INDIANAPOLIS — The ball sounded like trouble off Regan Cooper’s bat.
The Avon senior launched a fly ball into the right-center field gap with one out in the top of the sixth. It was deep enough to score the tying run from first and, depending how quickly Brownsburg tracked it down, may have been enough to give the Orioles the lead in Wednesday’s Class 4A Sectional 11 semifinal.
“I was just like, ‘Oh no,'” Brownsburg’s AG Pogue said.
“I didn’t know you had a shot,” the senior catcher continued, addressing freshman right fielder Rylee Amt. “You were so far away and then all of a sudden, you just dropped the trailer and zoomed in.”
“She flew through the air,” sophomore pitcher Etta Schroering added, smiling from ear-to-ear.
Amt got an excellent jump on the ball, tracking its trajectory as she sprinted towards the gap. The freshman timed both her run and her leap perfectly, reaching out to intercept the yellow sphere before it could hit the turf.
Amt fell to the ground, but quickly recovered and got the throw in to double the runner off first and end the inning.
“That catch saved the game,” Bulldogs coach Cherise Hiss said following the 2-1 win.
“The only thing going through my head was this is not going to be the last time my seniors get to play,” Amt added. “I was going all out.”
Oh my goodness what a snag by freshman Rylee Amt. Brownsburg doubles off the runner at first. Inning over.
Hailey Prather just led off B6 with a triple.
1-0 Dawgs. pic.twitter.com/VBmkDYoaaD
— hank 🇰🇷 (@Brian_Haenchen) May 27, 2026
The freshman outfielder’s clutch catch — and a similarly dazzling snag by left fielder Gracie Berkholz on a foul ball in the seventh — prevented Avon from spoiling a brilliant outing by Schroering.
Motivated in part by last year’s walk-off loss to Avon in the sectional championship game, the sophomore ace was dialed in from the start, allowing only two baserunners (one walk, one reached on an error) as she carried a no-hitter through the first two outs of the fifth.
Schroering leaned on her curveball against the Orioles during the regular season. Wednesday, she utilized her highly effective riseball to keep their power-packed lineup at bay.
The young hurler may not look “super overpowering” from the stands, Hiss observed, but the way her pitches move make them a nightmare for opposing hitters.
“Etta’s spin has just continued to get better and better,” Hiss said. “I don’t want to tell you what we were pretty heavy on last year, but she’s added a couple pitches to her toolbox this season.”
Schroering was nearly perfect in her most recent outing and near-perfection was required, because her Avon counterpart, senior Addie Forst, was similarly fantastic, recovering from a first-inning home run by Pogue to hold the Dawgs to only one run through the first five innings.
Forst’s final line: Two runs on three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts.
“She was great,” Avon coach Kiah Ferrell said. “She’s used to stepping up for us and she’s going to do great things at the next level. I hope she takes some of the things we’ve taught her and continues to grow as a softball player.”
The Orioles mounted their final stand in the seventh with two of its first three batters reaching on singles. They scored a run and put the tying run on third with a one-out sacrifice fly in foul territory, but Schroering got Forst to fly out for the game’s final out.
“It was definitely nervewracking (in the seventh),” Pogue said. “But Etta’s clutch. I never doubted.”
Brownsburg will play Plainfield in the sectional championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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: Brownsburg advances to beat Avon in sectional semifinal