{"id":330663,"date":"2026-06-10T13:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/330663\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:45:19","slug":"softball-dallas-bowen-stars-for-state-bound-hanover-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/330663\/","title":{"rendered":"Softball: Dallas Bowen stars for state-bound Hanover Central"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freshman shortstop Dallas Bowen\u2019s impact for Hanover Central has been prompt and profound.<\/p>\n

Just ask senior catcher Sienna Stilley<\/a>, a Jacksonville State recruit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI choose her every single time,\u201d Stilley said. \u201cWhether it be a game-clinching hit or a play at short to seal the game, she\u2019s the one I\u2019m going to pick. Every. Single. Time.<\/p>\n

\u201cDallas, although a freshman, carries herself like a vet, like she\u2019s been in these situations before. She is so incredibly hardworking and a talented player. But beyond that, she\u2019s one of the most genuine people you\u2019ll ever be around. The way she can lift your spirits by simply walking into a room with her brightest smile is one of her greatest feats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowen\u2019s feats have been bountiful as the Wildcats (25-6), who won the Northwest Crossroads Conference title and are ranked No. 10 in the state coaches poll, prepare to play No. 7 New Palestine (24-7) in their second straight Class 3A state championship game at Purdue\u2019s Bittinger Stadium at 4:30 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n

Bowen is hitting .371 with six homers, a team-high four triples, five doubles, 28 RBIs, a team-high 38 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Her sixth homer was a three-run shot on Saturday to open the scoring in Hanover Central\u2019s victory against East Noble in a semistate final, which was completed Monday.<\/p>\n

\"HanoverHanover Central\u2019s Dallas Bowen bats during a nonconference game against Illiana Christian in Cedar Lake on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Mandy Coppinger \/ Post-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cJust perfect timing and bittersweet,\u201d Hanover Central coach Sam Antkiewicz said of Bowen\u2019s addition. \u201cI graduated my daughter (Sienna), who was playing shortstop last year, did well and helped get us to the state championship game. So it was bitter to see her go. But it was sweet to see Dallas come in and fit right in.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been just a blessing. She works hard, just as hard as anybody. She\u2019s a gamer. She wants to win. She wants to compete. It\u2019s just good to have her on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowen has taken her role in stride as she tries to help the Wildcats add to their 2002 Class 2A state title. They lost to Indianapolis Cathedral<\/a> in the state final last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just knowing I have the team behind us and I know I have support,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cEven if I\u2019m down, I know someone\u2019s going to pick me back up, and it\u2019s never just where you feel like you\u2019re kind of lonely without your team. I know I always have my team getting my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HanoverHanover Central\u2019s Dallas Bowen reacts during a nonconference game against Illiana Christian in Cedar Lake on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Mandy Coppinger \/ Post-Tribune)<\/p>\n

That goes both ways for the Wildcats.<\/p>\n

\u201cDallas is one of those teammates that inspires you to be a better person and to push yourself during practice and games,\u201d Stilley said. \u201cEven on her \u2018off days,\u2019 she\u2019s still the first one to encourage you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many talks Dal and I have, but the ones that stick out to me the most are the ones where she asks for help. To know she wants to be a stronger player mentally and physically is such a refreshing feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowen is following in the footsteps of older brothers Drayk and Dylan.<\/p>\n

Drayk Bowen, who will be a senior linebacker and captain for Notre Dame next season, was Northwest Indiana\u2019s only Mr. Football<\/a> and won the Butkus Award as the top high school linebacker in the country in 2022 after leading Andrean to two Class 2A state championship games and the 2021 state title<\/a>. He also started at third base when Andrean\u2019s baseball team won the 3A state title<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Andrean'sAndrean’s Drayk Bowen celebrates with teammates after defeating Lafayette Central Catholic in a Class 2A regional championship game on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. (Kyle Telechan \/ Post-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Dylan Bowen<\/a>, who graduated from Hanover Central last week, was a four-year starter at shortstop and also played defensive back for three seasons. The Oklahoma State recruit is\u00a0 likely to be picked in the MLB draft in July.<\/p>\n

Dallas Bowen, who also plays volleyball, has embraced the sibling dynamic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really good,\u201d she said. \u201cIt keeps me pushing throughout because I\u2019m seeing them succeed and I also want to be that, but I also am being pushed by them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowen has aspirations to play at the highest level too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go play somewhere down South, somewhere competitive,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to go to the top three like Texas, Florida or Oklahoma.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stilley expressed her confidence in Bowen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she has all the tools to be the greatest athlete she can dream of, but it\u2019s her that needs to believe it as well,\u201d Stilley said. \u201cSeeing her success through this season just filled my heart. I know and see how hard she works, and to see it all pay off makes me the happiest for her and proudest of her. She can bounce back from adversity quicker than anyone I know because she knows the impact role she plays on this team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of not only her as an athlete, but her as a person. She\u2019s so mature for her grade, and she has matured greatly over these three months of high school softball. I think I might be the most excited to see where her future takes her. I know she\u2019ll thrive anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HanoverHanover Central shortstop Dallas Bowen watches a pitch during a nonconference game against Illiana Christian in Cedar Lake on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Mandy Coppinger \/ Post-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Still early in her high school career, Bowen aims to thrive one more time as a freshman for the Wildcats. New Palestine has won six state titles, most recently in 2019, and reached the 4A state championship game in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cIt\u2019s a new experience for me, and it\u2019s just exciting to be going down there with this group of girls. We have a really good shot, and the way we stay together just makes it even more fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a great experience. I knew I had to prove myself this year, but I also knew a lot of the girls, and I knew they were a great group, and I knew we were going to be a great group. We\u2019re always pushing each other, we\u2019re competitive, we never give up and we\u2019re just always staying together with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Freshman shortstop Dallas Bowen\u2019s impact for Hanover Central has been prompt and profound. Just ask senior catcher Sienna…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,2291,10743,92349,251,92344,118181],"class_list":["post-330663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-high-school-sports","tag-indiana","tag-lake-county","tag-local-news","tag-post-tribune","tag-post-tribune-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}