MADISON — His high school baseball career may not have ended exactly how he wanted, but New Palestine’s Jack Walker got another chance to don the Dragons jersey on Sunday.
Walker, selected to take part in the Indiana North/South All-Star series, spent his weekend at Madison High School taking part in the all-star festivities. It ended up being a bit of a blast from the past for him, and a nice way to officially wrap up his time at New Palestine.
“I think the biggest thing was just playing with a bunch of guys that I used to play with one last time before college,” Walker said. “I played with almost all of them through travel ball. Just getting to play with them one last time was a really cool experience. I had a good time. They put a good event together.”
The series included two Saturday games, with players wearing all-star uniforms, and a final Sunday game, with players wearing their high school uniforms.
The South team won the opener, 7-3, a game in which Walker had a base hit and an RBI. The North won the series with two consecutive wins, a 16-3 result in the second Saturday game and an 8-4 win on Sunday.
While he played first base in both Saturday games, Walker got a chance to take the mound on Sunday, throwing two innings. He notched a couple of strikeouts and gave up a hit to a soon-to-be Indiana University teammate.
Walker closed out his high school career by hitting .360 this year with 21 RBIs and a team-leading doubles, while also going 5-3 on the mound with a 2.86 ERA. He struck out 80 in 44 innings and walked 40.
He was named the Hancock County Baseball Player of the Year in 2018 after his junior year, and followed that up with all-conference and all-county selections this spring (all-state has yet to be announced).
He’s already traded in his high school uniform for a college one — he moved in at Indiana University last week and has already started classes — but he said he was grateful to get the one last opportunity to represent his high school on Sunday.
“I owe a lot to New Pal for who I am today,” Walker said. “Just being able to put it back on one last time before I go was something special to me.”