photo courtesy South Central Athletics

(Converse, IN) — Their nickname is the Satellites, and the South Central High School team has to feel as high as an object in outer space.

For just the second time in school history, South Central will play for an IHSAA softball championship, after beating both North Newton and Riverton Parke by identical 12-2 scores to win the 1A North Semistate Monday at Oak Hill High School.

In the early game against North Newton, Caitlin Allen went 4-for-4 with six RBI to lead the offense, while Maddy Cleek was dynamite in the circle, fanning 11 Spartans.

The championship game had a different tenor early, as Riverton Parke grabbed a 1-0 lead. It was the first time in the entire tournament the Satellites trailed.

That didn’t last long, as South Central grabbed the lead with three in the fifth, then erupted for nine runs in the sixth inning to end the game. Marlee Cavinder drove in three runs, while Cleek fanned six more.

Tony Wallace’s 8th-ranked squad now takes a 22-8 record into Saturday’s 1A state championship. They face top-ranked 31-1 Barr Reeve at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium. First pitch is slated for 3:30 pm CDT.