Dragons tamed by No. 7 Eagles

0
139

INDIANAPOLIS — New Palestine senior pitcher Patrick Hopkins was rolling. Then, all of the sudden, he wasn’t.

After it took Class 3A No. 7 Guerin Catholic three innings to work its way through its lineup Friday against No. 3 New Palestine, the Eagles managed to bring everyone to the plate in the fourth.

They scored five runs off just three hits in the inning en route to a 6-0 win against the Dragons in Game 2 of the Victory Field Classic.

New Palestine (8-2), which finished with four hits in the loss, failed to score any runs but was led by junior Jacob Smith’s 2-for-3 effort. He singled twice to right field.

The Dragons, which were held scoreless for the first time all season, committed two errors in the loss.

Hopkins, who moves to 1-1, easily worked his way through Guerin Catholic’s (9-3) order once, striking out one Eagle in the first and second innings, respectively, and three-straight in the third.

However, Guerin Catholic took advantage of some wild throws as Hopkins would walk five and give up three singles in the fourth.

And just like that, the Eagles were ahead 5-0. After three singles, Guerin Catholic, which has now won four straight games, added its final run in the sixth inning as New Palestine failed to make anything happen in the top half of the seventh frame.

For the Eagles, senior Luke Buehler (2-2) earned the win on the mound, finishing with six strikeouts and three walks. He was also 1-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs. Ryan Rueffer, a senior outfielder, finished 2-for-3 to lead the team.

New Palestine will play again today at 10 a.m. at Mt. Vernon after heavy rain caused Thursday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference doubleheader to be postponed.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Scorecard” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

New Palestine 0, Guerin Catholic 6

SCORE BY INNINGS R;H;E

NPHS (8-2);000;000;0;—;0;4;2

GCHS (9-3);000;501;0;—;6;6;0

WP: Luke Buehler (2-2) (GC). LP: Patrick Hopkins 1-1 (NP).

RBI: Hennie, Hepp, Rueffer, Hale, Buehler 2 (GC).

Notables

NP: Smith 2-for-3. Jenkins single. Fitzgerald single.

[sc:pullout-text-end]