CHAMPIONS...are Kristen Burden and the Newton Indians after a 5-0 victory over Strasburg-Franklin in the state final.

JUNE 5, 2010 - AKRON
The Newton Indians fulfilled a dream Saturday night with a 5-0 victory over Strasburg-Franklin for the Division IV State Championship at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The shutout victory concluded an amazing journey for Newton, not only for this unique 2010 team, but for a legendary coach, Kirk Kadel.

First, Kirk Kadel has been there (at state) before - actually twice before - only to come up short both times. How fitting it is for a "Hall of Fame" coach - a coach that sees his style of ball played at other CCC schools - to achieve the ultimate prize for the community where he spent his entire teaching and coaching career? Kirk Kadel deserves this.

Second, the tournament run Newton put together was nothing short of amazing considering the obstacles it had in its way.

Consider...
...how important senior leadership is to the success of a season. Newton has but one senior on the roster, Hannah Oburn. For one player to assume that role all by herself - and lead the team to a state title - is unheard of.

...the youth of the team. Young players consume the roster, but a freshman pitcher running the table through the state tournament is phenomenal. It just doesn't happen very often. How mentally tough is Kirsten Burden and her teammates to overcome situations that don't go their way?

...the schedule has been a huge obstacle. Yes, the softball schedule Newton went through this season was tough, but that's not the schedule of point. It's the fact that the kids have been out of school since the beginning of May due to the construction of the new school. Think of all of the distractions a young team had to overcome. While all other teams spend virtually the entire day together, the Newton kids had to find ways to occupy their time during school hours. Surely the pitfalls of sleeping in too late, not eating right, laying around the house watching television, just losing the normal routine had to be a distraction. The fact that Newton was able to overcome this is beyond amazing.

But Newton did overcome everything thrown its way, including the frustration of having the state final game postponed due to the weather.

Once the game was finally started, Newton seized the moment in the first at bat, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.

Marina Snipes opened the game with a walk and Ashley Robinson lined out to the pitcher. Lacey Jackson walked and Hannah Oburn singled to load the bases with one out. Brooke Knepper reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Snipes and Jackson for the two runs.

Newton then pit three more runs on the board in the second inning.

Again, it was Snipes starting things off - this time with a one-out single to center field. Lacey Jackson followed with a single and then Hannah Oburn doubled to score Snipes and move Jackson to third. Jackson and Oburn then each scored on wild pitches to push the lead to 5-0.

Which was all Newton needed as Kristen Burden was stellar on the mound, striking out six of the 30 batters she faced. Behind her the defense was phenomenal once again, only committing one error in the contest.

Like it has done throughout the tournament run, Newton took advantage of mistakes as Strasburg-Franklin had just the one error itself, but combine that with two wild pitches and it was enough for the Lady Indians to do the damage they needed o win a state championship.

Congratulations to the 2010 State Champions, the Newton Indians.

SCORE BY INNINGS:
Newton .............2 3 0 .. 0 0 0 .. 0 - 5 .. 7 .. 1
Strasburg-Franklin .....0 0 0 .. 0 0 0 .. 0 - 0 .. 8 .. 1