Lake Central freshman Addy Mikolanis has pitched in a grand total of two varsity games this season.
Both appearances have come against Crown Point, including the Class 4A Lake Central Sectional championship game on Friday.
Mikolanis was relatively nonplussed about the showdown between the state powers.
“It actually felt really nice just to be in that environment,” she said. “Just being there just felt really good.
“The defense had my back the whole time. They were always there for me. I just know my teammates have my back, and I know I have Madi Wainwright behind the plate, and they’re all always there for me. They pick me up, even if I don’t do good.”
Well, Mikolanis did plenty good, and she did some heavy lifting of her own.
Mikolanis pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out two, as the Indians edged the defending state champion Bulldogs 3-1.
Lake Central (27-2), which is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll and will play at Hobart (11-17-1) in a regional on Tuesday, swept a pair of Duneland Athletic Conference games against No. 2 Crown Point (24-6-1) during the regular season. But the Indians also pulled off that double last season before the Bulldogs turned the tables in the sectional final.
Lake Central coach Yvette Tovar didn’t hesitate to turn to Mikolanis, who also pitched four innings of two-hit ball in the 9-0 victory on May 12, to help prevent a repeat.
“I feel like she’s kind of our dark horse this season,” Tovar said. “She played a lot of JV ball. She was a floater the whole season. We’ve seen her pitch in the offseason. We’ve seen her pitch on JV. Then she held it down against Crown Point for four innings.
“So when I was talking to one of the coaches who was watching the pitchers, I was just like, ‘Hey, who’s ready? Who feels good?’ And even when I was talking to the pitchers, I was kind of trying to get a vibe from them, and when I talked to her, she was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ I was like, ‘Ha, all right, let’s go. She’s bought in. No fear.’ “Being a freshman at Lake Central, stepping into the circle, there’s always going to be knots in your stomach. But she did well.”
Lake Central senior third baseman Tegan Tripp, a Virginia Tech recruit who hit an RBI single in the first and a solo home run in the third, took notice.
“I know she was a little bit nervous, but she went in there, and she was confident in what she could do,” Tripp said of Mikolanis. “She knew that her defense had her back, and she looked back at us a lot, and I went up to her multiple times and was like, ‘That was so good. Just keep doing what you’re doing because you’re doing a really good job.’
“She knew she could do it. She didn’t have many strikeouts, but she was giving her infield ground balls that we could field and get outs for her. She did a really good job of not letting it explode and kept it where we could have her back.”
After junior ace Maddie Such, a Kentucky recruit, pitched Lake Central past Munster in the sectional semifinals on Thursday, another freshman, Colbie Tressel, actually started the game against Crown Point. Tressel allowed a run in two innings before giving way to Mikolanis.
“Letting me get the start in this really meant a lot, and us getting the win, it meant everything, really,” Tressel said. “I was nervous, but it also felt great at the same time, knowing that my coach trusted me in the moment — and I was nervous, but I knew my team had my back.”
Indeed, Tovar expressed such trust in Tressel.
“She’s started a lot of high-profile games this season, so I had the confidence of putting her in,” Tovar said. “She plays a high level of travel ball. So the confidence has always been there. I know Wainwright was talking to her the whole time. The infield had her back.”
Tovar had Such on standby, but the scenario didn’t materialize.
“Lo and behold, my two freshmen held it down,” Tovar said. “Tressel kind of set the table, and Mikolanis brought it home for us.”
Such was ready, though.
“I went with my gut,” Tovar said. “I talked to Such too. She’s kind of like the captain of our pitchers, so she’s always talking to them and watching them pitch, and I was like, ‘Hey, be ready. You’re one pitch away from going in,’ and she was like, ‘I got you, coach. I’m here.’ But every time I was in the dugout, I could hear her talking to the other pitchers and giving them that drive she’s learned the last three years. She helped me give that full confidence in them.
“When you have a seasoned pitcher who’s basically done the same thing as them — it not like it’s been an easy road for Such. She’s had the world on her shoulders for two seasons, so coming in this year, getting the help she hadn’t had in two years, she’s been absolutely incredible doing that with the younger girls. That’s given the confidence to the younger girls to step in at any pressure situation. And, honestly, I think everybody was ready for Such, and to be able to throw that off, it just worked out extremely well in our favor.”
