Two of New Palestine’s players from its regional championship baseball team were recognized by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association for their contributions to the team’s 2023 success.
Senior pitcher/shortstop Blaine Nunnally and senior outfielder Wes Stiller were selected IHSBCA Class 4A All-State honorable mention.
The Dragons went 23-10, won a sectional title for the second straight year, and won the program’s first regional championship since 2014. For the second straight year, they were among the final eight teams remaining in the Class 4A tournament.
The coaches association announced its all-state teams, one for each of the IHSAA four classes, on Tuesday.
Twelve players were named to the 4A all-state team and 21 additional student-athletes were selected honorable mention.
“They helped us get to the level we got to, the final eight in back-to-back years,” New Palestine head coach Shawn Lyons said. “When you go that far, it helps in terms of getting recognition.
“You look at Wes’s stats, they were outstanding and Blaine’s stats were outstanding too, especially on the mound. The team success helped them out and they were a big reason we had team success.”
Nunnally wore a number of different caps for the talented Dragons team. He was the No. 1 pitcher, a stalwart on defense at shortstop, the team leader in stolen bases and one of its top hitters.
The senior righty went 7-2 on the mound, in 11 appearances, with a 1.92 earned run average. He pitched two shutouts and had four complete games. In 62 inning pitched, he gave up just 40 hits and had 89 strikeouts. As a fielder, he was part of a team-best eight double plays.
On offense, he led the Dragons with 20 stolen bases, eight more than his next closest teammate (Ben Morwick, 12). At the plate, his .320 batting average was second best on the club. He had team-highs with 31 runs scored and eight doubles.
Stiller, a left-handed power-hitting outfielder, hit a team-best .412 with club highs in hits (35), home runs (7) and RBI (42). He had seven of the team’s 10 home runs and his RBI total was nearly twice as many as the team’s second-best total (Ben Hirschy, 22). His RBI numbers also led the Hoosier Heritage Conference and ranked seventh in the state, fourth in Class 4A.
His home run total tied for the lead in the conference with Mt. Vernon’s Konnor Scheidt and ranked 14th in the state and 10th in Class 4A. He represented New Palestine on the South squad in last month’s North-South All-Star game.
“If we didn’t have one of those guys we would not have been as successful this year as we were,” Lyons added. “Blaine didn’t pitch that many innings last year and Wes had a decent year last year, but he didn’t have a great year. This year, they came to the forefront more because they had to.
“We only had three guys back from our starting lineup in the (2022) regional game and they were two of them. We certainly counted on them and they took us to another level.”
Nunnally will play baseball next season at Southwest Tennessee Community College, located in Memphis.
Stiller will play at Hanover College, one of six Indiana schools in the NCAA Division III Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
