WEST LAFAYAYETTE — It was a memorable 2023 softball season for the Carroll Chargers: Their second straight sectional title and first-ever regional crown are highlights to remember.

The Chargers fell to Lake Central on June 3, 6-0 in the Lafayette Harrison Semistate on a warm late spring afternoon.

The Chargers finish 15-14. Lake Central finished 29-5-1 after falling to Penn, 5-1 in the evening’s semistate title tilt. The Kingsmen are now 27-4-1 and face 31-3-1 Roncalli in the state finals at 7 p.m. June 10 at Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University.

June 3 against Lake Central, the Chargers had a hard time getting their bats in gear against Lake Central sophomore pitcher Sophie Calderaro, who limited Carroll to just one hit, a single by Abigail Linder.

Lake Central amassed 10 hits, scoring four runs in the top of the third, one in the fifth and one in the sixth.

The Chargers say goodbye to just four seniors: Olivia Wallace, London Cupp, Delaney Conner and Brielle Thielke, who came back from an injury this season.

“They were all leaders both on and off the field,” Carroll head coach Cassie Antos said. “We’ll miss them.”

Antos said the Charger hitters were not as disciplined as they should have been against Calderaro.

A good core group of 10 juniors will become seniors this fall, and the Chargers’ main battery of pitcher Emilia Garcia and catcher Lauren Kirkpatrick were sophomores, so the future looks bright, Antos said.

The Charger JV went 15-3 in 2023, Antos said.

The Chargers will conduct a camp next week, and offseason work will be part of the summer for the returning players, many of whom also play travel softball.

“I don’t see much of them during the summer,” Antos said with a laugh. “I get them back the second week of August.

May 30

Carroll 1, Huntington North 0

The Chargers on May 30 dispatched a Huntington North squad that came to Carroll with a 26-2 record.

The Chargers got a first-inning run on a bases loaded walk when Delaney Connor drove in Tegan Sites and made it stick, as sophomore pitcher Emilia Garcia went the distance, giving up four hits and striking out three.

Garcia hurled a no-hitter against DeKalb on May 25 to earn the Chargers their second straight sectional title.

A beaming Garcia gave much of the credit for her dominating pitching showing to the Charger defense.

“I knew they had my back,” Garcia said.

Carroll entered the postseason below .500 at 12-13, but came together to bulldoze its way through sectional wins over Northrop, DeKalb and Huntington North without giving up a run.

Antos was out for the beginning of the season on maternity leave, having a baby boy, Hunter, to go along with daughter Isla earlier in the spring. She returned to the coaching box around May 1.

The phrase “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” can be especially applicable to the realm of sports, and that has certainly been true for the Chargers in 2023, Antos said.

“We’re peaking at the right time, and being able to play well together as a team,” a drenched Antos said after taking the traditional Gatorade shower from her celebrating Chargers.