CONNERSVILLE — Yorktown athletic director Paul Heidenreich kept the right perspective Saturday.
“It never gets old, but you can’t take it for granted,” he said.
Heidenreich watched the Tigers’ softball team hoist yet another IHSAA Class 3A sectional trophy Saturday, May 30, run-ruling Hamilton Heights 10-0 in six innings at Connersville High School to clinch their fifth consecutive sectional title.
Head coach Jeremy Penrod — still undefeated in sectional games — echoed Heidenreich’s sentiment after the victory.
“One day at a time,” Penrod said. “That’s been our motto ever since we beat Pendleton last week, just one day at a time. Whatever they throw at us, we’re going to be receptive of it, and we’re going to take it on with everything we’ve got.
“It seems like it’s a different player or different hitter in every game, you just never know. We’ve got so much faith in everybody in the uniform that we could put in at any time.”
This week, that player was junior Olivia Jaromin. After hitting a solo home run in Thursday’s 8-2 semifinal victory over Jay County, the Tigers’ centerfielder went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in the sectional final and blasted a pair of two-run home runs.
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After a double in the first inning, @olivia_jaromin hits her second bomb in as many postseason games to get @YTigerSoftball on the board first! 💣
She’s got both of Yorktown’s hits and gets them on the board first
2-0, @YHSAthleticspic.twitter.com/hJSm5saj6w
— Cade Hampton (@CadeHamp10) May 30, 2026
In eight postseason plate appearances, Jaromin is 4-for-5 with three home runs, a double and five RBIs. She was hit by a pitch once and walked twice — including a wise intentional walk by the Huskies in the final inning of the championship.
“There’s just something about the postseason,” Jaromin said. “There’s just a feeling about it. I come into every game mentally prepared. Confidence has to be high, but the postseason is win-or-go-home. It just really amps you up to know you have to play at your top and have to play with 100% effort and energy, and I think that just really helps amp me up a little bit more.”
Sophomore standout Liv Jones pitched the complete game in both sectional victories. Jay County’s powerful hitters managed six hits off her in the semifinal — including a solo home run by junior three-sport star Hallie Schwieterman — but Jones only walked two and racked up 15 strikeouts.
In the sectional final shutout, Jones surrendered just one hit and three walks while striking out 11 Huskies.
The circle wasn’t in the best conditions for Jones against Jay County after heavy rains on Wednesday morning forced the semifinals to be postponed, but she battled through it and continued to look like one of the state’s best. She also came up big at the plate, blasting a three-run home run as part of Yorktown’s five-run seventh inning that put the semifinal on ice.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” Jones said. “The mound was really rough actually, so that was a really big struggle. I was just trying to drag, and it was rough. I couldn’t really throw speed, so all I could do was spin it.”
Yorktown’s senior group of Brooklyn Bartle, Anna Rinker, Kim Levitz and Emma Reynolds will be the Tigers’ second straight senior class to finish their careers undefeated in sectional play.
Bartle, in particular, has had an eventful week — she recorded her 100th career hit on Thursday, graduated from Yorktown on Friday and then won her fourth sectional championship on Saturday.
“It’s been an awesome week, to say the least,” Bartle said. “It definitely has been a little bit overwhelming, just all of the emotions of being a senior and knowing that it’s got to be over, but I’m just grateful for all the memories that are going to come after, and I can’t wait to keep seeing where we continue going with this team.”
Up next for Yorktown softball
Yorktown will host perhaps the most anticipated regional championship across the state — a Class 3A No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between top-ranked Yorktown and second-ranked Logansport. The Berries also feature one of the state’s top pitchers — junior Texas commit Brooklynn Hagerty — so runs may be at a premium in the Class 3A heavyweight clash.
Yorktown and Logansport will square off at the Yorktown Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 2, at 6 p.m. Whoever wins will likely be considered the favorite to win the 3A state championship, but the Tigers are keeping their focus exactly where it has been all season — one game at a time.
“We’re going to enjoy this today and tomorrow,” Penrod said. “I’ll do what I’ve got to do to put a game plan together, talk with our other coaches and put a plan together. Have a tough practice on Monday, a light practice on Tuesday, and we’ll be ready.”
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Yorktown softball tops Hamilton Heights in sectional championship game
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