CROWN POINT – Crown Point softball star Paige Lizette said Friday night against a strong Penn State lineup was just about doing “your thing.”
Lizette was outstanding in the pitching circle, leading the second-ranked Bulldogs to a 4-0 victory over the third-ranked Kings in a Class 4A heavyweight clash at Cynthia Field.
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Liezert Sr. wields a gem as the defending state champion improves to 16-3-1 and has won eight straight. Penn lost 16-3.
More: IHSAA Softball Combination Bracket Set. View South Bend Area Matches
Liezert, who hails from Miami, Ohio, had a stellar performance with three hits, 15 strikeouts and one walk-on. The diminutive right-hander, who is coming off a stellar 5-5 record, has shown off her prowess in the circle to improve her record to 12-1 on the season.
Lizette was also the winning pitcher in Crown Point’s 4-2 victory over Penn State in the 2025 Harrison (West Lafayette) semistate championship game.
Lizette overwhelmed Penn’s deep and talented lineup with a devastating rise. The Kingsmen entered the game averaging over nine points per game and batting .405 as a team, but they simply couldn’t catch up with the pitch in their hands all game. Lizette now has 165 strikeouts and allowed just 10 earned runs in 88.1 innings.
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Lizette set the tone by striking out five of the first six Penn batters she faced.
“Every game is the same for me because I know my team has my back,” Lizette said softly. “You can’t think this is a big game. It’s just about being out there and doing your thing… I think it sends a message that we’ve got the bats and the hitters and the defense and we’re ready to go.”
The Bulldogs wasted no time in taking control of the game. The home team has now outscored 20 opponents 186-41, scoring three points in the home half of the first inning. Star leadoff hitter Scarlette Tegtman, one of four seniors, opened the game with a double over the left fielder’s head. The Bulldogs made it 1-0 on an infield single and a Payne error.
Junior varsity hitter Evi Cuevas then hit a two-run double to right-center to make it 3-0. Before Friday night’s game, Tygetman was batting .500.
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“It was such a relief to have that cushion right away,” Lizette noted.
Penn led off the third inning on a single to right field by sophomore Harper Rumble. The Kingsman’s only other hits were senior Phoebe Wood’s two-out single in the sixth inning and senior Addison Bogogna’s two-out single in the seventh.
Lizette kept bowling in the low 60s, fanning the final batsmen of the game. She issued a walk in the final inning, her 13th of the season. Lizette threw 113 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. She smothered a Penn State lineup that reached double-digit points in 10 games.
Lizette’s philosophy on Friday night was simple, Payne couldn’t connect with her powerful rising ball.
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“Keep pitching,” Lizette said of her best pitching mindset. “They loved it, but they couldn’t hit it.”
Penn coach Beth Zachary, herself a former state champion prep pitcher, gives credit where credit is due.
“She’s doing great,” said Zachary of Lizette. “She attacked and controlled the game. She kept us off balance and we didn’t adjust fast enough. But that’s why we came here on Friday night. We wanted to see that.
“No excuses, but we just didn’t feel comfortable tonight. We weren’t locked in and I was surprised we weren’t ready in the first inning. You take that away and it was almost a close game after that.
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“It was a great learning moment for us. You just couldn’t catch them on three runs like we did. I thought our girls responded well with their energy and I’m proud of it. But we just didn’t adjust fast enough at the plate.”
The Kingsmen also lost their 2025 regular season home game to Crown Point, 6-5, striking out five in Friday night’s game.
Penn State’s Phoebe Wood (14) celebrates her first out during a high school softball game at New Prairie High School on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New Carlisle.
Crown Point added its final run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by sophomore Lulu Johnston to win 4-0. The Bulldogs also had no outs in the inning, but Penn senior pitcher Caitlyn Denny had a strong performance, limiting the damage with two strikeouts and a ground ball.
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When asked if she takes Lizette’s greatness for granted, Crown Point coach Angie Richwalski responded, “Absolutely not.” “We’ve been talking about how she’s going to leave a huge hole after this season, and it’s not because we don’t have other talented pitchers. That’s how good Paige is.
“Paige is a great kid and a trooper. She does anything we ask her to do. She’s learned a lot the past two years. She loves putting the hammer down.”
Crown Point handed Denney its first loss of the season on Friday night, hitting .397 with 20 home runs and eight players with an RBI or more. Danny is a freshman at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and currently has an 8-1 record. The home team has scored in double figures 11 times this season, with eight hits, only six strikeouts and one walk. Junior left-hander Anna Heik pitched the final inning for Penn State.
Penn State now has losses to Crown Point, Kentucky (14-0) and Davis County (14-3). The Bulldogs lost to conference rival Lake Central 2-1, Davis County 6-5 and Marist from Illinois 2-1.
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Crown Point is scheduled to face undefeated Lake Central (22-0), Class 4A No. 1 team, again on Tuesday night.
Penn State, which sits atop the Northern Indiana Conference with a 7-0 record, will resume play suspended Thursday night when it hosts Elkhart on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Payne struck in the bottom half of the first inning and the game was tied at 1-1.
The Kingsmen and Bulldogs will likely meet again next month at the Harrison (West Lafayette) semistate. Penn is the favorite in the region and will likely face Elkhart in the regional round for the second straight year. The Kingsmen have won a state record 11 consecutive district titles. Crown Point will compete in the Central Lakes Division but won’t see the hosts until the title game.
This article originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune: Crown Point excludes Penn in clash of Class 4A prep softball powers
