Freking visits 6 teams in 3 cities

Earlier in the week, sports editor Brian Harmon and I couldn’t decide which baseball doubleheader I should cover Friday night. Mt. Vernon at Pendleton Heights, Yorktown at Greenfield-Central and Rushville at New Palestine each had their pros and cons. So we decided I should visit all three.

My first stop was at Pendleton, where there was plenty on the line for the home team. The Arabians could claim a share of the Hoosier Heritage Conference crown with a pair of wins and earn the outright title should Rushville upset New Palestine just once.

Thus, Dustin Glant had to convince his team to play the role of spoiler.

“We’ve sort of played to the level of our competition this season,” remarked the first-year MV head coach as his team warmed up for its first game. “Some of the guys on the team respond well to a high level of pitching and it doesn’t get any tougher than tonight.”

Glant’s point was well-made. The Arabians’ No. 1 and No. 2 starters, Jordan Humfleet and Mitch Patishall, are both Division I recruits — Dayton and Cincinnati, respectively — and entered Friday with a combined record of 9-2 with 103 strikeouts in 71 and two-thirds innings.

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