NEW PALESTINE — The Dragons were so close a year ago.
After an impressive regular season that saw New Palestine climb as high as No. 2 in the state rankings, the Dragons were just a handful of pitches away from a sectional championship.
They had trailed 2-0 after five innings, took a 3-2 lead after the sixth and watched it disappear in the seventh.
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It’s a loss they won’t soon forget.
“That loss is going to fuel the fire for this year,” New Palestine senior Jack Walker said. “That’s something that we’ve been working toward in the fall, in the winter, and now the start of the spring. I think that’s been in all our minds, that 5-3 loss to Cathedral. That’s something that is the motivation this year. We don’t want to have this feeling, going out, especially in our senior years.”
Cathedral went on to the state championship game and finished as runner-up. The Dragons can’t help but wonder a bit about what could have been.
New Palestine finished last year with a 22-7 record and won the Hoosier Heritage Conference with an 11-2 mark. They started the regular season on a huge win streak, launching the team toward the top of the state rankings.
Injuries were an issue all year though, and they cropped up more in the second half of the season. The Dragons faced adversity and didn’t handle it as well as they would have liked, finishing 6-7 after a torrid 16-0 start.
“We can’t take anything for granted like we did last year,” Walker said. “We had a 16-0 start, which was amazing, and I think we could have handled adversity a little bit better last year. That’s something that we need to focus on this year — how are we going to respond to adversity?”
The biggest adversity the Dragons will face from the start is from graduation. Ten seniors graduated from last year’s squad, which finished No. 7 in the state. This year’s team has almost as much leadership, with eight seniors, none more prominent than Walker.
The defending Hancock County Player of the Year had a huge junior season, batting .443 with two home runs and 40 RBIs, to go with a perfect 6-0 record on the mound with a 1.94 ERA and 77 strikeouts in fewer than 40 innings pitched.
Walker is the only returning pitcher to throw more than 17 innings last year. Seniors Jaden and Josh Jaques each threw a handful of innings, as did junior Grant Hickman, who should be back and healthy after missing most of last season.
Behind those four, there are questions in the pitching rotation. Two football players could play a role on the mound — junior kicker Alex Kropp and senior quarterback Zach Neligh, who hasn’t played baseball in a few years.
“We’re hoping that (Neligh) can knock some rust off and help us out on the mound,” New Palestine coach Shawn Lyons said. “We know he’s been in a lot of big sporting events before.”
The Dragons have a lot of unknowns this year outside of the pitching rotation. The outfield has six or seven players fighting for the three spots, most of whom are newcomers.
They have a lot of numbers and a lot of depth, leading to a lot of pieces of a big puzzle to put together.
“We’ve got a lot of tough decisions to make. We had 71 kids go out for baseball, 37 freshman come out, which is unheard of,” Lyons said. “We have depth except I think probably on the mound. We don’t have the depth that we’d like to have that some of the schools with larger enrollments have the benefit of having. But I think when we put our best lineup out there, we’ll be able to compete with anybody.”
While the Dragons lost a lot to graduation — including three all-county players — they do return two all-county players in Walker and catcher Colby Jenkins, who hit .416 with six triples, six home runs and 30 RBIs.
They’ll be joined by a slew of returning position players, including fellow seniors Jacob Bain, Luke Greene and Grant Wiegand, giving New Palestine a strong returning core.
“They lead by example. They work hard,” Lyons said of his seniors. “We’re going to have to have all those guys step up and play well for us to have a chance to compete in our conference, which is going to be really good this year, and in our sectional, with Cathedral, and Lawrence North, and Lawrence Central and Warren Central, it’s always a challenge.”
Also returning for New Palestine is sophomore Brendan Tabor, who started at DH in the sectional. The Dragons expect him to play a big role but are still trying to figure out where after he appeared in 10 games as a freshman.
“We’re really expecting big things from Brendan,” Lyons said. “He’s had a great winter in the weight room. Coach (Andrew) Armour did a really good job with him in the weight room. Brendan’s work ethic is off the charts. We’re trying to find a position for him.”
The Dragons have a tough start to the season, coming right off of spring break into a road game against Class 3A No. 10 Batesville. They won’t have a lot of time to figure things out.
After the 16-0 start last year, they know this year may start a bit slower. That’s OK, though. The goals are clear, and the Dragons should be among the favorites to achieve what they are aiming for.
A conference championship is an important piece. Getting healthy and staying healthy is another. Finding their lineup by early May and trying to be playing their best baseball by tournament time are other goals.
From there, the Dragons hope the sky is the limit.
“We’re not afraid to talk about what we want,” Walker said. “If we play to our ability, we’re able to get to win conference, sectional, regional, semistate, state. I wholeheartedly believe that, if we all buy in and trust the coaches. They’ve been there, and we haven’t. They know what it’s like.”
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New Palestine Dragons
Coach: Shawn Lyons (8th year)
Last season: 22-7, 11-2 HHC; won HHC, lost 5-3 to Cathedral in sectional final
Key returnees: P Jack Walker (.443, 2 HR, 40 RBI, 6-0 record, 1.94 ERA, 77 K in 39.2 IP), C Colby Jenkins (.417, 6 3B, 6 HR, 30 RBI), Jacob Bain (.364, 28 RBI), Luke Greene (.375, 13 RBI), Grant Wiegand (.354, 5 RBI), seniors; Grant Hickman (.278, 2-0 record, 4.61 ERA, 13 K in 13.2 IP), junior; Brendan Tabor (.158, 3 RBI), sophomore
Top newcomers: P Zach Neligh, senior; Noah Mack, sophomore
Outlook: The Dragons were the class of Hancock County and the Hoosier Heritage Conference a year ago, and should be favored to be at or near the top of both yet again in 2019. Despite heavy losses to graduation, New Palestine returns key pieces and brings a lot of depth to the table. There are questions, and how successful the team is will depend on how quickly those get answered. Another 16-0 start isn’t likely this year – the opener alone is a tough test in a ranked Batesville team on the road – but another 20-win season is in the cards. If the pitching rotation settles in behind senior Jack Walker, the Dragons should contend for a sectional title again and could move deeper into the tournament.
Notable: The Dragons lost over 100 innings pitched to graduation, more than half, and 99 RBIs, nearly half of the team’s 2018 total. New Palestine rose to the top of the state rankings a year ago before ending at No. 7, and start this season just outside of the Top 10.
Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
April 2;at Batesville;5:30 p.m.
April 4;at Franklin Central;5:30 p.m.
April 5;at Shelbyville;5:30 p.m.
April 8;at Perry Meridian;5 p.m.
April 10;at Connersville;6 p.m.
April 12;Yorktown;5:30 p.m.
April 15;Whiteland;5:30 p.m.
April 16;at Cathedral;5:30 p.m.
April 19;Mt. Vernon;5:30 p.m.
April 24;Knightstown;5:30 p.m.
April 26;at Greenfield-Central;5:30 p.m.
April 29;at Warren Central;5:30 p.m.
May 1;Zionsville;6 p.m.
May 3;Delta;5:30 p.m.
May 7;Fishers;6 p.m.
May 8;Bloomington North;5:30 p.m.
May 10;at Pendleton Heights;5:30 p.m.
May 13;Scecina;5:30 p.m.
May 14;at Bloomington North;5:30 p.m.
May 16;at Greenwood;5:30 p.m.
May 18;at New Castle, 10 a.m.
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