Daily Reporter staff reports
The mantra of the Eastern Hancock pitching staff appears to be: Anything you can you do, I can do better.
Less than a week after Tom Barton tossed a no-hitter against Blue River Valley, Clayton White bested the effort by throwing a perfect game.
The sophomore achieved perfection Tuesday night in Charlottesville, pitching six scoreless, hitless and walk-less innings in the Royals’ 10-0 run-rule, five-inning win against Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Edinburgh (4-10, 1-4 MHC).
Incredibly, he needed only 40 pitches to do it.
“He probably threw 10 balls the whole game,” Royals’ manager Chad Coughenour said. “He threw a ton of first-pitch strikes and did what we wanted him to do, which was just pitch to contact. We were joking afterwards that he would have to throw a bullpen session to get the rest of his work in.”
Also bizarre in White’s perfect game was that it was clinched while he was in the dugout. Because the host Royals were the home team and won by the run-rule, it was actually the offense that ended the contest.
“It was funny because after the 10th run scored, Garek Ferguson came around second, looked at me and asked, ‘Is that it,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s 10,’ and he bolted to the dugout. They actually mobbed Clayton inside the dugout,” Coughenour said with a laugh.
White’s perfect game was the first delivered by a Royals pitcher in 15 years and just the second in team history, Coughenour said. The only other was thrown by Daniel Hubert in 1999.
The Royals’ offense, led by David Johnson, provided much more run support than White needed. Johnson went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, a pair of walks and a run scored. Cole Fout and Garek Ferguson each added a couple of RBIs, and Brandon Reid and Devin Wagoner cracked two hits apiece.
Eastern Hancock runners also stole four bases, giving the team 54 for the season.
For the Royals (10-5, 4-2 MHC), it is their seventh win in eight tries and their 10th win of the season. They are now just three victories shy of matching the program record. They go for No. 11 Thursday against the Indianapolis Kings, a baseball club for a home-schooled boys.
Dragons top Warriors
The New Palestine baseball team used two big innings to down Warren Central 14-3 in five innings Monday afternoon at Warren Central.
New Palestine scored five runs in the top of the first and finished the game with a seven-run fifth. The Dragons also scored twice in the third to take a 7-0 lead.
Hogan Fulkerson earned the pitching win, allowing three hits and one earned run over five innings, striking out two.
At the plate, the Dragons (11-7) collected 12 hits. Keegan Watson was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs. Andy Edwards and Fulkerson each had two hits and two RBIs, and Jason Hall-Manley went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBIs.
SOFTball
Dragons cruise twice
The Class 4A No. 7 New Palestine softball team returned to its winning ways with a 10-0, five-inning win against Rushville on Monday and a 13-2 win versus Cathedral on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Dragons scored three runs each in the first, fourth and fifth innings, and a single run in the third.
Adie Lorsung helped pace a 17-hit attack, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs and four RBIs. Mary Crumlin was 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and Abby Davis 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Ashley Prange was also 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Kaylin McMurray and Elisha Barker combined on a three-hit shutout. McMurray struck out four in four innings to get the win.
On Tuesday, Madison Whitaker, Brittany Duncan, Prange and Issy Hoyt launched home runs in the Dragons’ five-inning 13-2 victory against the Irish (10-8). Prange also collected six RBIs, and the team slugged out 12 hits.
New Palestine (14-3, 3-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) plays again Thursday against county rival and No. 12 Greenfield-Central (14-2, 4-1 HHC).
Royals ease to victory
Eastern Hancock scored multiple runs in the first four innings of Monday’s game at Southwestern and won a run-rule shortened game 14-0.
Starting pitcher Peyton Neisler led the way for the Royals, tossing five scoreless innings, while striking out four.
On offense, Darby Shaw went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Reagan Hunt, Brooke Walden and Jordan Pierson each collected two of the Royals’ 17 hits. Neisler also added a pair of RBIs.
Eastern Hancock (11-3) has now won five straight and visits Class 2A No. 11 Frankton (9-3) today.
Homers lift Mt. Vernon
Karly Van Slyke hit a pair of solo home runs to lift the Marauders to a 2-0 win at Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Shelbyville on Tuesday night.
Mt. Vernon handed the Class 4A No. 14 Golden Bears (14-3, 3-3 HHC) just their third loss of the year.
Mt. Vernon (7-6, 2-3 HHC) hosts league-leading No. 19 Pendleton Heights (10-5, 2-0 HHC) on Thursday.
TRACK AND FIELD
Cougars 2nd at invite
Greenfield-Central’s boys track and field team finished second at Saturday’s Greensburg Invitational.
Rushville championed the meet with 111 points. The Cougars were runner-up with 103 points.
Individual winners for Greenfield-Central were Tommy Hembree (400 meter), Jason LaFord (800 meter), Braden Brown (high jump) and Zach Phillips (shot put, discus).
