With postseason play set to begin Monday for softball and Wednesday for baseball, area teams have a positive outlook for making an impact in the state tournament.
In softball, defending state champion New Palestine looks to be a favorite again, while Mt. Vernon, Eastern Hancock and Greenfield-Central all have shots at advancing out of their respective sectionals.
On the baseball side of the diamond, the New Palestine Dragons have been consistently ranked in the top five in the state this season, but a tough sectional awaits. Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon both are strong contenders in their sectional, but the two play one another in the opening round, so one will be eliminated fast.
For a complete breakdown of each sectional and schedules for all six softball and baseball sectional schedules involving Hancock County teams, go to Page B3.
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Class 4A Pendleton Heights Sectional
Favorite: Mt. Vernon
Dark horses: Greenfield-Central, Pendleton Heights
Players to watch: Mt. Vernon — Kaitlyn Nugent, Sydney Perry, Haley Kissee, Karlee Franklin; Greenfield-Central — Maria Kihega, Sam Kihega, Sydney Williams, Lexi Rankin; Pendleton Heights — Kelsey Sturgeon, Lauren Landes, Olivia Conner, Jordan Benefiel; Anderson — Emma Kelley, Kalin Hubble, Sierra Cunningham; Richmond — Claira Laughlin, Eva Bosell, Abby Brewer
Outlook: This sectional looks to be a three-team race to the title. It’s tough to call Greenfield-Central and Pendleton Heights darkhorses, but Mt. Vernon appears to be a slight favorite. This should be one of the more exciting and open sectionals this postseason, as the Marauders have beaten both the Cougars and Arabians, the Cougars got revenge on the Marauders with a 10-run win, and the Arabians bested the Cougars 7-6 this season.
Class 3A New Palestine Sectional
Favorite: New Palestine
Dark horses: Connersville, Indian Creek
Players to watch: New Palestine — Tatum Biddle, Jaylin Calvert, Michaela Jones, Ashley Prange; Beech Grove — Reecie Gilliam, Alexia Ham; Connersville — Jeri Ellis, Madison Fields, Ashley Ruble; Indian Creek — Rachel Kyle, Sydney Logsdon, Kasey Wilhoit; Rushville — Maddie Kuhn, Adrian Marquez
Outlook: This is New Palestine’s sectional to lose. Indian Creek has a solid, senior-dominated team that should be able to make it to the sectional title game without much trouble. If it does get there, though, it’ll likely be up against a Dragons team that won the 3A state title last year and is a prohibitive favorite to do so again. It would take a monumental upset for the Braves, who lost a 12-0 meeting with the Dragons last week, to move on.
Class 2A Triton Central Sectional
Favorites: Triton Central
Dark horses: Eastern Hancock, Knightstown
Players to watch: Eastern Hancock — Micah Black, Faithe Webster, Bailey Stephens, Jessi Potts; Triton Central — Katie Cook, Elizabeth Mukka, Haley Schneider; Knightstown — Jess Butler, Sidney Vise; Heritage Christian — Hannah Pope, Brooke Porter
Outlook: On paper, Eastern Hancock looks to be the slight favorite. But Triton Central has wins against the Royals and Knightstown and has home-field advantage. Triton Central has a bye and a first-round opponent they recently beat 14-0, so it looks like the Royals or Panthers will get a chance to avenge a regular-season loss.
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Class 4A Mt. Vernon Sectional
Favorite: Greenfield-Central
Dark horses: Mt. Vernon, Anderson, Richmond
Players to watch: Mt. Vernon — Dino Tharp, Jaden Cappelletti, Caleb Rush, Cole Cain; Greenfield-Central — Adam Hutchison, Seth Robertson, Nick Atwood; Pendleton Heights — Kamden Earley, Cole Miller, Rene Casas; Connersville — Cody Friend; Anderson — Cameron Mcglothlin, Cameron Pratt, Tristen Brooks; Muncie Central — Xavier Cleaves, Zach Garrett; Richmond — Phillip Hobbs, Gabe Crowe, Brice Brown
Outlook: This is a tough sectional to predict. Two of the favorites, Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central, play in the opener, with the winner facing Richmond in the semifinals. That’s a tough road for whoever advances. The Marauders pitching is strong enough to make them slight favorites here, if not for the fact that the Cougars beat them in both head-to-head matchups this season.
