East Central has won three straight games at home, while New Palestine has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Trojans will welcome the Dragons at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
On Monday, East Central made easy work of Rushville and carried off a 13-1 win. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.
Joel Richter
| 04/28/25 vs Rushville | 3 |
| 04/21/25 @ Connersville | 0 |
| 04/14/25 vs Batesville | 1 |
| 04/07/25 vs Franklin County | 4 |
Joel Richter was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had over his last four matchups. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.
In other batting news, Collin Harrill was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs. He has become a key player for East Central: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Cole Reynolds, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
East Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .450. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, New Palestine got themselves on the board against Greenfield-Central on Thursday, but Greenfield-Central never followed suit. They blew past the Cougars 9-0. The victory continues a trend for the Dragons in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won eight in a row.
The result came thanks to Holden Hughes's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, Jacob Morris and Rigg Mahurin did most of the damage at the plate: Morris went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Mahurin got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That home run was Mahurin's first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Neal, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs.
East Central is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for New Palestine, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2.
East Central couldn't quite finish off New Palestine when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Will the Trojans have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
