The New Palestine Dragons will head out on the road to take on the Shelbyville Golden Bears at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with New Palestine sitting on nine straight victories and Shelbyville on seven.
New Palestine is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Center Grove, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (New Palestine was ranked third). New Palestine came out on top against Center Grove by a score of 14-9 on Wednesday.
Courtney Study looked comfortable as she pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs but no hits.
On the hitting side, Paige Ernstes was a standout: she went 3-for-5 with five RBI, two runs, and a double. Allie Blum was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Shelbyville's hitters rose to the challenge against a Pirates pitching crew that boasted an average of only 1.9 points allowed on Monday. Shelbyville was the clear victor by a 10-3 margin over Greensburg. The result was nothing new for Shelbyville, who have now won five games by six runs or more so far this season.
Cheyenne Eads made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Eads has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 12 consecutive pitching appearances. Eads was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Addison Stieneker was incredible, going 4-for-5 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Kali Laycock, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
New Palestine's win was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. As for Shelbyville, their record now sits at 9-4.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. New Palestine hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .421. However, it's not like Shelbyville struggles in that department as they've averaged .359. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
New Palestine came out on top in a nail-biter against Shelbyville in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 6-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for New Palestine since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
