AVON — We are taught to expect the unexpected, to embrace the unusual when it comes to rivalry games, especially during the postseason.
Class 4A No. 8 Avon and Brownsburg may have reset the standards for both terms in the Sectional 12 championship game Wednesday night.
It's not surprising Avon won, 13-8, nor does it come as a shock that Brownsburg nearly derailed their Hendricks County rival's quest for a three-peat, jumping out to an early lead then rallying to within a run in the bottom of the sixth.
But get a load of this...
The Orioles rallied from a 7-5 deficit with eight runs on only two hits between the sixth and seventh innings, drawing 13 walks and being hit by three pitches on the night. Six of those bases on balls came during a four-run sixth inning, which included a streak of nine straight balls.
Avon's final line: 13 runs on 6 hits with 2 errors.
Brownsburg's final line: 8 runs on 12 hits with 3 errors.
Avon (24-6) advances to the regional opposite top-ranked Roncalli; Brownsburg finishes the season 16-11.
"They were just patient and they were really smart at the plate, and it paid off," Avon coach Harley Skinner said. "I told them before the game, this is going to be a battle from start to finish. It's a rivalry. They always give us their best, and I think the girls knew what to expect with how Brownsburg has been hitting this week."
The start to Wednesday's game was more in-line with expectations.
Boasting one of the state's top offenses, Avon used a two-run double by Emma Stopperich in the second and a two-run home run by Mandy Lauth in the third to take a 4-3 lead.
But Brownsburg can hit, too, and entered the championship game on a tear, having totaled 23 runs over its past two postseason games.
Addy Neal initiated the scoring with a three-run blast in the bottom of the first, then teamed up with Hailey Thompson to erase Lauth's go-ahead home run, driving in runs with a single and a triple, respectively.
It's worth pausing on Thompson's performance. After going 0-for-3 in last year's season-ending loss to Terre Haute North, the junior went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs against Avon. Thompson, who started for Brownsburg and escaped some significant jams early in the game, finished the season batting over .450 with 47 RBIs. She also posted seven wins and 129 strikeouts.
"Hailey's been great for us," Brownsburg coach Cherise Hess said. "She hasn't been a full-time pitcher for us in the past, but she really stepped up this year. She won us a lot of games this year and kept us in a lot of games against really great opponents. She's been awesome in the circle and at the plate."
Avon chipped a couple runs off the lead with a Jaylee Fansler home run in the fifth and a Hannah Sutton double in the sixth, which made it 7-6.
The Orioles went their next 10 batters without a hit, but still managed to pull ahead with three walks and a hit batter netting three runs before Brownsburg's Avery Toole ended a stretch of nine straight balls and closed out the inning with a three-pitch strikeout and a groundout.
"They have some good hitters. We were trying to work around them and just got a little wild with some of our pitches, got a little out of hand with the walks. … Unfortunately, they had the better last couple of innings and came out on top."
Alexa Gordon got a run back for the Bulldogs, but they were unable to bring home the tying run and Avon took advantage with a four-run seventh inning that included an RBI single by Amanda Logeais in her final home at-bat.
"We just worked up-and-down the lineup and we came together," Lauth said.
"All season we've been hitting well, so it wasn't like us to not have that many hits," Logeais added, but it all worked out. "It was about going up there, knowing what you can do, and taking advantage of their mistakes."
Madeline Herman and Stopperich teamed up in the circle for Avon, allowing seven earned runs on 12 hits with three strikeouts and only one walk.
Herman iced Brownsburg's rally in the sixth with back-to-back strikeouts.
Now attention turns to No. 1 Roncalli, whom the Orioles beat earlier this season.
"The biggest thing is confidence," Skinner said. "They've been so untouchable, and we've done it once. That's what's been holding us back and to finally do it once, I think that confidence is going to go a long way. I'm really excited."
