vs
| 04/09/24 - Home | 20-0 W |
| 04/11/23 - Away | 16-5 W |
| 04/12/22 - Home | 9-0 W |
| 04/13/21 - Away | 8-1 W |
New Palestine has gone a perfect 4-0 against East Central recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Dragons will welcome the Trojans at 11:00 a.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as New Palestine comes in on seven and East Central on three.
On Friday, New Palestine needed a bit of extra time to put away Carmel. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Greyhounds 4-3. Those four runs were actually the fewest the Dragons have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
New Palestine got a great performance from Sadey Hughbanks as she struck out 11 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Hughbanks has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Katie Hirschy, who went 3-for-5 with two runs and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddie Engle, who got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one run.
New Palestine kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask East Central). They put the hurt on South Dearborn with a sharp 30-1 victory on Thursday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Paige Hotze made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those seven strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. She also put up a triple, which was her first of the season.
In other batting news, East Central got a massive performance out of Taylor Sommer, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those three runs gave Sommer a new career-high. Emily Klem was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
New Palestine pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for East Central, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
East Central's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: New Palestine has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.3 hits per game. It's a different story for East Central, though, as they've been averaging 9.9 hits. Given New Palestine's sizable advantage in that area, the Trojans will need to find a way to close that gap.
New Palestine took their win against East Central when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 20-0 score. Will the Dragons repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
