The trip has been worth the wait for Lake Central’s Tegan Tripp.
The junior first baseman is a Division I recruit, having announced her commitment to Virginia Tech in December. But this is Tripp’s first full varsity season in a tradition-rich program that has made no secret about its aspirations to win a state title.
“I worked really hard to get here, trying to get to this point, and now I’m trying to do everything I can to stay here and finish it off this year with the team,” she said.
“Just really keep working. Control what I can control. Not letting anybody get in my way. Working as a team with everybody, pushing through. Working as hard as I can all year.”
Tripp has been making the most of her opportunity, including in the Class 4A Crown Point Sectional semifinals on Thursday, when she went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs in Lake Central’s 9-4 win against Munster.
Tripp struck out in her first at-bat, but she tripled in the fourth inning ahead of senior shortstop Taylor Schafer’s tying two-run homer, hit a two-run double in the fifth for a 5-2 lead and hit a two-run double in the seventh to make it 8-3.
“After my first at-bat, I was really just trying to get the ball where I know I could score runners because each time runners were in scoring position,” Tripp said. “It was strategically how I could get them in, however I could. Anything for the team.”
In a marquee matchup between Duneland Athletic Conference champion Lake Central (27-3), which is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll, and Northwest Crossroads Conference champion Munster (26-6), which is ranked No. 6, Tripp’s approach didn’t surprise Schafer.
After all, Tripp is hitting .397 with a team-high six homers, 30 RBIs and 27 runs scored for the Indians, who ran their winning streak against Munster to 11 games dating to 2017 and advanced to play No. 4 Crown Point (26-4) in the sectional championship game on Friday.
“Great teammate,” Schafer said. “She really does anything for the team, and it showed.”
Last season, Tripp hit .348 with a homer and four RBIs in 23 at-bats for the varsity team and hit .592 with four homers and 34 RBIs in 71 at-bats for the junior varsity team. As a freshman, she hit .508 with eight homers and 43 RBIs on JV and went 2-for-2 on varsity.
“She’s been fantastic,” Lake Central coach Yvette Tovar said. “She’s a super strong kid, mentally and physically. When she’s up to bat and she hits the ball, if it’s a ground ball, if it’s a liner, if she hits it out, she’s a very strong kid.
“She’s one that we’ve really had to tell to keep things simple and get out of her head. She’s so strong, she’s usually wanting to hit it out, and it’s like, ‘You’re strong enough, trust me. If you just hit the ball, you’ll probably hit it out.’ Just little by little. She’s a very good kid. I’m glad she’s only a junior. She’s growing very well.”
Tripp wants to continue to contribute this season.
“We’ve had a great season so far,” she said. “We’ve kept going because our ultimate goal is we want to win state. That’s just what we’ve been working toward all year. Everything we do is for that.”
