Olympians Bow Out, But Don’t Back Down in Sectional Softball Thriller
Whiteland 5, Columbus East 4 – Class 4A Sectional Final
The Columbus East softball team went toe-to-toe with the Whiteland Warriors Thursday night in the Class 4A Sectional 14 championship at East Central—and came just one clutch hit away from hoisting the hardware. In a game filled with big swings and heart-stopping moments, East’s late-inning push came up just short in a 5-4 defeat.
The Warriors jumped ahead 2-0 early, but the Olympians responded with a two-run single from freshman Jacque Boroughs in the third to even the score. The game’s turning point came in the fifth inning, when Whiteland’s Kaelyn Putnam delivered a go-ahead two-run home run.
East kept swinging. Sophomore Taylor Wessel doubled in a run in the sixth, and in the seventh, sophomore Lola Watkins delivered again with a clutch RBI double that brought the Olympians within one. But with the tying run on base, Whiteland’s defense held strong to seal the title.
Despite the loss, the young Olympians (10-16) showed resilience throughout the postseason and will return next year with every player on the roster eligible to come back. The future is bright in orange and brown.