Lake Central softball fulfills potential as state's top team: 'Like a dream'

WEST LAFAYETTE — It sounded like a cannon off the bat. A thunderous crack that reverberated through Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium as the rows of fans behind home plate held their breath.

The one responsible was Lake Central’s Emma Wilkins, who squared up the first pitch she saw from Jaleigh Lindley and absolutely launched it over the left-field wall for her first career grand slam. 

The junior outfielder couldn’t stop smiling as she sprinted — “Seriously, she was in a dead sprint,” coach Yvette Tovar emphasized — out of the box, slapping hands with her dad, Mike Wilkins, at first and Tovar at third before entering the mass of humanity that had gathered at home plate.

“Emma is amazing,” Tovar said of her No. 7 hitter. “The kid has so much patience and I think she has been locked and loaded since the middle of the season. … But for her to have that breakout grand slam, it felt good. It felt really good for her to be the one to do it.”

Wilkins’ third-inning blast was the turning point in the Indians’ 9-2 win over Terre Haute North in the Class 4A state championship game Friday night, blowing the lid off what was a two-run game and putting the state’s top-ranked team firmly in control.

“That really kicked us off. We were all super excited,” senior Tegan Tripp said. “We were like, ‘OK, we got it now. Let’s just keep going.'”

“That was the killer,” Terre Haute North coach Chris Mundy added. “We were down 2-0, then boom — and that was after a couple mistakes. That was killer.”

The Indians went on to add runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, then iced the Braves’ attempt at a seventh-inning rally with Wilkins teaming up with Alexa Iwema and Tripp for the game-ending double play.

Wilkins matched a 4A finals record with her four RBIs, while Tripp (3), Piper Urbanski (2), MaKayla Van Vossen, Madison Wainwright and Maddie Such accounted for the team’s other eight hits.

A Lake Central onslaught felt imminent — inevitable, even — and, sure enough…@madison_such gets it going with an RBI, then after an HBP loads the bases, @Emma_Wilkins027 does this.

6-0 @LakeCentralSB. B3 ongoing pic.twitter.com/FlVJVoAM4b

— hank 🇰🇷 (@Brian_Haenchen) June 13, 2026

In the circle, Such capped an excellent junior season with a workmanlike seven innings, allowing just the two runs (one earned) on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. She completed her outing with 114 pitches thrown, and stranded six Patriots on base.

“This was very much a team win,” Iwema said. “Everyone did something. You take a load off for everybody. If you don’t come through, your teammate comes through next to you.”

The Indians finish the season 31-2.

“I think a lot of people underestimated us and I think a lot of people thought we were going to lose,” Such said. “It feels good to win and finally show people that we’re better than everyone else — in my opinion. … I’m really going to miss my seniors. That’s why I’m really emotional, but I’m so happy.”

Lake Central was, in fact, “better than everyone else” from opening day.

This was the state’s best team on paper, boasting a lineup featuring seven college recruits, many of whom are committed to high-Division I programs. And after dedicating their offseason to creating a team-first mentality inside the dugout, they opened the season on a 25-game win streak highlighted by triumphs over Munster, Pendleton Heights, Center Grove, Crown Point, Noblesville, Brownsburg, Penn and eventual 3A state champion Hanover Central, among others.

There was dedication from the players to the chemistry Tovar was trying to cultivate and complete buy-in to the singular approach she preached throughout the season.

“This team, they’ve taken every pitch, every inning, every game to the max,” Tovar smiled. “They’ve done everything that they could possibly do to be in this position.”

The 2026 Lake Central Indians achieved a dream that has eluded this program the past 22 years, with last year’s heartbreaking loss to rival Crown Point (the eventual 4A state champ) marking yet another frustrating postseason shortcoming.

They didn’t ignore their recent tournament history in the build-up to this year’s tournament, Tovar said, but they made sure to not put too much pressure on the girls.

“I think in past years we’ve put that pressure on them and as teenagers, they don’t need it,” she explained. “That’s why we made everything with our culture this year simpler. Don’t worry if you don’t get a hit, the next kid’s going to. Don’t worry if you strike out, somebody else will pick you up. Or if it’s a slow-roller, the defense is going to have you back.”

Put simply, Tripp said, they did it through each other.

“We knew we had the support of one another, so we knew there was no pressure for any individual,” she continued. “We were doing it for ourselves and for our team.”

As for how it felt winning a state championship, the IU-bound Iwema smiled and replied: “I need someone to pinch me, because this is like a dream. This does not feel real.”

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA softball: Lake Central softball beats Terre Haute North in 4A final