Upping the intensity: Dragons outlast county rival Marauders in battle of unbeatens

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NEW PALESTINE — Something had to give.

New Palestine and Mt. Vernon both entered Thursday’s softball game with pristine 8-0 records, the Dragons boasting the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A and the Marauders receiving votes in the 4A poll.

Both offenses had been strong. Both defenses and pitching staffs had been strong.

The Hancock County rivals went back and forth for four scoreless innings. Then, something gave.

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The Marauders struck first, a near grand-slam from Sydnee Perry that drove in two runs. The Dragons fired right back, smacking four hits and scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good.

New Palestine kept its winning streak and county and conference dominance alive Thursday, but not by much. The hosts pulled away in the latter innings for a 5-2 win against their county rivals.

“That’s where I think experience comes in. They’ve been in that position before,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said of his team’s comeback win. “That’s where our senior leadership can really help us. You don’t want to be behind, but when it happens, you have to be able to battle back. I was really proud of ‘em. I thought it was a great team win. That’s just an outstanding ball game by two great teams.”

Mt. Vernon (8-1, 0-1) made sure their rivals’ 29th straight win didn’t come easy.

The visitors were fired up from the start, led by starting pitcher Karlee Franklin, who struck out the first New Palestine batter she faced. Franklin and the Marauders defense held the Dragons to just two hits through four innings, keeping the game scoreless and putting them in position to upset their rivals.

“Our intensity level was much better than it has been this whole season,” Mt. Vernon coach Veronica Kirby said. “I don’t know if Frankton kind of woke us up the other night — we only won 2-1 — that was kind of like an eye-opener for us. Coming into a big game, we knew we were going to have to bring our best game to compete with this team. I felt like our intensity level was great, we played our game, and I’m not upset with that result.”

The visitors grabbed the lead in the fifth. After two straight strikeouts to open the inning, Chloee Yocum was hit by a pitch and Haley Kissee and Riley Hasseld each singled to load the bases with two outs.

Sydnee Perry blasted a pitch to left field, missing a grand slam by a matter of feet as the ball smacked off the bottom of the fence. The two-RBI double gave the Marauders the 2-0 lead.

It wouldn’t last long.

Tatum Biddle singled to open the bottom of the fifth for New Palestine, and Lexi Campbell followed suit.

“They came through there with two runs and we were able to get out of it and limit the damage there,” Marcum said. “I thought the big play was Tatum leading off the next inning, just came out, first pitch, smoked one to get on base.”

A sacrifice bunt from Emma Tucher advanced both runners into scoring position. A sacrifice fly from Raegan Hiatt scored one, and a one-out double ripped down the third base line from Kinsey Mitchell tied the score.

The Dragons (9-0, 3-0) took the lead two batters later. After Jaylin Calvert singled to put runners on first and third, she attempted to steal second base. The throw from home bounced into the outfield, allowing the Dragons’ third run of the inning to score.

A solo home run from Emily O’Connor — her county-leading seventh of the year — on the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth inning doubled the Dragons lead. A double from Biddle was followed by a wild pitch to advance her to third. Campbell walked and Sarah Greene, courtesy-running, stole second. Another bunt from Tucher was executed perfectly, as she reached safely at first and brought home Biddle for the final run.

With two high-powered offenses expected to pile on runs, both pitchers stepped up big in challenging conditions, with rain and wind continuing throughout the game.

Franklin contained the Dragons, finishing the game with two strikeouts and one walk. She allowed nine hits and the five runs, tied for the fewest New Palestine has scored this year.

“She’s so much more confident this year, she’s so much more confident in her pitches, and that showed tonight,” Kirby said. “I think that she kind of got a little bit of pressure for a second, but Syd called timeout, got them all together, and she was like, ‘OK, I can do this.’”

“Karlee pitched an outstanding game,” Marcum said. “My girls were talking about how well she did with the ball movement and everything. I thought she did great.”

Kaylea Bullock threw a complete game for New Palestine, striking out four and walking four. She allowed just five base hits and the two runs.

“She really battled,” Marcum said. “These conditions are tough. You can’t get into any rhythm or flow of the game because you’re having to change the softball it seemed like every pitch or two. I thought she really battled the elements. She threw well. We needed her to.”

The 5-2 result was a far cry from the past few years. In 2016 and 2017, the Dragons run-ruled the Marauders. Last year was a 13-4 New Palestine win.

This year the Marauders were close until the final play, getting two runners on base in the seventh inning before a close groundout ended the game.

“We just proved to the state of Indiana that we can compete with anyone,” Kirby said. “If people don’t start recognizing that and know who we are, I’d love to play them. Hopefully they know what we’re capable of, now.”

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New Palestine 5, Mt. Vernon 2

MV (8-1, 0-1);000;020;0;—;2;5;1

NP (9-0, 3-0);000;032;X;—;5;9;0

WP: Kaylea Bullock. LP: Karlee Franklin.

HR: Emily O’Connor (NP). 2B: Kinsey Mitchell, Tatum Biddle (NP); Riley Hasseld, Sydnee Perry (MV). RBI: Raegan Hiatt, Mitchell, O’Connor (NP), Perry 2 (MV).

Notable: Bullock 7 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 HB, 5 H, 2 R (NP); Franklin 6 IP, 2 K, 1 BB, 9 H, 5 R (MV).

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