Softball: Brownsburg walks off vs. Westfield, Carmel hangs on vs. Lawrence North, more

Rain washed away a few games and delayed a few others, but Tuesday’s Indiana high school softball slate still included some pretty juicy matchups. Let’s spotlight those games and since I haven’t done a What We Learned in a while, get caught up on some other notables from around the state.

I'll be doing these nightly roundups periodically this season, so hit me up with any notable performances, results, dramatic finishes, etc.

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Growth for the Greyhounds: Carmel 12, Lawrence North 10 (8 inn.)

The Greyhounds' 6-16 finish last spring needs context — Tennessee commit Elsa Morrison moved to Tennessee and they were hit hard by injuries — but their showing in Castle over the weekend was noteworthy. They led Brownsburg and Pike Central entering the latter innings, erased a seven-run deficit in the sixth vs. Castle, then overcame four fielding errors and registered 11 hits to beat Floyd Central.

Alex Longstreth, Mia Fleming and Jayden Kleiner were all batting above .330 (Fleming had 11 RBIs) entering Tuesday, while Paxton Law generated nine RBIs. Freshman Ellie Goddard was batting .280 with 12 runs scored and four steals.

I wrote those paragraphs Tuesday afternoon and they set up perfectly for what transpired Tuesday night, with the Greyhounds winning an absolutely wild one over Lawrence North, wherein the teams combined for 22 runs and 20 hits across eight innings.

Ellie Goddard, Jayden Kleiner and Mia Fleming orchestrated a five-run rally with two outs in the second; Kleiner answered Victoria Guyse’s go-ahead homer with a two-run shot of her own to give Carmel an 8-7 lead, then a Fleming single and a Paxton Law sacrifice fly in the eighth secured the 12-10 win — after Gracyn Erickson struck out three of the four batters she faced (two-out single).

A gutsy, momentum building win for the Greyhounds, whose week continues at Noblesville on Wednesday, Friday vs. New Palestine and Saturday vs. Columbus North (doubleheader).

As for Lawrence North, the bats were cooking with Ella Hogan, Anna Mauck and Guyse all homering.

More: After months of uncertainty, Riley Henson is back and 'a game changer' for Center Grove.

Ashley Sylvia walks it off: Brownsburg 5, Westfield 4 (8 inn.)

The rain did not interfere with Westfield’s road trip to Brownsburg and we were treated to a pretty great game.

Grace Fanelli staked the Rocks to a first-inning lead with a two-run homer, but Brownsburg scratched across a run in the bottom half then capitalized on a couple Westfield errors to take a 4-2 lead (Macy Twomey and Lexi Gordon drove in the runs). The score held until the sixth when Chloe Tanner hit her first homer of the season to score Ava Kainrath and tie the game.

Brownsburg stranded the winning run on third in the seventh, then ace Hailey Thompson worked some magic in the eighth, posting back-to-back Ks to strand runners on second and third.

Kensly Larkin led off the home half with a double and came around to score the winning run on a base hit by Ashley Sylvia.

Thompson fanned 13 over five innings; Tanner went the distance for Westfield, allowing five runs (two earned) on 11 hits and striking out five.

Really good win to start an absolutely loaded week for the Bulldogs (4-2), who have Cathedral, Center Grove and Tri-West over the next three days. The Shamrocks (5-1) travel to Greenfield-Central on Thursday, then Cathedral on Saturday.

Cullen curtails Tigers: Noblesville 4, Fishers 1

Looking for an under-the-radar pick out of the HCC and within Central Indiana? Because I have one for you. It's Noblesville (4-1), which improved to 2-0 in conference play with an impressive win over Fishers (4-4).

First star honors to go senior pitcher Claire Cullen, who allowed just one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and six walks. She induced a double play to escape trouble with the score tied at 1 in the second and stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Tuesday's outing was the continuation of a strong start for Cullen, who is 3-0 with a 2.62 ERA and 19 strikeouts. She’s issued 16 walks through 16 innings, but has surrendered only six runs.

Two of the Millers' four runs were earned and they registered four hits against Fishers ace Kate Murray, with Delaney Rundle, Haley Schatko, Makayla Jacquay and Nevaeh Nash picking up base hits.

Murray finished with seven strikeouts for Fishers, which plays Lutheran and Whiteland on Saturday. Noblesville has Carmel, Lawrence North and a Saturday doubleheader vs. Bloomington North.

Panthers sweep DH: Western 3, Hamilton Heights 1; Western 15, Hamilton Heights 2

Tough night for Hamilton Heights. It struck out 15 times and stranded the bases loaded in the second and runners on the corners in the sixth en route to a 3-1 loss in game one, then gave up 15 runs on 12 hits in a lopsided finish to game two.

Western is 14-4 vs. its conference foe since 2014. HH's last win in the series came in 2022.

Lake Central (7-0) making waves

The Indians earned their place atop this week's coaches' rankings, running up a 7-0 record that includes a one-run win over Penn, a six-run win over Center Grove and a five-run win over Pendleton Heights.

Saturday's 8-3 win over Jennings County was more of a grind than one might expect — it was tied at three entering the bottom of the sixth — but once those bats get cooking, they're tough to stop with a lineup headlined by senior Auburn commit Jolie Adams, sophomore Makayla Van Vossen and junior Kate Renschen. Freshman Maddie Such had a nice afternoon in the circle, striking out 15. She and junior Sofia Calderaro have been sharing pitching duties.

First-year coach Yvette Tovar and her team will be at the Carmel Invite in a couple weeks.

A name to monitor

Ben Davis freshman Riley Gilliland made her varsity debut against Peru last week, allowing just one run on one hit with 12 strikeouts over seven innings in the 5-1 win. Coach Jeremy Vivace is very high on her potential, and may have another rising standout in sophomore Mariana Lopez, who's batting .625 with two doubles, four RBIs and three stolen bases. She's also perfect through her first 16 chances in the field with a double play.

Ben Davis (3-0) beat Pike on Tuesday — Aniya Kroh struck out six and Skylar Bledsoe homered and drove in three runs in the 19-5 win — with Cascade, Covenant Christian and a doubleheader at Perry Meridian scheduled for this week.

Quick hits

>> Hey, New Palestine finally got to play a game (albeit after another lengthy rain delay) — and they won, beating East Central, 20-0.

>> Audrey Lowry. Sheesh.

>> The Madison County tournament is underway. One notable result: Lapel beat Frankton, 3-0. Karly Jannings struck out seven for the Bulldogs.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA softball: Brownsburg-Westfield, Carmel-Lawrence North go extras