Class 4A Warren Central Sectional
Favorite: New Palestine
Dark horses: Cathedral, Lawrence North
Players to watch: New Palestine — Colby Jenkins, Jacob Garrison, Jack Walker, Cameron Pitzer; Warren Central — Hunter Shanklin, Peyton Bryan; Lawrence North — Cole Sherman, Maalik Houston, Dylan Scheid; Indianapolis Arsenal Tech — Liam Dulligan, Andres Broner; Lawrence Central — Garrett Riley, Allan Augustus; Indianapolis Cathedral — Jared Poland, Cole Vassilo, Derek Haslett, Peyton Schofield
Outlook: By virtue of a head-to-head win, New Palestine is the slight favorite over Cathedral in this sectional. The Dragons have been reeling late in the season, though, which opens this sectional up a bit. Cathedral is always dangerous and should be one of the finals teams. The other likely comes down to the Dragons or Wildcats.
Class A Heritage Christian Sectional
Favorites: Heritage Christian
Dark horses: Eastern Hancock, Knightstown
Players to watch: Eastern Hancock — A.J. Muegge, Andrew Knoblock, Easton Fields, Addison True; Triton Central — Colton Brown, Daniel Peterson, Matt Guhl; Heritage Christian — Joe Butz, Eric Sauer, Stephen Dewitt; Irvington Preparatory Academy — Blake Morin ; Knightstown — Tyler Burton, Jose Olivo, Owen Wiles; Indianapolis Scecina — Drew Lowery, Spencer Martinelle, Jameson Welborn
Outlook: The hosts are the heavy favorites in their own sectional, as they come in ranked fourth in the state in the latest poll and have a win over Cathedral and one-run loss to Roncalli to their names. Behind them, Eastern Hancock, Knightstown, Triton Central and Scecina all could make noise in the sectional, but the road to a regional likely goes through Heritage Christian.
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Softball
Class 4A Pendleton Heights Sectional
Monday
5:30 p.m.: Mt. Vernon vs. Richmond
7 p.m.: Greenfield‐Central vs. Pendleton Heights
Tuesday
5:30 p.m.: Winners of Monday’s games
7 p.m.: Anderson vs. Muncie Central
Wednesday
6 p.m.: Championship
Class 3A New Palestine sectional
Monday
6 p.m.: Rushville vs. Beech Grove
Tuesday
5 p.m.: New Palestine vs. Connersville
7 p.m.: Indian Creek vs. Monday winner
Wednesday
6 p.m.: Championship
Class 2A Triton Central Sectional
Monday
5 p.m.: Heritage Christian vs. Knightstown
7 p.m.: Indianapolis Howe vs. Eastern Hancock
Tuesday
5 p.m.: Winners of Monday’s games
7 p.m.: Triton Central vs. Irvington Preparatory Academy
Wednesday
6 p.m.: Championship
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BASEBALL
Class 4A Mt. Vernon Sectional
Wednesday
6 p.m.: Greenfield-Central vs. Mt. Vernon
Thursday
5:30 p.m.: Pendleton Heights vs. Connersville
7:30 p.m.: Anderson vs. Muncie Central
May 28
10 a.m.: Richmond vs. Wednesday’s winner
Noon: Winners of Thursday’s games
7 p.m.: Championship
Class 4A Warren Central Sectional
Wednesday
5:30 p.m.: Lawrence North vs. Indianapolis Arsenal Tech
7:30 p.m.: New Palestine vs. Lawrence Central
Thursday
5:30 p.m.: Winners of Wednesday’s games
7:30 p.m.: Warren Central vs. Indianapolis Cathedral
May 28
Noon: Championship
Class 2A Heritage Christian Sectional
Wednesday
5 p.m.: Eastern Hancock vs. Triton Central
7 p.m.: Heritage Christian vs. Irvington Preparatory Academy
Thursday
5 p.m.: Winners of Wednesday’s games
Saturday
Noon: Knightstown vs. Indianapolis Scecina
May 28
Noon: Championship
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