Shearer Named Among ICGSA Class
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
INDIANAPOLIS – Longtime softball coach Scot Shearer was honored by the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association for his work in athletics as part of the ICGSA Hall of Fame class for 2020.
Shearer was one of four individuals nominated for the softball wing of the hall, along with Tecumseh coach Gordon Wood and former softball standouts Audrey Bickel of Andrean and Crystal Inman of Shenandoah.
Around the game for 33 years, Shearer coached at three Northern Lakes Conference schools in Concord, NorthWood and Goshen before landing at LaVille. His time at Concord saw the Minutemen win back-to-back Northern Lakes Conference championships before later guiding LaVille to becoming one of the top teams in its class as well as earning the most wins in program history.
Shearer was named the 2013 District 2 Coach of the Year and later coached in the North-South All-Star Game. As a 30-year member of the ICGSA, Shearer has garnered both the 20-year and 30-year service awards, including the 2005 ICGSA Service Award. His contributions to the association has had him among district representative, all-star coordinator and softball chairperson in a host of roles and duties.
Wood spent 17 years with Tecumseh, winning over 300 games and posting a 29-0 record in the state’s sectional tournament with 13 championships in 13 tries as head coach. He has parlayed that into 11 regional championships and three state championships. Wood has won District 5 Coach of the Year and has been a North-South All-Star Game coach.
A 2010 graduate of Andrean, Bickel helped the 59ers to 100 wins in her four seasons as a player and two state championships, in 2007 and 2010. Her hitting résumé is nothing short of staggering, compiling a career average of .474 with 172 hits, 30 home runs and 145 RBIs. The three-time All-State player caught on with Ball State and was inducted into Andrean’s athletic hall of fame in 2019.
Inman was light’s out as a pitcher for the Raiders in the mid-90s. She was a First Team All-State player in 1994-96, helping the team to a state appearance in 1995 and was Miss Softball in 1996. Inman won 59 games as a pitcher with an ERA of 0.60 and struck out almost 800 batters. At the plate, Inman drove in over 70 runs and batted .462 for her career. Inman, now Crystal Dombrowski, later played for Purdue University and went on to help coach with USA Softball.