NEW PALESTINE — In the first step of its title defense, the New Palestine softball team showed off its depth in an 18-0 victory against Connersville in the Class 3A New Palestine sectional semifinal.
The Dragons pounded 23 hits, while pitchers Mackenzie Jones and Kaylea Bullock combined for a six-inning one-hitter in the victory.
New Palestine, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and the defending state champion, will play Indian Creek at 6 p.m. tonight in the sectional championship game at New Palestine.
The state’s highest-scoring team felt a little bit of adversity when leading hitter Ashley Prange suffered a minor injury in the pregame warmup. Michaela Jones moved to shortstop and made a difficult play on the first batter of the game. At the plate, she was 4 for 4 with a three-run homer, a double and six RBI.
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Raegan Hiatt was a late addition to the lineup and caught the one-hitter, while Rieley Widmann entered the batting lineup and was 3 for 4 with an RBI.
“That’s where our depth comes in,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “Not many teams can lose the best player in the state and replace her with somebody like Mic, who really hasn’t taken many reps at shortstop, but she is a shortstop by nature. She did a great job. She came in and did an outstanding job both offensively and defensively. Raegan coming in behind the plate, she was outstanding and really stepped up for us.”
Michaela Jones, the Dragons’ sophomore cleanup hitter, gave New Palestine all the offense it would need in the first inning, when her two-out double drove in Emily O’Connor.
But she broke the game open in the third. With a run in and two on, she blasted a long fly to right-center for her 10th homer of the season, giving New Palestine a 5-0 lead. The Dragons added another run in the inning on a walk and back-to-back singles, the latter from Mackenzie Jones.
In the fourth, Michaela Jones’ sacrifice fly drove in TeTe Hart, who singled. New Palestine plated two more runs in the fifth on three straight hits, including an RBI single by Widmann and a sacrifice fly by Jaylin Calvert.
New Palestine’s depth also showed in the sixth inning, when the first 10 Dragons to bat reached on eight singles, a walk and an RBI double from O’Connor. Macy Miller, Kayla Bullock, Emma Tucher, Widmann, Jaylin Calvert and Kendal Calvert had consecutive RBI singles before O’Connor’s double.
The sixth inning came after New Palestine left a runner on third in the fifth inning, the would-be 10th run.
“I was really wanting to get Rieley in from third in the fifth to end it in five innings, but we scored nine in the sixth,” Marcum said. “We didn’t get that one in, but it was a good experience for us. A lot of girls came through.”
The Dragons’ pitchers also were dominant in the circle. Mackenzie Jones pitched around a single and a walk in the second. Bullock got around two walks and a hit batter in the sixth. Each other inning was a 1-2-3 frame.
In addition to Jones and Widmann’s nights, O’Connor was 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Miller was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Mackenzie Jones and Bullock each had two hits and an RBI, hitting out of the seventh spot in the order. Tucher had two hits and an RBI while Jaylin Calvert had two hits and two RBIs.
All that offense despite a late lineup change and missing Prange.
“I was stressed a little more than they were about it,” Marcum said. “I knew they would be fine. It’s a little tough when all of a sudden, you’ve got to completely change your lineup.”
