FRANKFORT, Ind. — Lauren Smith lingered in the dugout. Of Cowan's many emotional players, she appeared the most distraught.
The senior was joined by head coach Curtis Bynum, whose encouraging words lifted her spirits enough to join the Blackhawk faithful near the bleachers. The team's core, headlined by five juniors, will return. Only Smith will never wear the uniform again, so she absorbed the moment a bit longer.
Saturday marked the second straight year Cowan softball lost in a semistate extra-inning heartbreaker, this time a nine-inning 9-4 defeat in the Frankfort semifinals to eventual champion South Central.