JASPER — It was on a different field and with some new faces, but it looked a lot like a season ago.
For the third straight year, New Palestine and Cathedral met in the Class 4A Regional Championship, and just like the last matchup it was the Dragons taking home the trophy.
On Monday, at Jasper High School’s Alvin C. Ruxer Field, New Palestine (25-5) defeated the Fighting Irish (16-12) 6-5 to claim back-to-back regional titles.
In 2022, Cathedral knocked off the Dragons 11-7, and last year New Palestine won 4-2.
“You never get used to this feeling. It’s always different because you’ve got different players that play and different seniors. It feels great, and it’s something we don’t take for granted,” New Palestine head coach Shawn Lyons said. “This is the third year in a row we’ve been in the final eight. We’re lucky to be able to do this.”
On an afternoon that was back-and-forth and close the entire way, it was the Dragons getting the last laugh.
With the game tied at five in the fifth inning, Ben Hirschy and Wyatt Matheis were both hit by pitches to start the frame and advanced into scoring position on a passed ball.
With one out, sophomore Gavin Neal brought in Hirschy with a sacrifice fly to right center field for what would end up being the winning run.
“I had to do a job. I knew that if we got a run we’d be fine. I was looking for a fastball, he gave me it, and I just said green light. When you get a fastball you’ve got to take it and go with it and I was able to take it to the right side and it did the job,” Neal said. “I stayed calm and was able to get the barrel on the ball like I’m supposed to do.”
While the fifth-inning sacrifice fly broke the tie, it was the inning before that the Dragons offense did most of its damage.
After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the fourth, New Palestine responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning.
With two outs and a runner on second, five straight Dragons reached base.
Neal singled to move Matheis to third base and a batter later Adam Rickey singled him in for the Dragons first run of the game. With Neal and Rickey on first and second, a ground ball off the bat of Nic Deering to third base was gloved, but Neal avoided the tag at third to keep the inning alive.
New Palestine’s No. 3 and No. 4 hitters made the Fighting Irish pay for the mistake.
Jacob Morris singled in a pair of runs and Jackson Kamp followed with a two-run single of his own to push the lead to 5-2.
It was just a matter of time before the Dragons broke through after leaving five runners on base through the first three innings.
“We were taking too many fastballs whether it was the first pitch or the last pitch. I don’t know if it was us being off for a week because we’re not used to that. We’re used to playing game after game,” Lyons said. “We needed to knock the rust off and then we started barreling baseballs up. Once we started attacking the fastball we saw results.”
Both teams were scoreless through the opening three innings, and it was Cathedral who drew blood first.
In the top of the fourth, the Fighting Irish used a two-out rally to bring in a pair of runs off of New Palestine starting pitcher Michael Thorpe.
Elijah Bennett singled, Bo Cooper doubled and Eli Sinsabaugh singled them both in for the 2-0 lead.
After the Dragons five spot in the bottom of the frame, Cathedral returned with three more runs to tie it in the fifth.
Two errors and a single helped set up Jaxson Stiner for an RBI-double that ended the day for Thorpe.
Morris, a sophomore, entered in relief and after a walk and sacrifice fly, got Sinsabaugh to ground out with runners on first and second to end the threat.
“It was definitely a tough situation, but that’s something we’ve focused on and have practiced, so I was able to keep my composure and get some outs,” Morris said.
In relief, Morris threw the final 2.2 innings, allowed just two hits and no earned runs to go along with a 2-for-4 and two RBI day at the plate.
“He’s [Morris] a sophomore and he’s just going to get so much better. We didn’t throw him in conference games this year, but we knew who he was,” Lyons said. “He’s growing up before our eyes. He’s one of the best two-way players in the state right now.”
The two hits allowed came in the seventh inning, but with the tying run on second base, Henry Thorpe made a tough running catch down the right field line and Morris forced Sinsabaugh to pop out to second base to end the game.
“Going back-to-back against the same team is just incredible. This team has gone through the ups and downs and we’ve grinded it out this whole year,” Neal said. “This team deserved it and I’m just so grateful.”
New Palestine will play Mooresville in the semi-state semifinals Saturday with the time and place yet to be determined.
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New Palestine 6, Cathedral 5
Cathedral (16-12):000;230;0; — ;5;10;1
New Palestine (25-5);000;510;x; — 6;8;2
Ethan Dorsey, Jackson Reeves (5) and Jaxson Stiner; Michael Thorpe, Jacob Morris (5) and Jackson Kamp. 2B: C – Bo Cooper, Stiner. WP: Morris (5-2). LP: Dorsey (4-5).
