Alexander, Coppess lift Frankton to sectional championship

May 28—FRANKTON — Whether it was a premonition or just simple confidence in the Frankton softball team, coach Jeremy Parker felt the team was capable of something special this season, and junior pitcher Adyson Coppess believed a big third inning moment Thursday was not too big for the star shortstop.

Both were proven correct.

Sophomore Makena Alexander hammered a three-run home run to center in the third inning, and Coppess made sure that was enough run support as the Eagles edged Elwood 3-1 to claim the Sectional 40 championship.

It is the 14th softball sectional championship for Frankton (18-7) and the first since 2018. Elwood finished the season 20-9 after winning just two of its first seven games.

The Eagles, with just one senior on the roster, started four freshmen in Thursday's game. Despite the youth and inexperience on this team, Parker said the unselfishness of the players has been a hallmark throughout the season, and winning a sectional title was always a possibility.

"Day 1, I did not," he said. "By the time we got through the (Madison) County (tournament), this group has meshed so well together. There is not one selfish girl on this team. I'm just proud of them. They worked their butt off, and they deserve it. I'm super proud of them."

The game figured to be a pitchers' duel between Coppess and Elwood's Olivia Shannon, who had already pitched all eight innings of a first-round win over Alexandria and had authored a no-hitter the day before in a semifinal win over Lapel. Opportunities to score were indeed few and far between, but when Frankton got its chance, the Eagles pounced.

With one out in the third, Coppess doubled off the base of the center field fence and moved to third when freshman Claire Duncan's liner glanced off Allison Johnson's glove for a single.

That brought Alexander to the plate, and Coppess knew the team's most dangerous offensive weapon would come through.

"There's always a feeling I get when someone is about to do something good," Coppess said. "I just had that feeling that we've got this. You just feel that as a softball player."

Alexander then hit a no-doubt drive over the center field fence on a 1-1 pitch to put the Eagles on top. In a game where one or two runs could be the difference between winning and losing, she was looking for a base hit to bring courtesy runner Kinley LaPierre in from third.

"Base hits do a lot more for a team than home runs," Alexander said. "It felt pretty good, but I wasn't sure, so I started sprinting."

"We rely on Makena for that. She's hitting .560 for a reason," Parker said. "She's dangerous, and the two people that got on before her — Claire, a freshman — I can't say enough about them."

Shannon hit the next batter, Frankton's lone senior Mackenzie Swango, with a pitch, but then retired the final 14 batters and finished with 10 strikeouts and allowed just four hits.

That made it up to Coppess to keep the powerful Panthers' offense at bay. Aside from a fourth inning solo home run by Jaleigh Crawford, she did just that.

"She did (battle)," Parker said. "Even with people on base, early in the game they had somebody on."

Coppess retired the Panthers in order in the fifth and sixth, but Kaylee Guillemette led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left. Alexander then hauled in Nevaeh Powell's infield pop up, snared a line drive off the bat of Allison Johnson and doubled Guillemette off the bag at first to end the game.

"Once the ball was hit, I knew Makena had it, but I wasn't sure about the girl on first," Coppess said. "Once that happened, I was just thrilled. It was amazing."

The Eagles will travel for Tuesday's regional game against another Central Indiana Conference rival, Madison-Grant, which defeated Oak Hill 11-6 in the weather-delayed final at Tipton. That sectional championship game from Tipton started late due to a weather delay.

"We have to take care of what we can do, and that's what we've got to do this weekend," Parker said. "We'll be ready for whoever it is, and they'll be ready for us. I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad to be playing in June."

Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.