Madison-Grant United School Corporation

FAIRMOUNT — A 70-16 record, four-straight sectional titles, two Grant Four crowns and a Central Indiana Conference championship are all part of the legacy that’s been built, in part, by the seven seniors on Madison-Grant’s softball roster.

Now those seniors: Johnna Hiatt, Demie Havens, Carley Holliday, McKenna Craig, Madeline Clouse, Avril Spaulding and Emma Wilkerson are the leaders and example setters for a talented group of underclassmen, which includes four freshmen that are certain impact the Argylls’ 2025 season.

“They’ve been a big part of our success the last three years. Hope to have some more with them while they’re still here,” said M-G coach Travis Havens. “They’re pretty good players and even better kids. They’re fun to coach. They enjoy softball and enjoy each other. They set a pretty good example for our younger kids.

“Demie is more the vocal leader. It just comes natural to her,” he added. “Johnna leads by example. Her and Carley are more quiet, they don’t say a whole lot. Carley is a funny kid she likes to cut up and make people laugh. Our other seniors are kind of quiet, but all get along pretty well. Right now I feel like were in a pretty good place as far as putting four classes together.”

M-G made a successful season debut Wednesday night with an 11-1, 5-inning win over Delta.

Hiatt played in her 79th varsity game against Delta and had a hit and drove in a run. She’s a career .435 hitter with 108 hits, 25 for extra bases, and has 51 RBI. Hiatt has been M-G’s every-day catcher throughout her career and will play at Indiana Wesleyan starting in the fall.

Havens has hit .363 in 77 varsity games and scored 81 runs. She had a hit, stolen base and scored twice in the opener.

Holliday slugged a 2-run homer in the first inning against Delta, her 14th dinger in 80 varsity games. She’s batting .424 for her career and has 77 RBI.

Clouse had a hit and two RBI against Delta and is batting .250 in 56 varsity games. She took 61 of her 76 career at-bats during her junior season.

Craig got the final three outs, two via strikeout, in Wednesday’s game. It was her 22nd varsity appearance in the circle. She’s pitched 87 total innings and has a 3.57 ERA.

Sophomore Olivia Dunham picked up the opening-night win for M-G and allowed just four hits, an unearned run, and collected seven strikeouts. She also had a double and an RBI. Dunham pitched 105 2/3 innings as a freshman and also batted .352.

“She’s a good softball player. She’s a strong kid, understands the game and she’s competitive. That will take you a long way,” Havens said of Dunham. “She could have been a little sharper, but for the first game of the season she was pretty good. We’re gonna face some tough teams so were gonna have to pretty good to compete. McKenna Craig will give us some good innings.”

Freshman Grace Wood had a hit, stole two bases and scored a run as M-G’s leadoff batter against Delta. Freshmen Mae Ricks and Delaney Pavey each stole a base and freshman Baylee Chapel scored two runs as a courtesy runner.

Junior Patricia VanMatre had a single, walk and was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, scored twice and drove in a run against Delta. Junior Cayleigh Stitt was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

“Patricia was nominated all conference last year and got honorable mention. She is one of our better offensive players and saved us a few times defensively, too,” Havens said. “Cayleigh can do the same things. She helped us in outfield last year and we’re hoping she can help us at the plate a little bit more this year.

“Worst part about a five-inning game trying to beat the weather, we had two seniors that didn’t get to play and two freshman that only ran the bases,” he added. “They’ve got a chance to be pretty good. Two of the kids can pitch a little bit one is a catcher. Grace can play anywhere on the field. They need some help but they’ve got a pretty good group of seniors to lead them this year.”

And no matter where M-G’s road leads this spring, the destination for Argylls’ softball won’t ever change.

“We can be very successful. Our expectation is to win the conference, win Grant four, win the sectional and win basically every tournament that we play in, Madison County, the Argyll Invite. We’re gonna go try to win every game we play,” Havens said. “We’ve got a chance to be better than we were last year. I think we should be better than we were last year (M-G finished 20-10).

“I think our freshmen are going to help us. We’ve got to have consistent pitching. We’ve got to hit the ball pretty well,” he continued. “Our sectional looks a little different this year, but we’re gonna have to play well to achieve any of those goals. … Conference is not gonna be easy. Madison County, Grant County, nothing is going to be easy.”