How South Bend-area softball, baseball teams can win IHSAA postseason titles Saturday (2024)

SOUTH BEND — Saturday is a busy day for the South Bend-area high school diamond sports, as two softball teams chase IHSAA semistate titles and five baseball programs seek regional crowns.

In softball, the defending Class 4A and 3A state champs are still alive in Penn and New Prairie, respectively. Both teams are coming off impressive regional championship victories, with the Kingsmen defeating Saint Joseph, 11-4, and the Cougars shutting out Kankakee Valley, 8-0. Given their history from last year, the target will squarely be on both this weekend.

In baseball, the area is guaranteed one regional champion when Mishawaka faces Concord in a Class 4A battle. Three Class 3A teams are in action as well, as Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie and NorthWood all face tough tests in its quest to add another trophy to the collection.

Here is more info on each of these games — and how each South Bend area team can win Saturday to continue their seasons.

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SOFTBALL

Class 4A semistate @ Harrison High School, West Lafayette

▶ Game schedule: Fort Wayne Carroll vs. Hamilton Southeastern (22-4), 11 a.m.; No. 9 Penn (26-6) vs. No. 2 Lake Central (32-1), 1 p.m.; championship game, 7 p.m.

▶ How Penn can win: lean on its depth and experience. Penn’s greatest strength is how many different players can beat you. The lineup top-to-bottom is strong, and the Kingsmen have two dynamic pitchers in senior Aubrey Zachary and junior Olivia Signorino who can both start and finish games. Given only two seniors from last year’s team had graduated, the bulk of the current team knows what it’s like to navigate a two-games-in-one-day semistate setting.

Penn's semifinal opponent marks a rematch of last year’s semistate final, won 5-1 by the Kingsmen. Lake Central exacted some revenge with a 5-4 win back on March 30 in one of the first games of the season for the two teams.

Class 3A semistate @ Twin Lakes High School, Monticello

▶ Game schedule: No. 2 Western (26-2) vs. Norwell (18-7), 11 a.m.; No. 3 New Prairie (21-6) vs. No. 6 Leo (26-5), 1 p.m.; championship game, 7 p.m.

▶ How New Prairie can win: Ava Geyer continues her incredible postseason. Already one of the best pitchers in the state, the junior has been lights out for the Cougars the past two weeks. Geyer has pitched 22 of the 25 postseason innings so far, allowing just six runs (only two earned) with 51 strikeouts. She had 17 strikeouts in a 5-4 win over Jimtown in the sectional final, then tossed a no-hitter with 18 strikeouts against Kankakee Valley. With Geyer pitching like this and a solid New Prairie lineup behind her, the Cougars become a difficult team to beat.

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BASEBALL

Class 4A regional: Mishawaka (15-14) vs. Concord (19-10) @ NorthWood

▶ Note: Game has been moved from SB Clay to NorthWood due to forecasted weather.

▶ When: 11 a.m.

▶ How Mishawaka can win: Continue to play the underdog role. Mishawaka split its regular season results with the Minutemen, but lost 4-0 when Concord pitched its ace in senior Braeden Messenger on April 22. Neither of Concord’s top two arms pitched in the 10-7 win for the Cavemen May 8. They’re likely viewed as the underdog by most Saturday because of that, which is all the fuel John Huemmer’s team needs.

▶ How Concord can win: utilize its pitching depth. The beauty of the one-game regional setup is all hands are on deck as far as pitching goes. Messenger will likely get the start — he’s 6-1 with a 1.58 ERA — but sophom*ore Joey Hauger will also be available in case Messenger falters at all. The southpaw has even better stats, posting a 6-0 record with a 0.62 ERA. Having two frontline pitching options is huge for the Minutemen.

Class 3A regional: Mishawaka Marian (21-9) vs. No. 8 Twin Lakes (24-4) @ Logansport

▶ When: 11 a.m.

▶ How Marian can win: Lean on its experience, as Marian is in its second-straight regional title game. Meanwhile, Twin Lakes won its first sectional crown since 1993 this past Monday. The Knights have 11 seniors that went through a tough 11-7 loss to Frankfort in the regional last year. The bad taste that left in their mouths will give Marian plenty of motivation.

Class 3A regional: No. 5 New Prairie (23-5) vs. No. 2 Hanover Central (24-4) @ LaPorte

▶ When: 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT

▶ How New Prairie can win: learn from the first meeting. These two teams played May 4, with the Wildcats scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to rally for a 6-5 win over the Cougars. New Prairie only mustered two hits in the game, albeit one of them bring a three-RBI double from Tyson Greenwood. The bottom five players in the lineup drew a combined nine walks, and that type of plate discipline will be required in a game that figures to be one of the best in the state this weekend.

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Class 3A regional: NorthWood (17-14) vs. Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (23-8) @ NorthWood

▶ Note: Game has been moved from SB Clay to NorthWood due to forecasted weather.

▶ When: 3 p.m.

▶ How NorthWood can win: find a way to muster some offense against Brayton Thomas. The senior is likely going to start for the Saints, and he enters the game with a 7-1 record and 0.45 ERA in 31 1/3rd innings pitched. The pressure will be on the likes of Nate Dutkowski, Connor Reed and Beau Patterson for NorthWood to get some offense going against Thomas.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Looking at the South Bend area softball, baseball postseason games this weekend