Eastern Hancock’s Sammie Bolding throws the runner out at first during their game against Wapahani on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
INDIANAPOLIS — On Sunday night, the IHSAA announced its sectional pairings for the 55th annual baseball and 37th annual softball state tournament series.
For softball, 372 teams were placed into sectional brackets, while 383 baseball teams were paired for postseason play.
Sectional baseball competition begins Wednesday, May 25, and continues through Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day), with the 64 champions advancing to the four-team regional on Saturday, June 4. Two semifinal games will be played early that day at each regional site with the two winners returning for a championship game that evening.
The 16 regional winners will be assigned to four semistate sites and play a single game on Saturday, June 11, with the winners moving into their respective state championship game. The four state championship games will be played at Victory Field in Indianapolis, home of the Triple-A franchise Indianapolis Indians, for the 24th year overall.
This year’s state finals games will be played in a doubleheader format on Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18.
Softball sectional action runs May 23-28 with the 64 advancing teams moving into a one-game regional round on Tuesday, May 31 and the four-team semistates on Saturday, June 4.
The four softball state championship games will be played June 10-11 at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette.
In softball, Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon will compete in Sectional 9 at Pendleton Heights High School.
The Hancock County and Hoosier Heritage Conference rivals will meet in the opening round, while Richmond faces the host Arabians in the other first-round match-up.
Anderson, which received the first-round bye, will play the winner between Richmond and Pendleton Heights in the semifinal round. Muncie Central received the other first-round bye and will play the winner between G-C and Mt. Vernon in the second semifinal.
State-ranked New Palestine will travel to Sectional 11 at Franklin Central High School. The Dragons will face Southport in the opening round, while defending champion Roncalli and Warren Central play in the other opening-round contest.
Perry Meridian, which drew the first-round bye, will play the winner between New Palestine and Southport in the semifinals. Host Franklin Central will face the winner between Roncalli and Warren Central in the second semifinal, which could setup a rematch between New Palestine and Roncalli in the sectional title game. Roncalli bested New Palestine in the sectional semifinals last season.
Class 2A Eastern Hancock hosts its own Sectional 42 tournament and opens against rival Knightstown in the first round.
Triton Central faces Indianapolis Scecina in the five-team tournament’s semifinal round. Heritage Christian drew the bye and will face the winner between Knightstown and defending champion Eastern Hancock in the semifinals.
In baseball, Mt. Vernon hosts Sectional 9 and opens the tournament against rival Pendleton Heights in the first round. Richmond and Greenfield-Central compete in the other first-round game.
Both first-round winners will meet in the semifinal round, while Muncie Central and Anderson will play in the second semifinal contest after each team drew the first-round bye.
New Palestine travels to Roncalli for Sectional 11. Host Roncalli faces Perry Meridian in the opening round, while New Palestine and Southport meet in the second first-round contest.
Both winners will clash in the semifinal round. Warren Central and Franklin Central both drew the bye and will play in the second semifinal game.
Eastern Hancock heads to Indianapolis Scecina for Sectional 42. The Royals drew the first-round bye and will face the winner between Triton Central and host Scecina. Knightstown and Heritage Christian play in the other semifinal game.
2022 Baseball Sectional Pairings
Class 4A
Sectional 9 (six teams)
at Mt. Vernon H.S.
Gm 1: Mt. Vernon vs. Pendleton Heights
Gm 2: Richmond vs. Greenfield-Central
Gm 3: Gm 1 winner vs. Gm 2 winner
Gm 4: Muncie Central vs. Anderson
Gm 5 (championship): Gm 3 winner vs. Gm 4 winner
Sectional 11 (six teams)
at Roncalli H.S.
Gm 1: Roncalli vs. Perry Meridian
Gm 2: New Palestine vs. Southport
Gm 3: Gm 1 winner vs. Gm 2 winner
Gm 4: Warren Central vs. Franklin Central
Gm 5 (championship): Gm 3 winner vs. Gm 4 winner
Class 2A
Sectional 42 (five teams)
at Indianapolis Scecina
Gm 1: Triton Central vs. Indianapolis Scecina
Gm 2: Knightstown vs. Heritage Christian
Gm 3: Eastern Hancock vs. Gm 1 winner
Gm 4 (championship): Gm 2 winner vs. Gm 3 winner
2022 Softball Sectional Pairings
Class 4A
Sectional 9 (six teams)
at Pendleton Heights H.S.
Gm 1: Richmond vs. Pendleton Heights
Gm 2: Greenfield-Central vs. Mt. Vernon
Gm 3: Anderson vs. Gm 1 winner
Gm 4: Muncie Central vs. Gm 2 winner
Gm 5 (championship): Gm 3 winner vs. Gm 4 winner
Sectional 11 (six teams)
at Franklin Central H.S.
Gm 1: Southport vs. New Palestine
Gm 2: Warren Central vs. Roncalli
Gm 3: Perry Meridian vs. Gm 1 winner
Gm 4: Franklin Central vs. Gm 2 winner
Gm 5 (championship): Gm 3 winner vs. Gm 4 winner
Sectional 42 (five teams)
at Easter Hancock H.S.
Gm 1: Eastern Hancock vs. Knightstown
Gm 2: Triton Central vs. Indianapolis Scecina
Gm 3: Heritage Christian vs. Gm 1 winner
Gm 4 (championship): Gm 2 winner vs. Gm 3 winner
