Springs Valley Community High School

Early in Springs Valley softball coach Jill Stephens’ tenure, the Blackhawks opened the season doing the same things: the basics. Not varsity-level basics either, the rudimentary basics of the game. Things like throwing and catching or simple rules. Since returning from the COVID shutdown though, the program’s been building. 12 wins in 2021 was a banner year compared to what the program had done recently, then the Blackhawks topped it by going 14-4 in 2022. In those two seasons they beat opponents they hadn’t beaten in years, they entered statewide rankings for the first time in years, and they became title contenders — both conference and sectional — which is something that’s been rare recently. All that’s built to this season. Springs Valley returns pretty much its entire squad from 2021 save for graduates Kaitlyn Eastridge and Jessalyn Mahan, and the returners have got a strong mix of experience and talent. That’s allowed Stephens and her staff to move far beyond the basics during preseason practice. “We haven’t really had to teach softball, which is nice because we can just come in and tweak those skills that they already have, make those better, and work on becoming a team,” Stephens said. “It’s nice to be able to do that instead of teaching how to throw, how to do this or do that. They already know all of that. It’s exciting. It’s amazing.” A primary cause for the Blackhawks’ excitement is that they’re senior-laden. Eight of the 21 players on the roster are seniors and all eight will contribute to this team in some form or fashion. Many of them will be in the starting lineup every single game. Brynne Buchanan has hit .324 across two full varsity seasons and drove in 23 runs from the leadoff spot. She also improved at shortstop last season and should lock that spot down again this spring. Tynley Kluesner’s numbers at the plate dipped last season, but in 2021 she had a monstrous season hitting .373 with 13 runs batted in and an on-base plus slugging of .906. She’ll also provide a quality glove at first base. Lola Pantoja is entering her third season as the Blackhawks’ primary catcher and though she doesn’t hit the way some of her classmates do, she’s an on-base machine and that makes her an important part of the offense. Across two seasons, Pantoja’s recorded an on-base percentage of .426 and in 2022 she finished second among Springs Valley’s regulars with an OBP of .467. Those three, along with classmates Ashlyn Bonta, Bostyn Rowlett, Madison Farris, Paige Sylvester, and Emri Allen, have been the backbone of the varsity team since entering high school and, because of that, their last season will also have an added sentimental meaning. “Every game is going to be a memory because when they do (graduate) it’s going to be a huge loss for the program and for me personally,” Stephens said. “They’ve put so much into it and we’ve gone through so much together. They’re leading in the correct ways and I’m super proud of them.” Springs Valley’s seniors will be augmented by some talented underclassmen, particularly a pair of sophomores. Lily Hickman instantly became one of the Blackhawks’ top performers and Kaylee McNeely seems primed to join her. Hickman was named 1A/2A Third Team All-State by the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana for her efforts. As a pitcher, she posted a 12-4 record with a 1.40 earned run average and a colossal 166 strikeouts in 104.2 innings, the seventh-most strikeouts in Class 1A. She also had an astonishing season at the plate, leading the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage while also driving in 24 runs, hitting a pair of home runs, and stealing 13 bases. McNeely’s opportunities were fewer than Hickman’s last season, but she still showed promise. She hit .348 across 27 plate appearances, driving in four runs and stealing six bases. Heading into this season, Stephens is confident that each of them can play a significant role for the ‘Hawks. “I think this year they could be even better, because those nerves they had should be gone,” Stephens said. “I don’t think Lily ever showed that she was nervous, but she gets nervous and Kaylee had some nervous moments last year, but I think she’s gotten more confident. They both had great travel seasons and their confidence should be up.” The big question for the Blackhawks is pitching depth. Hickman’s great in the circle, but it takes more than one arm to get a team through the season. Kluesner’s pitched in the past — she pitched particularly well as a freshman — but won’t be an option in 2023. That leaves the Blackhawks with four mostly untested tossers fighting for innings. McNeely will be one of them, and she’s the only one with varsity experience. In 2022 she pitched 0.2 innings and gave up four runs. Molly Tucker is the other veteran option and those two will be competing with freshmen Skylan Emmons and Marissa Marshall to get in the circle. Though it’s early, Stephens believes that quartet will be able to fill in the gaps around Hickman. “We have three or four underclassmen who have literally been working every day. At the beginning of the year it would kind of take my breath away to think about our pitching situation, that we’d have to rely on Lily to be that workhorse all the time, but now we have options,” Stephens said. “We can go fast, we can go slow, we’ve got one girl who every time she throws it looks like a changeup and it’s amazing. It’s a good feeling to know that we have those options.” The Blackhawks already gave fans a peek at what they could be this season, traveling to Southridge for a scrimmage earlier this month, but they’ll officially open the season on Monday against Forest Park. As they take the field against the Rangers, they’ll hope to take what they learned in that scrimmage and use it to optimize their lineup now that the games count. “I’m looking at it as another practice. We don’t keep score. I know people keep score in their heads, but I don’t care what the score was,” Stephens said. “I have four different defensive lineups, I have four different offensive lineups, and I need to be able to see what the final product is going to look like when we come out after spring break against Forest Park.” Springs Valley Blackhawks Last season: 14-4 (5-1 PLAC) Coach: Jill Stephens (33-47 in fifth season at Springs Valley) Players to know: Brynne Buchanan (Sr.), Lily Hickman (So.), Tynley Kluesner (Sr.), Kaylee McNeely (So.) Games to circle: Apr. 11 at Northeast Dubois, Apr. 13 vs. West Washington, Apr. 25 vs. Mitchell