New Palestine’s Alaina Miller (5) scores the first run at New Palestine’s new stadium in their game against Eastern Hancock on Monday, March 22, 2021. (Rob Baker/Daily Reporter)
By Paul Gable/For The Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — It’s a new year, but the expectations remain the same for the New Palestine High School softball team — a Class 4A state championship.
A season ago, the state-ranked Dragons fell just short of their ultimate goal, ending the 2021 season at 28-1 and falling to eventual state champion Roncalli, 4-0, in the sectional semifinals.
“Going undefeated during the regular season was never anticipated and was never a goal. It was pretty special, and the girls handled it pretty well. I would say we started to feel some pressure in the last week of the season, but it was a blast,” said New Palestine head coach Ed Marcum, who led the Dragons to three consecutive 3A state titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with six titles overall.
In the matchup between New Palestine and the Royals, the Dragons had opportunities to crack the scoreboard and seize control, but Roncalli ace pitcher Keagan Rothrock, who finished with 15 strikeouts, shut the door each time.
“I say all the time, it was a great game until it wasn’t,” Marcum said of the way the season ended against Roncalli.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Alaina Miller reached on a leadoff walk for New Palestine and was bunted over by Aglaia Rudd. Moments later, Miller would be stranded on base, eliminating a scoring chance for the Dragons and giving all the momentum to Roncalli, who blew the game open in the seventh.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted. If we could have scored in the bottom of the sixth, we would have had some momentum, and it could have been different, but their pitcher is a great one. We haven’t talked much about the way the season ended. We have moved on and reloaded,” Marcum said.
New Palestine will have to reload on both offense and defense, as they lost some talent to graduation.
Ace pitcher Sam Booe has graduated after going 16-1 a season ago with four shutouts, a save, a perfect game, 142 strikeouts and 12 walks surrendered.
From an offensive standpoint, gone are the likes of Lexi Campbell, Kendal Calvert and Kinsey Mitchell, all of whom produced at the dish.
Mitchell, an outfielder, finished the season with a .451 batting average, 33 runs, 37 hits, 21 RBI, six doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Calvert, another key outfielder, finished with a .393 batting average, 30 runs, 33 hits, 20 RBI, three homers, six doubles and three triples.
Campbell, who started at third base, finished the year with a .379 batting average to go along with a team-high 11 homers. She also notched 29 runs, 36 hits, 42 RBI and four doubles.
Despite the losses, New Palestine brings back a veteran-laden team, and one that not only has quite a bit of depth but also 18 players on the varsity roster. Something Marcum said, he, typically, doesn’t do.
“We are very deep this season. We have been in this position every year, but this year, we are very deep. We have 18 players on the varsity roster, and I have never had more than 14. I believe the competition will make us better, and every one of them deserved the opportunity. We have been fortunate, and I am a believer that success breeds success. As a young player, you know that if you are going to play in high school, you have to be really good. The players work hard and we have been fortunate to reload each year,” Marcum said.
Leading the way of returning players is shortstop Allie Blum, who only had three errors a season ago despite playing every inning at shortstop. Blum, a sophomore, finished with a .372 batting average, 29 hits, 24 RBI and 18 runs.
“She had an unbelievable freshman year,” Marcum said.
Also back is second baseman and outfielder Alaina Miller, who finished with a .453 batting average to go along with 39 hits, 32 runs, 16 RBI, five doubles and two triples.
“She was our all-everything last year,” Marcum said.
Two other returnees Marcum is excited about are catcher Aglaia Rudd and utility player Grace Paquette. A season ago, Rudd finished with a .367 batting average, 33 hits, 24 RBI and eight runs, while Paquette had a .393 batting average, 23 runs, 24 hits and 17 RBI.
In the circle, New Palestine brings back two quality arms in seniors Alexa Holman and Katie Kottlowski.
Holman, who has already committed to IUPUI, finished last year with a 1.24 ERA and was 7-0 with a save, 40 strikeouts and seven walks.
Kottlowski, who has committed to Taylor University, posted a 1.92 ERA on a 5-0 record with three saves, 29 strikeouts and 10 walks.
“They are different. One is a rise-ball pitcher and the other is a drop-change pitcher. They’ve got experience and are good kids who shared our mental attitude award last year,” Marcum said.
With the season opener against Eastern Hancock, Marcum is ready to get underway and chase another state title.
“We are deep this year. We have two really good, senior pitchers and will be good in the circle. We will play good defense, and I anticipate us to be good offensively again. We play a brutal schedule and are on the road quite a bit this year, so we have to be mentally tough. We are excited,” Marcum said.
And, there is still the expectation of winning a Hoosier Heritage Conference championship and contending for a state title.
“We have a strong conference. I told the team, I won three state titles before I won a conference title, and now we’ve won around seven in a row. It is unbelievable to think about because of the teams in our conference. It is always good to win the conference, and you probably have to stay undefeated to do it. We don’t count us being in the mix as pressure, but, instead, as a huge honor,” Marcum said. “We are talking about the possibility of winning state when we have our first team meeting all the way to the end of the season. You have to have some breaks, but our expectation is to play hard, do the best we can and we know we have a target on our back. We treat each game as important, and like it is a state title game. Our schedule does a good job of preparing us.”
2022 New Palestine Softball Schedule
Mar. 21 – New Palestine at Eastern Hancock, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 6 – New Palestine at Avon, 6 p.m.
Apr. 8 – Plainfield at New Palestine, 6 p.m.
Apr. 12 – East Central at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 13 – Franklin Central at New Palestine, 6 p.m.
Apr. 14 – Hamilton Southeastern at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 15 – New Palestine at Carmel, 6 p.m.
Apr. 19 – New Palestine at Yorktown, 5:30 p.m.*
Apr. 21 – New Palestine at Mt. Vernon, 5:30 p.m.*
Apr. 22 – Zionsville at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 23 – (DH) New Palestine at Seymour (vs. Decatur Central), noon
Apr. 25 – New Palestine at Noblesville, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 26 – New Castle at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.*
Apr. 27 – New Palestine at Center Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 28 – New Palestine at Shelbyville, 5:30 p.m.*
Apr. 30 – (DH) New Palestine at Roncalli (vs. Marist), 10 a.m.
May 2 – New Palestine at Franklin Community, 5:30 p.m.
May 5 – New Palestine at Greenfield-Central, 5:30 p.m.*
May 10 – New Palestine at Connersville, 5:30 p.m.
May 11 – Fishers at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.
May 12 – Pendleton Heights at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.*
May 14 – (DH) Muster/Crown Point at New Palestine, 10 a.m.
May 17 – New Palestine at Kokomo, 5:30 p.m.
May 18 – Indy Marlins Homeschool at New Palestine, 6 p.m.
May 20 – Delta at New Palestine, 5:30 p.m.*
* Hoosier Heritage Conference game
