Published: June 11, 2009 11:54 pm         

Linton likes its softball team

LINTON — The famous signs welcoming you to Greene County’s largest town proclaim that “you’ll like Linton.”

Folks around the Wabash Valley know that what Linton historically likes about itself is its football.

The Miners’ gridiron program has long been a source of pride. And though other Miner programs have experienced success, the football team is what fuels the most passion.

So while it’s not out of place to see “Go Miners” signs on Linton storefronts, the sport that has Linton excited right now is softball.

The Miners (20-5) won their first regional championship at Forest Park on Saturday, beating Tell City in a relatively easy 3-0 victory, their 15th win in a row.

Not only was it the Miners’ first softball regional crown, it was the first regional claimed by any girls program in Linton’s history.

Softball success put another sport on the map at Linton, a source of pride among the athletes responsible for the Miners’ current claim to fame.

“It’s awesome. We kind of look up to football, we know the town loves football, we know the biggest crowds come to football, but it’s nice to put ourselves on the map with a girls sport, to let more people around Indiana know about what Linton’s about,” said Linton left fielder Taneal Church.

Pitcher Stephanie Fougerousse has a unique perspective. The Miners’ ace began her career at neighboring White River Valley High School before transferring to Linton earlier this year.

The Miners have been building to this point in recent years — several current Miners were freshmen when Linton won its sectional in 2006, only to lose 1-0 to North Posey in a 17-inning marathon at Forest Park — and Fougerousse is well aware of the work done by her teammates before her arrival in Linton.

“Moving in, my teammates, the community and my teammates were so welcoming. They made me a part of this softball family and what they’ve been all about. I want to do what I can to give back to them to repay what they gave me and it’s awesome to start with something so significant to do that. This is my community now, I’m a Linton Miner,” Fougerousse said.

The Miners have ridden the arm of Fougerousse (16-1, 0.19 ERA, 166 strikeouts) and a good offense that has hit .292 for the season. Fougerousse (.415), Church (.348), center fielder Darien Huffman (.347), and right fielder Katie West (.328) are Miners’ regulars over the .300 mark.

Sometimes overlooked by all but the Miners themselves is their defense. Linton has committed just 17 errors in 25 games this season and had no errors at all in its two regional victories.

Church said earning a spot at positions that were often three-deep played a big role in Linton’s defensive discipline. Fougerousse said the commitment to defense has made her a better pitcher.

“For a pitcher, it’s the number one thing. When you go up there, you feel like you can give up a hit. When you’re nervous about giving up a hit, you’re not going to throw as well as you can. I’m able to relax and I throw better because of my defense, because I know I don’t have to worry about it. They just don’t make errors,” Fougerousse said.

Fougerousse is one of several stalwart pitchers in the Class 2A field. Each of the four finalists’ ace has a sub-1.00 ERA and the pitcher Linton will face tonight — Wheeler’s Lanay Parks — is statistically the best of the lot with a 0.05 ERA, 194 strikeouts, and a 20-1 record.

Wheeler, located in Porter County, has a team batting average of .320 and the Bearcats (27-2) avenged one of their two losses in the LaVille Regional championship game with a 3-2 victory over Boone Grove.

“They’re a solid team. They have a good pitcher, some solid hitters and their very quick on the bases, but we have all of that too. We match up good with them,” Linton coach Jill Flater said.

The Miners had a few wrinkles in their preparation for tonight’s semifinal, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Indianapolis North Central High School. The team had a pre-scheduled function and didn’t practice on Wednesday. On Thursday, heavy rain forced their last practice indoors into the Linton gym.

The Miners are confident, however, that the transition from the euphoria of Saturday’s regional victory to a business-like mental approach to tonight’s semifinal has been achieved.

“We spent all of Saturday celebrating, but when we came back Monday, there wasn’t one player who was still celebrating. We knew that we got past that goal and have something else coming up. Hopefully, we’ll be celebrating something else pretty soon,” Fougerousse said.



IHSAA Class 2A State Softball Finals

Teams — Linton (20-5), Wheeler (27-2), Indianapolis Scecina (27-4), Madison-Grant (22-6).

Schedule — Linton vs. Wheeler, 6:30 p.m. tonight at Indianapolis North Central High School; Scecina vs. Madison-Grant, 8:30 p.m. tonight at Indianapolis North Central. The championship game is 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Indianapolis Ben Davis.

Major contributors — Linton Miners: P Stephanie Fougerousse (16-1, 0.19 ERA, .415 batting average, 4 HR, 25 RBI); LF Taneal Church (.348, 0 HR, 13 RBI); CF Darien Huffman (.347, 0 HR, 13 RBI). Wheeler Bearcats: P Lanay Parks (20-1, 0.05 ERA, 194 strikeouts, .371, 7 HR, 29 RBI); 3B Kylie Planck (.433, 0 HR, 7 RBI); SS Marcy Medina (.368, 1 HR, 25 RBI); Scecina Crusaders: P Amy Tamer (19-4, 0.77 ERA, 157 strikeouts); OF Hannah Zimmerman (.438, 1 HR, 16 RBI); IF Colleen Asher (.407, 2 HR, 28 RBI); Madison-Grant Argylls: P Sara Webster (18-3, 0.57 ERA, 214 strikeouts); 1B Dana Runyan (.481, 4 HR, 34 RBI); 3B Sam Yeagy (.422, 1 HR, 21 RBI).

— Todd Golden