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Hauser took home its first softball championship with a victory over the Carroll (Flora) Cougars to kick off the 31st Annual IHSAA Softball State Finals.

Coach Craig Sims’ Jets jumped out to an early lead in the first inning after junior shortstop Leslie Sims, who hit a leadoff triple, scored on her sister Tessa Sims’ RBI single. Tessa Sims continued Hauser’s strong start on the mound by striking out the first six batters she faced.

Carroll stole momentum on a Courtney Atkisson homerun in the fourth inning. The senior’s homerun to center field not only tied the ball game, but was also the first home run in a Class A Softball Championship game.

Taking advantage of Cougar fielding errors late in the game, the Jets were able to climb back on top by scoring two runs in the sixth inning. Hauser added one more insurance run in the final inning to end the game 4-1. The Sims sisters paved the way for the Jets, with Leslie scoring twice on three base hits and Tessa striking out 15 Cougar batters while only allowing one run. Tessa Sims finished the season 21-3 as a starter. Overall, Hauser wrapped up their championship season with a 26-4 record.

It was both teams’ first state finals appearance in softball. Coach Stephanie Pencek’s Cougar’s finished the year 24-5.

Carly Kingery of Carroll (Flora) Wins Mental Attitude Award 
Members of the IHSAA Executive Committee announced Carly Kingery of Carroll (Flora) High School as the winner of this year’s Mental Attitude Award in Class A Softball.

As the Cougars starting pitcher and team captain, Kingery was named to the Hoosier Heartland All-Conference team in 2013, 2014, and 2015. She was also the All-Area Strikeout leader each of the past two seasons.

Kingery is a member of Carroll’s National Honor Society and also serves on the Student Council. She is ranked 16th in her class and was selected as the school’s student representative for Brady’s Hope to serve as a role model for drug free students.

The daughter of Cathy and David Kingery of Cutler, Carly plans to attend the University of Missouri-St. Louis to pursue a degree in nursing.

The IHSAA Executive Committee presented a $1,000 scholarship to Carroll (Flora) High School in the name of Carly Kingery.