Shelbyville takes down top-ranked, unbeaten Indianapolis Cathedral

To pitch or not to pitch to Addison Stieneker? That question took center stage Thursday for Class 3A, No. 1 Indianapolis Cathedral.

Already trailing Shelbyville 6-2 and its unbeaten record in jeopardy, Cathedral opted to pitch to the senior with two on and two out in the sixth inning.

The Marshall University commit, who slugged a two-run home run in the second inning and was intentionally walked in the fourth, smashed a first-pitch changeup over the center field fence for what seemed like an insurmountable lead at 9-2.

The Fighting Irish sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored five runs but could not complete the comeback.

Sydney Matthews ripped a Gracie Crafton (photo) pitch deep to center field but Addison Wooten settled under it just in front of the wall to secure the final out and a 9-7 victory.

Cathedral, the last unbeaten team in the state entering Thursday’s game, dropped to 23-1.

Shelbyville (17-11), who has two teams in its sectional that have been ranked No. 1 in Class 3A this season, have new found momentum with one regular season game left on the schedule – Saturday morning against Class 4A No. 2 Center Grove (20-3).

“Coming off last year’s loss (3-0 loss at Cathedral) and then knowing they were the No. 1 team in the state, we had nothing to lose,” said Stieneker, who pushed her batting average back above .600 with three hits Thursday. “Going into the sectional next week, we are just playing to get loose and get ready for Indian Creek in our first sectional game.”

Despite more intentional walks coming later in the season, Stieneker is hitting .602 with 20 doubles and 14 home runs – all career highs. She is four hits short of tying Hannah File’s program record for hits in a season (60) and five away from tying the program’s career hits record (178), also File’s mark.

Stieneker is already Shelbyville’s career RBI leader.

“I have to leave it up to the coaches and what they think is the best fit,” said Stieneker of earning an All-State designation.

Even she was surprised Cathedral chose to pitch to her in the sixth inning rather than load the bases.

“I didn’t think they would pitch to me but I was fully prepared to hit though,” said Stieneker. “I knew she (Cathedral pitcher Sidney Feczko) would throw me all high and outside so that changeup was really the pitch I was looking for.”

Stieneker’s assault on the record board has come with support from fellow seniors Anna Shearer (.396, 12 doubles, 7 home runs, 34 RBI) and Destiney Johnson (.340, 9 doubles, 21 RBI), who routinely hit behind her in the lineup.

After falling behind 2-0 to Cathedral on an Angela Valentine two-run home run in the first inning, the Golden Bears capitalized on the inability to throw strikes by starting pitcher Shelby Johnson.

The sophomore entered the game with a 7-0 record and just 14 walks in 36 innings, but she walked three Golden Bears in the second inning then gave up a two-run single to Julie Garrison and back-to-back home runs by Stieneker and Shearer (photo, below).

“I really didn’t get (much of it),” said Stieneker of her first home run. “I just swung and hoped for the best. I went up trying to see the best pitch and hit it.”

After giving up two runs in the first inning, Crafton faced just 19 hitters over the next five innings and kept Cathedral off the scoreboard.

Feczko (15-0, 0.98 earned run average), who pitched a one-hit shutout against Shelbyville last season, took over for Johnson after the Shearer home run and kept the Golden Bears in check until the sixth inning. She intentionally walked Stieneker in the fourth and was able to get Shearer to strike out to end the inning.

Rather than try that strategy again, Feczko went after Stieneker in the sixth and got burned.

The Golden Bears travel to New Palestine Monday for their sectional opener against Indian Creek (16-5).

The host Dragons (20-4), ranked No. 2 in the latest state coaches poll, open the sectional Monday at 10 a.m. against Beech Grove (11-13-1). The winner advances to Tuesday’s semifinal round to face Greenwood (6-20).

Shelbyville and Indian Creek take the field at approximately noon.

The final quarterfinal game Monday pits 3A No. 4 Roncalli (20-7) against Rushville (6-16) at 2 p.m.

The Shelbyville-Indian Creek winner faces the Roncalli-Rushville winner at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at New Palestine.

The sectional championship game is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Misty Weaver photos

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