Daily Reporter staff reports
The Eastern Hancock softball team earned a 5-1 victory against Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Indian Creek on Thursday in Charlottesville.
Heading into the night, the Braves (6-2, 4-1 MHC) were undefeated in league play.
The Royals’ Darby Shaw helped put an end to that. The Eastern Hancock starter gave up one earned run in going the distance for a complete-game victory.
“She threw very, very well for us,” Royals’ coach Sue Anderson said after the game. “She hit her spots and kept them off balance. She was in the zone tonight.”
Offensively, Brooke Walden collected three RBI for the Royals.
The win was Eastern Hancock’s fifth straight after it defeated Daleville 14-4 in six innings Tuesday night.
Micah Black and Kaysi Gilbert connected on back-to-back home runs to lead the Royals against Daleville. Peyton Neisler threw a complete game to pick up the win.
The Royals (6-2, 3-1 MHC) are back in action today at Hancock County rival New Palestine (11-0).
BASEball
Dragons prevail in extra innings
The New Palestine baseball team won a 10-inning thriller, 12-7, at Roncalli on Wednesday.
In the 10th frame, Braden Roberts led off with a double, and Evan Hickman drove in the go-ahead run. Hickman went 4 for 4 with two doubles and five RBI. Roberts scored three times.
Jacob Smith recorded the win for the Dragons, tossing one shutout inning in relief.
Keegan Watson hit a solo homer in the first, and Cody Chandler sparked a four-run fourth inning with a solo homer, putting the Dragons ahead 6-0. Hickman had a run-scoring double in the third. The Dragons added another run in the sixth to go up 7-5, but the Rebels tied the game with single runs in the sixth and seventh.
Chandler drove in three with two hits. Watson also had a pair of RBIs and was 2 for 3 with four runs scored.
The Dragons (8-3, 4-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) travel to Shelbyville (5-5, 2-2 HHC) today for a doubleheader.
Tennis
Marauders sweep Cougars
The Mt. Vernon tennis team showed it is more than ready for today’s Hancock County Championship with its 5-0 victory against Greenfield-Central on Thursday night in Fortville.
All five matches were decided in straight sets. In singles play, the Marauders’ No. 1 Cassie York won 6-0, 6-0, No. 2 Molly Laughlin won 6-1, 6-0, and Sarah Jones won 6-0, 6-2. In doubles action, the No. 1 team of Addison Eads and Emily Annakin won 6-1, 6-0. The No. 2 team of Brianna Partin and Kendra Eberhard won by the same tally.
The Marauders are now 5-1 on the season.
Both teams are back in action at tonight’s county tournament at Mt. Vernon.
TRACK AND FIELD
Greenfield-Central 5th at meet
The Greenfield-Central girls posted 73 points and placed fourth at Wednesday’s Noblesville Women’s Invite, which included some of Indiana’s large-school track and field programs.
The Mt. Vernon girls finished right behind them in fifth with 73 points. Noblesville won the event with 120 points, followed by runner-up Zionsville (119), Westfield (108), then the Cougars and Marauders. Lafayette-Jefferson came in sixth with 60 points, followed by Tipton (31), Hamilton Heights (27) and Frankfort (21).
Greenfield-Central was led by the school-record setting performance of the 4×800-meter relay team of Katie Helgason, Sydney Cook, Savannah Girolami and Rebekah Gottwald, who finished third in Wednesday’s event with a 10:08.82.
Top individual finishers for the Cougars were Regan Lewis (second in high jump, long jump), Emily Jones (second in pole vault) Maddie Wise (third in 100-meter hurdles, fifth in 300-meter hurdles) and Girolami (third in 200-meter dash).
For the Marauders, Olivia Coleman won the long jump, breaking her own school record with a leap of 18 feet, 5 inches. She also claimed the 200- and 400-meter dashes.
Other top finishers for Mt. Vernon were Aubri Benbow (second in low hurdles, third in high hurdles), Alexa Franklin (fourth in 100-meter dash) and the 4×100 relay team of Kiara Gibson, Franklin, Alexa Christensen and Benbow, which finished third.
The Marauders were back in action Thursday night at Pendleton Heights, and the Cougars run again Saturday at the Lightning Bolt Relays at Franklin Central.
Dragons second in 3-way contest
The New Palestine girls track team finished second in Thursday’s three-way meet with Anderson at New Castle.
The Dragons scored 52 points to finish behind the Trojans (72) and ahead of the Indians (42).
The 4×800 relay team of Bailey Wallace, Mattie Waggoner, Emma Wiggington and Courtney Smith was victorious, as was pole vaulter Erin Trimpe.
The Dragons compete again Saturday at Franklin Central.
