Baseball Game Preview: New Palestine Dragons vs. Franklin Central Flashes

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Previous Games

04/20/24 - Home	13-4 W
04/22/23 - Away	11-6 W
05/30/22 - Neutral	12-2 W
04/23/22 - Home	6-5 W
05/31/21 - Neutral	6-10 L
+ 5 more games

New Palestine and Franklin Central are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2016, but likely not for long. The Dragons will venture away from home to square off against the Flashes at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (New Palestine has three straight victories, Franklin Central has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

While New Palestine's win against Pendleton Heights wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Dragons had just enough and edged out the Arabians 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Dragons have posted since April 23rd.

Holden Hughes looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jackson Kamp, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two doubles. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Jesse Isaacs was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Franklin Central fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Fishers on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 6-5.

Franklin Central's loss dropped their record down to 4-16. As for New Palestine, their win bumped their record up to 17-3.

New Palestine took their victory against Franklin Central when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 13-4 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dragons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.