Softball: Here's how a freshman helped South top North in Bloomington rivalry game

Bloomington South's softball team spent the early part of the week talking about the important of moving base runners in tight ball games. Abby Pirtlebaugh was listening.

The Bloomington South freshman and cleanup hitter did something heroic without trying too hard to do so. With two on in the bottom of the third inning of a scoreless softball game against visiting rival North, she just went with a pitch, slicing a 2-2 offering on the outside corner to open space down the right field line.

"Just put it in play," Purtlebaugh said. "I know my runners are going to score."

Carly Reed, then Morgan Cockerill crossed the plate, all the runs the Panthers would need in a 3-0 win on a sunny Wednesday. Pirtlebaugh also added a clutch two-out RBI infield single in her first North-South battle.

"Oh my," Purtlebaugh said. "It's an adrenalin rush. I was very excited. 'This is our rivals, I need to do this and I need to do that.' But I think once I got here, I let everything go and just let it play out how it did."

She also struck in the sixth for an insurance run. Reed reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. After a walk and a strikeout, Purtlebaugh hit a grounder to deep to second when North's Kendon Galligher dove and stopped it but immediately had no play as Reed sped home.

It's just part of a great start to her career: The first baseman leads the Panthers in average (.464) and is tied for the top in RBI (8) and doubles (5).

"It's a little like, you don't know where you fit in yet," Purtlebaugh said. "And then, they're definitely showing me, 'Hey, you're fine, you belong here.

"I'm very confident in my hitting. I keep telling myself, just do what you know how to do and you'll do well."

She's been a bright spot for South (6-5, 1-1 Conference Indiana), which recently went scoreless with just four hits in 12 innings against state ranked Mooresville and Center Grove and plated just one in a 12-inning loss to Terre Haute South.

"We've been working on our hitting the last couple days, trying to find a way to put some back-to-back hits together," South coach Meg Montgomery said. "Situational hitting, how to move our runners, and I think we did a really good job of that today.

"We had some good hard hits. But momentum comes with back-to-back hits and a stolen base thrown in there. I was proud of they way they responded in a big game like this."

Those two runs were huge to ease the rivalry tension fairly early on against North hurdler Kendyl Feutz. Morgan Cockerill was 2-for-3 in addition to Pirtlebaugh's 3-for-3 outing.

"Abby Purtlebaugh. She was clutch. Clutch," South pitcher Kinsey Clopton said. "It was just nice to get on the board because once you get that momentum going, then you can almost do anything."

North staying positive

The season has been tough at times for the Cougars (3-9, 0-3), but they put on one of their best efforts of the year. North played error free and got a solid outing from pitcher Kendyl Feutz, who scattered eight hits and walked just one.

"I think she walked away pretty proud of herself," North coach Kat Edmonds said. "And I think that was her standout performance of the year for me.

"I think in general, we just all the girls we're going to come in and just stay positive, lots of energy and compete, not only in the game but in having the best attitude and the most fun. And I think that allowed her to have some confidence."

The Cougars just couldn't generate enough offensively, letting two leadoff walks and a pair of singles, one by Kaydence Silvers and a bunt beaten out by Kinsley Stanley, go for naught.

"I'm super impressed by this team's attitude," Edmonds said. "That's what we came in today, challenging them, staying up no matter what. A rivalry's always hard. Lots of emotion and just making sure we keep that in check and translate what we did today moving forward."

That's Clopton, with a 'K'

Clopton tossed a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts, six of the Ks coming in the first two innings after she walked the leadoff batter. She's been around long enough not to get frustrated and dug herself out of trouble a couple more times with the help of her defense.

"We definitely didn't take them for granted," Clopton said. "We've kind of struggled with that a bit. You can't let that get into it and we just attacked every single possibility that we could have been approached with."

North's first hit was a ringing one-out single to left by Kaydence Silvers in the fifth and Kinsley Stanley's bunt single in the sixth. But three strikeouts and a grounder back to Clopton diffused those threats.

"Super happy with her composure on the mound today and her catcher (Lindsey Blanton) does a great job back there," Montgomery said.

Clopton and her defense had to be sharp with Feutz on her game.

"I like how our team responded and kept battling at the plate," Montgomery said. "I liked our enthusiasm today."

Panthers bounce back

Clopton and her teammates came in off an epic 12-inning 2-1 loss to Terre Haute South last Thursday.

It was a scoreless game though the first 11 before the Braves cracked the ice. The Panthers tried to rally back but just fell short against THS's Emma Cesinger (177 pitches). Clopton (191), in the longest outing of her career, gave up just four hits and struck out a school record 24, breaking the mark of 20 she set last year.

"It was just pure adrenalin," Clopton said. "You don't even think about anything and you can't feel anything because, 'Oh, we're still playing. And, 'Oh, we're still making great plays.' It was a very long rollercoaster."

"We kept talking to her," Montgomery said. "She felt good and was actually throwing harder as the game went on if you can believe that.

"We had opportunities, and that's what we talked about, when we have people on, we have to move them over. And I think that carried over into today's game."

Looking ahead

South and North both have tough home doubleheaders on Saturday with 3A No. 6 Silver Creek (15-4) and 4A No. 5 Floyd Central (17-3) coming to Bloomington. The Cougars go on to face 4A No. 4 Mooresville on Monday.

More: Record-breaking start: Bloomington area track athletes looking strong out of the blocks

This Sunday, the IHSAA will release its sectional pairings. North and South are grouped with Mooresville, Greenwood, Martinsville and the sectional host, No. 6 Center Grove.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Freshman steps up as Bloomington South tops North in softball