Madsen ties national record with 3 homers in one inning

It all happened so quickly – and so unexpectedly.

Wheat Ridge (Colo.) junior softball slugger Elle Madsen, batting second in the lineup, got the green light on a 2-0 pitch and belted it over the left field fence in the first inning against Alameda (Colo.). She came up again in that inning and slammed a home run over the center field fence on another 2-0 count. A third appearance in that inning produced a home run over the right field fence on a 1-0 count.

When the first-inning smoke cleared, the Farmers had scored 18 runs en route to a three-inning, 26-0 victory, and Madsen had tied a national record with three home runs in a single inning.

Sherri Wright of Overton (Nashville, Tenn.) set the record in 1989 and Carolyn Adams of the School of the Osage (Kaiser, Mo.) tied it in 2002.

Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said his budding star swung at just three pitches – driving in seven runs - and all of them soared out of the park.

"The record feels great and it's a great accomplishment," Madsen told MaxPreps.

Through 17 games, Madsen is batting a lofty .650 with 10 home runs. She also has hit 10 doubles and four triples and has driven in 43 runs on 39 hits. She has struck out just twice.

"In my opinion, she's the No. 1 hitter in the state," Stricklett said. "She has a good eye for the ball. She knows her (strike) zone. She has a smooth swing and gets everything she has into a softball."

The powerful 5-foot-8 slugger also is doing an outstanding job in her first year as the Farmers' top pitcher as well. She has pitched every game and has a 16-1 record, with her lone defeat being 2-1 loss to three-time Class 5A defending state champion Legacy (Broomfield, Colo.).

In 97 innings, the hard-throwing right hander has struck out 128 and walked just six while compiling a .79 earned run average. She has thrown seven shutouts.

Her fastball tops out at 65 mph. But she also can throw a rise, knuckle curve, changeup and screwball. She said the knuckle curve has been her big strikeout pitch this year.

Madsen was an all-Colorado choice as an outfielder during her freshman and sophomore years. Stricklett installed her as his cleanup hitter as a freshman. He moved her to the No. 3 slot as a sophomore and this year to the No. 2 slot to get her more at-bats.

Her goal is to help the Farmers capture their third consecutive Class 4A state title.

Asked about the pressure, she replied, "That's what makes it exciting."

Madsen, who also is expected to start at a post position in basketball this year, carries a 3.8 GPA and already has thoughts about playing college softball. She mentioned powers such as Texas, Alabama and Arizona, with Arizona being her favorite at this time.

Cold-weather states can forget about recruiting her, however, because she loves hot weather.

Football: Lancaster ties Indiana record
Northview (Brazil, Ind.) senior quarterback Trent Lancaster tied a state record when he fired eight touchdown passes during a 61-6 homecoming rout of winless South Vermillion (Clinton, Ind.). Senior receiver Andrew Buttssnared four of the touchdown tosses.

* Grape Creek (San Angelo, Texas) senior Eli Untermeyer (6-1, 185) ran 36 times for 505 yards (No. 6 in Texas history) and six touchdowns during a 46-17 victory over Alpine (Texas).

* West Harrison (Mondamin, Iowa) snapped a 48-game losing streak with a 35-34 victory over Corning … Hawthorne (Calif.) ended a 45-game on-field losing streak (it had one forfeit win) with a 27-22 win against Firebaugh (Lynwood, Calif.) … Central (Little Rock, Ark.) snapped a 25-game losing streak with a 28-27 victory against Russellville (Ark.).

* Chris Jahnke scored on kickoff returns of 99 and 90 yards as Griswold (Iowa) routed St. Albert (Council Bluffs, Iowa), 71-3.

* Salem (N.H.) outlasted Nashua North (Nashua, N.H.), 67-54, as senior Max Jacques ran 26 times for 224 yards and four touchdowns.

