'It saved us': Booher's catch, LaFerney's pitching close out regional softball title for Yorktown

YORKTOWN, Ind. — With two outs and the tying run at the plate, the Bellmont batter rocketed a ball to deep right field.

Up 5-0 entering the sixth inning, Yorktown softball's grip on the game soon became shaky. Four Braves hits scored two runs and put two runners on base, yet unfazed freshman Abbey Booher perfectly tracked a hot-shot at the fence to end the inning and save the Tigers' advantage.

The nerves of Tuesday's home crowd washed away, and sophomore pitcher Caitlin LaFerney confidently closed out her team's 5-2 regional championship victory, just the fifth in program history.

"It saved us ... That was amazing. She saved my butt," LaFerney said of Booher's catch. "If she wouldn't have caught that I'm not really sure what would have happened, but it definitely assured us that we were probably going to keep going and do well the rest of the game."

Head coach Jeremy Penrod told his girls beforehand to expect their largest crowd of the season, and fans from both teams arrived in droves to pack the bleachers and line the fences.

The Tigers were eager to perform well for the audience, according to Penrod, and did so in dominant fashion for the first half of the game. Senior pitcher Alanah Jones (11 K's) looked like her usual self for much of the first four innings, allowing just one baserunner via a hit-by-pitch and notching several strikeouts, and senior Macie Dowd's three-run homer in the third frame "decompressed" the Tiger faithful after Yorktown went scoreless for 14 innings in Saturday's sectional championship thriller.

But after throwing 19 total innings that day, Jones' arm finally gave out. Penrod noticed fatigue setting in for his ace in the fourth inning, and after she escaped a three-hit fifth frame with zero runs allowed, he pulled the plug.

"I can look at her (and) I can just tell what level she's at. We usually do a 1-to-10 ... I could tell she was at five or less," Penrod said. "It was just time. We had a five-run lead ... we really have confidence in the two (pitchers) that carried us the whole year."

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Penrod told LaFerney (1.69 ERA), whom he slotted as designated-batter, beforehand that she'd likely finish the contest, and she began warming up in the fourth inning. She then gave herself a little extra cushion right after by crushing a solo home run off the scoreboard to extend Yorktown's lead to four runs.

She grinned while rounding the bases as the crowd reacted to the prominent thud they'd just heard.

"I had some friends walking up there that said, 'I could hear that from the parking lot,'" LaFerney said. "It felt really good."

In the fifth inning, senior catcher Kaytlyn Kennedy's perfect throw to second base caught a stealing Braves runner, likely saving a run with Bellmont threatening, and junior third baseman Jenna Sylvester's sacrifice fly gave LaFerney some more room for error before relieving Jones to start the sixth frame.

The sophomore, meanwhile, was mentally preparing for the finish.

"I try to just block everything else out," LaFerney said. "I just focus on my spins and my pitches and make sure everything's working and make sure I'm feeling right."

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It didn't look good to start, but LaFerney said she didn't lose confidence because none of Bellmont's four hits in the sixth inning were hit hard. Bloopers and bad luck made it a game again, and the only hard-hit ball was snagged by Booher to escape with a three-run lead.

LaFerney looked locked-in for the final frame, putting down the Braves in order. She cheerfully jumped in celebration after striking out the final batter, soon mobbed by her teammates as they kept their season alive.

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"I really felt my rise ball spin and I, honestly, just imagined myself doing it before I did it. And then it happened, and I felt really good about it," LaFerney said. "It's crazy. Honestly, that's the biggest game I've thrown during high school so far. It was awesome ... It just felt really good to close it out and move on to semistate."

Following Jones' heroics in the sectional final with a team-wide effort, headlined by underclassmen LaFerney and Booher (on base twice), once again proved the Tigers' significant depth. Booher and freshman Claire Hazen both start and are middle-order bats, LaFerney and sophomore Ava MacNally continue to shine when needed.

Those contributions radiate confidence through the entire roster. Everyone feels comfortable when called upon, and they've repeatedly delivered. Penrod said it's a "comforting" feeling.

"It's incredible. just knowing ... we have them coming up, and they're amazing. We rely on them a lot," Dowd said of Yorktown's younger players. "We were being scrappy and we relied on Abbey Booher, who made that amazing play and right field. We just know everyone has everyone's back."

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Penrod gave his girls a day off on Wednesday. The Tigers will then have a "pretty tough" Thursday practice, a lighter Friday practice and probably batting practice and a team breakfast on Saturday before traveling.

Yorktown (25-3) will face South Ben St. Joseph (25-3) in the Twin Lakes semistate semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 4. The Tigers won this matchup 5-1 on May 14 with LaFerney tossing six strong innings, but the Indians haven't lost since.

Neither team pitched their ace, so the rematch should feature two of the state's best with Jones (0.42 ERA) v. freshman Berkley Zache (0.56 ERA). Penrod said he hopes to get at least seven innings from Jones.

"I'm still a little sore still from last weekend. But other than that, I'm just trying to save myself for Saturday so that I'm completely healthy for that," Jones said. "I'm going to rest up and be ready to bring it."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com or 765-729-4742.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: High school softball regional: Yorktown takes title