NEW PALESTINE — Columbus East pitcher Jordan Johnston kept the New Palestine offense off-balance through three innings Monday night, holding the high-powered Dragons to just one run and a handful of hits.
That was as long as the junior could keep the New Palestine offense contained.
Behind a strong pitching and defensive performance, the hosts started to pull away in the latter innings, and the Dragons topped the visiting Olympians, 5-1.
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“As a coach, you just want to play well, but at the same time, you know that sometimes there are games where you’re not going to have your best stuff,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “They were a little disappointed in themselves, I think, but at the same time it is important to have some close games so when you do get in a close game, you know how it feels and how to respond. Even though I like coming out and hitting a bunch of home runs, at the same point, we won this game with pitching and defense and a few timely hits.
“I thought that was good for us, and it’ll pay off later.”
New Palestine took the lead in the second inning after a Lexi Campbell leadoff single and an RBI double from starting pitcher Sam Booe. After the Olympians tied things with a solo home run from Jenna Robbins in the fourth inning, Booe helped her own cause again, singling in a run in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead before a Kendal Calvert double pushed the advantage to two.
The Dragons offense continued to click in the fifth inning, with four singles leading to another pair of runs. With how strong Booe was on the mound, that was more than enough for New Palestine to secure the win.
In her first career varsity start, Booe, a sophomore, went five innings for the Dragons, allowing just three hits and one run. She struck out three and walked one before giving way to Kaylea Bullock. Bullock closed out the win, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out one.
“It was challenging knowing that this was going to be a pretty good team, but I knew I had my team behind me so I just counted on them, counted on my catcher and coaches,” Booe said. “It was pretty cool knowing that I started and all, but I knew my team was going to do good. I was really hoping I was going to come through pitching and just get it done for my team.”
Booe pitched in relief the first three games of the season, throwing 8.2 total innings. She had allowed seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out 11 and walking just one, in those contests.
“I thought she did a really nice job of hitting her spots,” Marcum said. “We were able to mix pitches up. I thought she handled the pressure obviously very well, and frankly, I thought she deserved a start. With this being her fourth game, she’s been able to come in, get relaxed in some games where she had a little leeway. She came in tonight and just did an outstanding job.”
Booe led the Dragons offense, too, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate with a single, double and two RBIs. Campbell and Emily O’Connor each had two hits for New Palestine, which totaled 10 in the game.
Johnston went the distance for Columbus East, allowing the five runs on 10 hits. She walked one and hit one batter.
“We weren’t as patient as we normally are,” Marcum said. “We were taking some pitches that we should have been hitting, and swinging at some pitches we should have let go. We were out in front of everything, so our timing was off a little bit. (Johnston) did a really nice job, and that’s what I told her coach. As I told him, not many pitchers hold us to five runs.”
It was the fifth straight loss for Columbus East after a 2-1 start to the season. The Dragons move to 4-0 with the win, their 24th straight dating back to last season.
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New Palestine 5, Columbus East 1
CE (2-6);000;100;0;—;1;5;0
NP (4-0);010;220;X;—;5;10;1
WP: Sam Booe. LP: Jordan Johnston.
HR: Jenna Robbins (CE). 2B: Michaela Jones, Kendal Calvert, Booe (NP); RBI: Booe 2, K. Calvert, Jaylin Calvert, Emma Tucher (NP); Robbins (CE)
Notable: Booe 5 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 3 hits allowed, 1 ER, 2-for-3 hitting, 2B, 2 RBIs
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