Daily Reporter staff reports
The Greenfield-Central Cougars rallied back late and upended Class 4A No. 8 Roncalli 5-3 at home on Monday night.
The 16th-ranked 4A Cougars trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, but senior Morganne Denny blasted a two-run home run to put Greenfield-Central ahead.
Makayla Durick followed up Michaela Ballman’s leadoff hit and Denny’s heroics with a squeeze bunt to add an insurance run for the Cougars.
Durick pitched a complete game for the win, allowing three runs on six hits.
Sydney Williams was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for the Cougars, while Denny finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
The Cougars are now 18-4 on the season and hosted Mt. Vernon on Tuesday.
Marauders win again
The Mt. Vernon softball team is picking up steam late in the season, winning its fifth in sixth games with an 8-2 victory at Anderson on Monday night.
The Marauders put together a nine-hit attack and led 8-0 before Anderson erased their shutout bid with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
MacKenzie McCann was 2-for-3, Kaitlyn Nugent went 2-for-4 and Sydnee Perry was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Morgan Scruggs, Cassidy Parker, Victoria Whyde and Makenzie Gee all drove in runs. Parker, Gee and Nugent each recorded doubles. Perry had two.
Nugent and Whyde combined to limit the Indians to five hits while striking out a pair. Whyde earned the win through five innings pitched.
The Marauders are 8-12 on the season and played Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
Dragons win 14th straight
The top-ranked New Palestine Dragons crushed Greenwood 12-7 on Monday to improve to 22-2.
The program’s 14th-straight win was highlighted by Ohio State recruit Ashley Prange’s 16th home run of the year. The Dragons hit three home runs overall as Prange continues to build on her single-season school record to pace the lineup.
Emily O’Conner hit her 10th home run of the year and Madison Whitaker connected for her first to back up Prange.
Whitaker was 3-for-3 with a double, four runs and four RBIs. O’Connor went 2-for-3 with four runs and an RBI. Mary Crumlin went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Abby Davis had a double along with Michaela Jones.
Mackenzie Jones allowed five hits and two earned runs in 2.1 innings of relief to earn the win.
The Dragons play at Lutheran on Thursday.
Baseball
Cougars blank Indians
The Greenfield-Central baseball team measured up its upcoming sectional foe Anderson on Monday night and passed with flying colors.
The host Cougars defeated the Indians 10-0 by run-rule in five innings behind a complete-game one-hitter by Bradley McDowell.
Tyler Farrell hit a home run and went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Adam Hutchison was 2-for-3 with a double and had three RBIs in the rout.
Brandon Vaughn was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Braxton Turner went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Nick Atwood added a double.
McDowell struck out three and walked two through his 5.0 innings pitched.
The Cougars are 13-6 on the season.
Dragons fall late to Flashes
The Class 3A No. 4 New Palestine Dragons couldn’t hang on against Franklin Central on Monday.
Charging back from an early four-run deficit, the Dragons lost their grip on the win as Franklin Central scored three runs in the seventh to prevail 9-8.
Colby Jenkins led the offense going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and three runs. Keegan Watson walked three times and drove in two runs. Jack Walker was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jarrett Jaques was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Jacob Smith had two RBIs and went 1-for-4. Jaques pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and six hits. He struck out five.
The Dragons are now 16-5 and play at Roncalli today.
Marauders nearly knockoff No. 1 Carmel
The top-ranked Class 4A Carmel Greyhounds scored one run in the bottom of the second, and it held up as they beat the Mt. Vernon Marauders 1-0 on Monday.
Despite the loss, Mt. Vernon outhit Carmel 7-4. Caleb Rush pitched 5.0 innings of four-hit baseball, walking three and striking out two to limit the Greyhounds to one earned run.
Carmel’s run came off a home run by Aaron Ernst.
Braydon Augustinovicz led the Marauders at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Thomas Obergfell was 3-for-3.
The Marauders are 6-14 on the season and played Eastern Hancock on Tuesday.
Royals fall to Knights
The Eastern Hancock baseball team lost to Northeastern 5-1 on Monday.
The Royals were up 1-0 through four innings, but the visiting Knights scored five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to win.
Eastern Hancock was charged with four errors despite out hitting Northeastern 4-2.
Levi Majority drove in the team’s lone run. Clayton White and Addison True both had doubles for the Royals.
Easton Fields and A.J. Muegge combined to two-hit the Knights, striking out six and walking eight.
The Royals are 11-11 on the season and hosted Mt. Vernon on Tuesday.
Tennis
Marauders blank Tribe
The Mt. Vernon girls tennis team celebrated senior night with another dominating performance. The host Marauders shut out Anderson 5-0 to improve to 18-1 on the year.
“Great regular-season; 18-1, school record,” Mt. Vernon head coach Gabe Muterspaugh remarked. “Now, we go back to 0-0 and have a two-match season. We are ready to go and can’t wait for (sectional) Thursday this week.”
Alaina Nelson won 6-1, 6-0 against Anderson at No. 1 singles. Olivia Spicer rolled 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Kaleigh Helm was a perfect 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
At No. 1 doubles, Emily Annakin and Maeve Laughlin won 6-1, 6-0. Sophie Williams and Maeve McCafferty cruised 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles.