* Quarterback Keihan Gibbs connected on all 15 of his passes for 249 yards and five touchdowns as Ventura (Calif.) rolled past Camarillo (Calif.), 61-27.

* Crespi (Encino, Calif.) defeated Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.), 45-31 as Kenneth Stenhouse completed 27 of 33 passes for 493 yards and five touchdowns.

* In a cross-town battle of teams from Ashburn, Va., underdog Briar Woods stunned two-time defending Division 4 state champion Broad Run, 20-13, to end its 33-game winning streak.

* Hawken (Gates Mills, Ohio) blanked Richmond Heights (Ohio), 60-0, to hand coach Cliff Walton his 200th victory.

Soccer: Cicciarelli leads champs
Nationally-ranked Notre Dame (Peoria, Ill.) blanked O’Fallon (Ill.), 4-0, to win the top Illinois bracket during the annual Gateway City Soccer Classic. Vince Cicciarelli, who has committed to the University of Notre Dame, led the champs with four goals and one assist during the tourney.

In the top Missouri bracket, St. Louis University nipped national power Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.), 1-0, to win the title. Dunbar (Lexington, Ky.) and Hazelwood Central (Florissant, Mo.) also were bracket champions.

* Mike Seigfried of Eastern Lebanon County (Myerstown, Pa.), picked up his 400th soccer coaching victory last week, while Dino McIntyre of Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) notched No. 300.

Cross country: Cuffe, Del Valle set records
Cornwall Central (New Windsor, N.Y.) distance star Aisling Cuffe won the girls division of the 11th annual Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C., with a time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds. Her outstanding effort shattered the course record by 30 seconds and bested the second-place finisher by a remarkable 53 seconds.

The boys champion was Armando Del Valle of Columbus (Miami), who won in a course-record 15:01, 11 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Girls basketball: Irish add a pair
Basketball standouts Madison Cable and Markisha Wright committed to the University of Notre Dame last week, according to the South Bend Tribune.

Cable, a 5-11 senior, has sparked Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) to Pennsylvania state championships the past two years. As a junior she averaged 13.7 points for a 29-2 team.

Wright, a 6-2 senior, averaged 13 points and eight rebounds as a junior for Class 4A state runner-up Des Moines East (Iowa).

Tennis: Lapkin sets Wyoming record
East (Cheyenne, Wyo.) senior Aaron Lapkin defeated Creel Smith of Jackson Hole (Wyo.), 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 1 singles to become the first tennis player in Wyoming history to notch four consecutive state championships.

* Red River (Grand Forks, N.D.) defeated Fargo South (N.D.), 4-1, to give coach Greg LaDouceur his 13th consecutive state tennis championship.

Golf: U.S. wins Junior Ryder Cup
The United States defeated Europe, 13.5-10.5, to win the fifth annual Junior Ryder Cup golf championship at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland. It marked the second straight win for the Americans.

Winning all three of their matches for the champs were Jordan Spieth of Dallas Jesuit and Doris Chen of IMG Academies (Bradenton, Fla.).

Potpourri
* Magnolia (Texas) senior setter Paige Holland has 4,011 career assists in volleyball, which places her at No. 6 in high school history. The record is 5,760.

* White Bear Lake (Minn.) senior wrestler Donny Longendyke has made a commitment to the University of Nebraska, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 6-3, 265-pounder posted a 47-0 record last year with 39 pins en route to the Class AAA heavyweight state title.

* Two of the nation's outstanding senior swimmers have made their college choices, according to Swimming World Magazine. Dominick Glavich of Green Hope (Cary, N.C.) has chosen the University of North Carolina, while Ellen Williamson of Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.) has selected the University of Virginia.

* This will be the final sports season for Thornridge (Dolton, Ill.), according to the Chicago Sun-Times. It will be converted into a freshman academy next fall. Unfortunately that will wipe out the history of the great Quinn Buckner-led basketball teams which won 58 consecutive games and two state titles from 1970-72.