their success because they are elite with what they accomplished this season.” The Hornets opened with 10 consecutive wins, including a 6-0 triumph against Cathedral but then went 8-6 with losses to Franklin Central in the county tourney and to Lutheran and Indian Creek to end the season 18-6. They were 3-6 during the regular season in games decided by four runs or less. “We had so many close games and that made us tougher,” Ferrell said. “The girls fought all season, so I got to see them fight through and come out on top. We began to rise above our adversity and become better prepared for the postseason. The way they competed against bigger schools is a true test of their maturity.” Beech Grove defeated Herron, 23-0 and Speedway, 12-2 for their first sectional trophy and Hamilton Heights, 10-0 for their first regional title. The Hornets were plagued by miscues at Jasper and fell to No. 1 Tri-West and junior pitcher Audrey Lowry, an Oklahoma recruit, in the semistate opener. Lowry struck out 14 Hornets. “We were prepared for the game but not for the moment,” assistant coach Carmichael recalled. “Tri-West had been there before and none of us had been to a semistate. We know what the atmosphere is like now, but we didn’t play our best game and it cost us.” Team leaders throughout the season included battery mates Moore (18-5; .575 batting average, 50 hits, 46 RBI) and catcher Jansen (.532, 50 hits), Robinson (.460, 46 runs scored), and Boling (.407, 33 hits). Most of the Hornets’ single-season records, including their .393 batting average, were set by this year’s team, indicative of their improvement. Moore, who is with Indiana Magic Gold this summer, added mental maturity to her game, according to Carmichael. She did not get down on herself when opponents got hits off her pitches. And she developed more spin on the ball with a variety of pitches, including a screwball, curve, and rise ball. Jansen, playing travel ball for Indy Crush, became more of a contact hitter by making better pitch selections. Robinson, with the Indiana Gators this summer, improved her mental approach at the plate and developed into a triple threat at the plate. She has speed on the basepaths, too. Boling raised her overall batting average to more than .400 with a surge after mid-season. She worked on staying down in the zone at the plate and using her strength to drive the ball. “With next year’s freshmen, we will have even more competition in our practices and that will help us improve even more,” Carmichael said. “And they will know what to expect next season when we get into the playoffs.” Looking ahead to 2024, the Hornets have more records to be broken and farther to go in the playoffs. |  Pitcher Malone Moore owns five single-season batting records and two pitching records at Beech Grove. She is an all-state, all-county, and all-conference honoree.  Catcher Lillianna Jansen is a power for the Hornets behind the plate and at the plate. She hit a program single-season record 19 doubles in 2023. Jansen is all-county and all-conference.  Kylee Robinson stole a team record 30 bases in 2023 and a record six triples in 2021. She earned all-conference and honorable mention all-county.  HORNETS’ SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS Batting average: .575 Malone Moore 2023 On base percentage: .658 Malone Moore 2023 RBIs: 46 Malone Moore 2023 Stolen Bases: 30 Kylee Robinson Hits: 50 Malone Moore and Lillianna Jansen 2023 Home Runs: 7 Malone Moore 2023 Doubles: 19 Lillianna Jansen 2023 Records held by current players Strikeouts: 192 set by Malone Moore in 2021 ERA: 0.99 set by Malone Moore in 2022 Triples: 6 set by Kylee Robinson in 2021 Team records Most Wins: 21 2023 Batting Average: .393 2023 IHSAA playoffs Sectional Title 2023 Regional Title 2023 Semi-State run 2023 Honors All Marion County: Moore, Jansen and honorable mention for Robinson All Indiana Crossroads Conference: Moore, Jansen, Robinson and honorable mention for Boling All State 3rd team 3A/4A: Moore 6th female in BGHS history (1917-2023) to achieve this honor (Compiled by BGHS Softball)   |
RSS Feed