Softball Game Preview: New Palestine Dragons vs. Cathedral Fighting Irish

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Previous 6 Games

05/28/24 - Neutral	12-1 W
04/30/19 - Away	14-2 W
05/01/18 - Home	22-3 W
05/02/17 - Away	10-2 W
05/03/16 - Home	14-3 W
05/05/15 - Away	13-2 W

New Palestine is a perfect 6-0 against Cathedral since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Dragons will face off against the Fighting Irish at 1:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

New Palestine is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past Cascade 11-3. The victory was nothing new for the Dragons as they're now sitting on six straight.

Sadey Hughbanks spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and three unearned) runs on eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 20 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, New Palestine got a massive performance out of Maddie Engle, who got on base in five of her six plate appearances with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. What's more, Engle posted three hits, the most she's had since back in May. Another player making a difference was Jersi Gross, who went 2-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.

New Palestine was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in seven consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, while Cathedral put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Lebanon. The Fighting Irish were the clear victors by a 13-0 margin over the Tigers. The Fighting Irish haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

New Palestine's record is now 26-4. As for Cathedral, their record now sits at 26-2.

New Palestine took their victory against Cathedral in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 12-1 score. Do the Dragons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Fighting Irish turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.