FORTVILLE — The third time was the charm for New Palestine and Mt. Vernon as they were able to complete a game that was first attempted April 21.
Back in April, with the Dragons leading 3-0 and threatening in the top of the third inning, rain forced the postponement of the game.
The first makeup game also was rained out.
Unlike high school baseball, the teams were required to start from the beginning, and the Dragons came out victorious Friday night 11-0 to improve to 18-2 and 5-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.
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The Marauders fell to 9-8 and 1-6 in the HHC.
“Eight or nine years ago the coaches in our conference got together and agreed to start a game where it was delayed if rain stopped a game,” Dragons coach Ed Marcum said afterwards. “But the next day I got a call from our athletic director who said that wasn’t written into the by-laws.”
While it shortly looked like the rule quirk would help the Marauders, the Dragons used the third and fourth innings to pour it on and turn it into only a five-inning contest.
The Dragons scoring was started on a high, looping home run by senior Issy Hoyt, her fifth homer of the year.
Madison Whitaker drove in two runs with a double in a three-run inning for the Dragons in the third.
The fourth inning looked like a hitting clinic for the Dragons.
After a hard hit line out by the first batter, the next seven Dragon batters would score to put the game away.
The inning was highlighted by junior pitcher Elisha Barker helping herself with a three-run home run to nearly the exact same spot in center field Issy Hoyt had hit her home run earlier.
“I give our girls a lot of credit for staying focused on this game (after having it rained out earlier),” Marcum said.
The offense wasn’t the only thing clicking, as Barker stymied the Marauders through four innings and held them to only two singles and no base runner reached second base.
“We knew they were a really great team,” Marauders coach Veronica Kirby stated. “But this is how our season has gone: one night we will come out with a big win, and the next night we will come out and have a game like this.”
The Dragons win keeps them in the hunt for an outright or share of the Hoosier Heritage Conference title.
They remain tied with Shelbyville and Yorktown in the loss column.
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New Palestine 11, Mt. Vernon 0
New Palestine(18-2, 5-1 HHC);103;70;—;11;14;0
Mt. Vernon (9-8, 1-6 HHC);000;00;—;0;2;0
2B: Casey Lehman (NP) 2, Issy Hoyt (NP), Madison Whitaker (NP), Ashley Prange (NP) HR: Issy Hoyt (NP), Elisha Barker (NP).
WP: Elisha Barker (13-2). LP: Kaitlyn Nugent (5-3).
Notables: Elisha Barker: 4 IP, 5 K, 2H. 1-2 HR, 3 RBI; Issy Hout: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Casey Lehman: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 RBI.
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