ST. LEON — The Class 4A No. 5 New Palestine Dragons win wherever they go.
On the road Tuesday night to face East Central, the Dragons softball team scored an 8-1 win to improve its season record to 5-0 overall.
The Dragons defeated host Plainfield, 14-0, on Friday night in five innings to kick off their run of four straight road games. New Palestine travels to 4A No. 12 Franklin Central tonight and head to No. 18 Hamilton Southeastern on Thursday.
Against host East Central, the Dragons grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth and erupted for six runs in the fifth behind 12 total hits.
Aglaia Rudd finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run. Sam Booe went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Kendal Calvert drove in a run, and Lexi Campbell was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a home run. Alaina Miller went 2-for-4.
Allie Blum, Katie Kottlowski, Kinsey Mitchell and Alexa Holman each recorded a hit apiece.
Holman earned the win in the circle, pitching 4.1 innings with two hits allowed, two walks and three strikeouts.
Marauders win HHC opener
The Class 4A 25th-ranked Mt. Vernon softball team collected its fifth straight win on Tuesday night with a 3-1 victory over 3A No. 2 Yorktown during its Hoosier Heritage Conference opener.
The visiting Marauders (5-1, 1-0 HHC) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth and added two more runs in the seventh to win their second straight road game this week.
The Marauders defeated 4A No. 18 Hamilton Southeastern, 10-3, on Monday.
Macey Cox clubbed a solo home run to give Mt. Vernon its 1-0 lead early against Yorktown before Maddie Taylor blasted her third homer in four days — third straight game — to drive in two insurance runs in the seventh.
Taylor earned the complete-game victory, going 7.0 innings, allowing four hits, one run and striking out 11 with one walk.
Royals pick up a pair
The Class 2A 10th-ranked Eastern Hancock softball team won its sixth straight game on Tuesday night, defeating Mid-Eastern Conference foe Randolph Southern, 18-0, in five innings.
The visiting Royals led 8-0 after the top of the first inning and never looked back. Eastern Hancock also opened the week with a 20-12 win over host Lawrence North on Monday.
Against Randolph Southern, the Royals (6-1, 1-0 MEC) posted 16 hits with two doubles, three triples and a trio of home runs to win their conference opener.
Brooklyn Willis went 2-for-2 with three runs, four RBI, a triple and a home run for the Royals. Caroline Stapleton finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBI and a home run.
Sammie Bolding (2-for-4) had three RBI, two runs and a home run. Kaylee Kline (3-for-3) drove in a pair and connected for a triple. Taylor Koch (2-for-3) scored two runs and hit a triple.
Grace Stapleton went 1-for-2 with three RBI. Bre Taulbee and Kaylee Stewart (1-for-1, RBI) both laced a double each. Emma Bolding was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Maddie Turner picked up the win, pitching 2.0 innings with four strikeouts.
Against Lawrence North, the visiting Royals rallied back from a 7-0 and 12-5 deficit with an eight-run top of the fifth and seven-run seventh.
Eastern Hancock blasted five home runs overall with a pair for Emma Bolding (2-for-3, five RBI).
Sammie Bolding (2-for-4, three RBI), Kline (two RBI) and Sydni Bednarski (2-for-3, RBI) each added home runs. Stewart (2-for-5, two RBI) had a double.
Baseball
Dragons rally, fall in 7th
The New Palestine baseball team rallied back from a six-run deficit to tie the game in the seventh inning, but surrendered a run in the bottom of the frame Monday night and lost 11-10 to Perry Meridian.
The Dragons (2-3) fell behind 9-3 after four innings, but scratched back with a three-run fifth and another in the sixth. The host Falcons added a run in the sixth to go up 10-7, but the Dragons, once again, charged back in the seventh.
Kaiden Kirkwood initiated the comeback with a one-out single. Reise Quillen was hit by a pitch, and Carter Stogsdill drove one run home with a double to left.
Brendan Tabor and Caleb Davis followed with two-out, bases-loaded walks to deadlock the game. A groundout ended the threat.
In the bottom of the inning, the Falcons loaded the bases with three walks and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
Stogsdill led an eight-hit attack by going 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI. In addition to his seventh-inning double, he homered in the sixth.
Maddox Manes’ run-scoring double and Zayden Stiller’s RBI single keyed a three-run fifth. Stiller finished with two hits and two RBI.
Kirkwood also had two hits and two runs. Brendan Tabor added an RBI single.
The Dragons outhit the Falcons 8-5, but five pitchers surrendered 13 walks while striking out seven.
Royals fall to Crusaders
The Eastern Hancock baseball team lost to visiting Indianapolis Scecina on Monday by run-rule in five innings, 14-0.
The Royals were outhit 10-4 and trailed 2-0 after the first en route to dropping to 2-2 on the season.
Brandon Ridgway led the Royals, going 1-for-2 with a double. Wyatt Sutton, Cameron Wise and Drew White each recorded a hit apiece.
Tennis
Royals just miss vs. Spartans
The Eastern Hancock girls tennis team scored two straight-set wins against Southwestern on Monday night before narrowly losing the match 3-2.
Senior Chloe McCarty won for the Royals at No. 2 singles 6-0, 6-1, and freshman Lexi Swauger added the team’s second point at No. 3 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Southwestern grabbed a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles to get back in the match, but the Royals challenged at both No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles until the end.
Freshman Savanah Hardin lost the first set at No. 1 singles, 6-4. She rallied back to tie up the match with a 6-2 win in the second. She eventually lost the hard-fought match in the third, 6-2.
The Royals’ No. 2 doubles tandem of junior Audrey Tice and freshman Mikayla Hardy trailed 6-4 after the first set, but they charged back to win the second, 6-4. Their rally ended in the third, however, as Southwestern won 6-3.
The Royals are now 1-1 on the season.
