WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — Senior designated player Lexi Smith scored the go-ahead run on a fly ball by junior left fielder Nevaeh Rangel and freshman shortstop Lulu Johnston added a run-scoring single to back junior pitcher Paige Liezert’s nine-inning gem as Crown Point edged Center Grove 2-0 in the Class 4A state championship game at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (31-4) added their second state title to their first won in 2017 after the game was suspended by weather on Friday night.
Liezert, an Illinois-Chicago commit, was dominant against the Trojans (26-4). She scattered four hits, walked two and struck out 16.
Crown Point’s Angie Richwalski becomes the second person to win a state title in softball as a coach after winning one as a player. She was a sophomore on Lake Central’s 2004 state championship team. She joins Beth Zachary, who won the 2001 3A title as a player for Castle and won the 2023 4A title as Penn’s coach.
The story will be updated.
