For the Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — From the first pitch Friday, the New Palestine baseball team displayed the offensive prowess that had led the Dragons to an unbeaten first half of the season.
They didn’t stop throughout the night. New Palestine scored seven runs in the first two innings of Game 1 against Greenfield-Central, then followed with eight in its first two at-bats in the next game. The Dragons won Game 1 12-2 in five innings, then used a seven-run sixth to finish a 15-0 victory in Game 2.
New Palestine is now 15-0 on the season and 8-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference, maintaining its two-game lead in the loss column in the conference standings. Greenfield-Central fell to 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the HHC.
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The Dragons had 25 hits in the two games and tallied multiple runs in six of their 11 offensive innings Friday.
“We got out here at 3:30,” New Palestine coach Shawn Lyons said, noting the team was in the cages two hours before start time. “From then until right now, we’ve been on it at the plate tonight.”
Nick Rusche and Colby Jenkins were the table setters throughout the night, combining for eight RBIs, six runs and seven hits. Rusche hit a double and a triple in the second game. Jenkins did it in both contests. Each drove in four runs.
They delivered the Dragons a quick two-run lead in the opening game. In the nightcap, they had back-to-back RBI extra-base hits twice to key big innings. Cameron Pitzer and Jacob Garrison also homered for New Palestine, who continued to show an offensive prowess that has tallied more than nine runs per game this season.
“However they get on, a base hit, an error or a walk, we’re trying to be opportunistic,” Lyons said. “One game, we won earlier this year with nine walks. If we get them on, we’re going to try to figure out a way to get in. Our kids are buying into our philosophy of hitting and hitting to all fields. That’s a testament to this group of kids. They’ve bought in.”
In the opening inning of the first game, Rusche singled, Jenkins followed with a long triple to center, and New Palestine had a quick 2-0 lead. The Dragons would add two more runs in the frame on Luke Greene’s two-out single against Cougars starter Bradley McDowell.
Cameron Pitzer followed with his first homer of the season, a two-out, three-run shot in the second to break the game open. Jacob Bain’s two-run triple keyed a three-run fourth that put New Palestine up 10-2, and the Dragons added two runs in the fifth to end it early.
Greenfield-Central’s offense put pressure on the Dragons early, with leadoff hits in each of the first three innings. Blake Wilson opened the game with a triple, but was stranded as Dragons starter Jake Garrison fanned the side in the first. In the second, two more strikeouts ended a threat that began with Seth Robertson’s double.
The Cougars broke through in the third, as Wilson led off with a single. Adam Hutchison’s RBI double plated a run, and Hutchison came home on an error to cut New Palestine’s lead to 7-2. Garrison then retired the last seven Cougars he faced.
“Bottom line is, they made the plays and we didn’t,” Greenfield-Central coach Robbie Miller said. “They hit the ball. In the first game, we hit the ball well, but we hit it right at them. When we had runners on, we wouldn’t come through in the clutch. When they did, they could come through in the clutch. That’s why they’re 15-0.”
Pitzer had two hits and four RBIs, including his homer. Jacob Bain tripled, drove in two runs and scored twice.
In the second game, the Dragons had more of the same. Garrison blasted his sixth homer of the season to give New Palestine a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Dragons scored six in the second, with Bain setting the table with a single. Cameron Espich, Rusche, Jenkins and Garrison all followed with doubles to keep the line moving and chase Hutchison, the Cougars’ starter.
New Palestine broke things open with a seven-run sixth, one that featured back-to-back run-scoring triples by Rusche and Jenkins, sandwiched between singles by Bain, Greene, Eric Roudebush, Ian Tolle and Henry Geisler — a seven-hit inning that saw several new players see action.
Cougars reliever Lucas Gibson put out the fire in the second with a double play, then retired the minimum through the first 3 1/3 innings he pitched before the sixth.
“He came in and threw the ball well,” Miller said of Gibson. “We made some plays behind him until the end.”
Jenkins was 2 for 4 with a double, triple and three RBIs in the second game. Rusche had the same stat line, except with four RBIs. Garrison was 2 for 3 with a homer, double and three RBIs. Bain was 3 for 3 with two runs. Espich was 2 for 4 with a double.
New Palestine’s pitchers also made plays. Walker fanned 10 Cougars in the second game, allowing two hits — both to Mason Bussel — through five innings. But he had to pitch around traffic. With the Cougars threatening to get back in the game early, he induced a 4-6-3 double play to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third. In the fourth and fifth, he pitched around two baserunners with three strikeouts.
“The only thing I saw we’ll improve on is the first-pitch strikes,” Lyons said. “We were behind in the count a lot tonight. But those kids might not have had their best stuff today. It’s a testament to them. Jack gave up two hits, we had good defense behind him.”
