NEW PALESTINE — The New Palestine Dragons softball team advancing deep into the state tournament has almost started to feel routine.
That’s the challenge. That’s the potential trap.
The Dragons have steamrolled through the tournament to this point, outscoring their four opponents by a combined 54-3 score. It’s the third straight year they have advanced to the semistate, having won the state title in both 2017 and 2018.
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“It’s just crazy. It’s just become the norm, now,” junior shortstop Michaela Jones said of advancing to semistate again. “We’re all so used to it, so it’s all we know. We’re just really blessed, and we’ve got to remind ourselves that it’s something special. It’s not the norm for everyone.”
Saturday’s semistate will be the third Jones has started in, and it will be the third time New Palestine’s large senior class will play with a spot at the state finals on the line.
“I think it’s really exciting, too, because we have a lot of new girls that haven’t had the experience of coming to semistate,” senior Tatum Biddle said. “Most teams don’t get the opportunity to go to semistate three times. We’ve been lucky enough to do it.”
Six starters are back from last year’s state championship team, a group that topped Tri-West Hendricks and Corydon Central by a 20-1 tally last year in Jasper.
This year it’s an entirely different group of teams joining the Class 3A No. 1 Dragons at the Jasper semistate, as No. 4 Danville, Silver Creek and Heritage Hills make up the rest of the field.
Danville has been to the semistate once, in 1997. Silver Creek has done it twice, in 2016 and ’17. Heritage Hills is in the semistate for the first time ever.
This is New Palestine’s 10th trip to semistate, all since 2003. The Dragons are the only team in the field to win either a semistate or state title.
They are hoping the experiences of the past two years will pay off in a big way this weekend.
“I think the experience always helps. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to show up on the scoreboard at the end of the day, but they have a knowledge of what’s going on, how everything works, the pressure,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “I think that kind of helped us (in the regional Tuesday). Northview hadn’t been there. If you’re not used to playing in those regional games, those semistate games, the pressure is completely different.”
It’s probably fitting that things really started clicking for the Dragons on Senior Night. With six seniors on the roster — Biddle, Emily O’Connor, Jaylin Calvert, Emma Tucher, Macy Miller and Sarah Greene — there is a lot of experience and a foundation of success leading the way for the Dragons.
They were three outs away from their fourth loss of the year that night, trailing Kokomo 5-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning on May 15. That’s when the seniors took matters into their own hands.
O’Connor started the rally with a double. Miller homered. Biddle got a hit. Tucher reached on an error. Calvert hit a three-run, walk-off homer to end it and give the hosts a 6-5 win.
“We had played so poorly the beginning of that game,” Marcum said. “To turn it on and come back like we did in the last inning, I think that kind of started the thing rolling. We’ve had some seniors that have really stepped up. It seems to be coming together.”
That win was the start of a six-game winning streak for the Dragons. They topped Delta to end the regular season, 14-1, putting them at a 68-4 run differential ever since Calvert’s walk-off.
The Dragons are playing their best softball at the perfect time, just three wins away from a third straight state championship.
“The girls have been talking about it all year, so that’s certainly been our goal,” Marcum said. “Not many programs get the opportunity to do what this group has done. We’re really excited, we’re having fun, played really well in the regional against a good team. I think we’re peaking at the right time, and hopefully we can just keep that rolling through Saturday.”
New Palestine will face Silver Creek in the 11 a.m. game of the Jasper semistate. The winner will meet the Danville/Heritage Hills winner in the 7 p.m. championship contest.
They want to complete the three-peat, but the Dragons are doing what they’ve done for years now. The defending champions are staying focused on one game at a time, being careful not to overlook what is right in front of them.
“We’ve just got to remember that any team can come back at any point in the game,” Jones said. “We have to always keep the pressure on them, or teams will battle back. It’s the postseason. Everyone wants it so bad.
“We’re all just super focused and playing for each other. We know what’s at stake.”
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Class 3A Jasper Semistate
11 a.m. – No. 1 New Palestine (26-3) vs. Silver Creek (18-14)
1 p.m. – No. 4 Danville (24-3) vs. Heritage Hills (17-13-1)
7 p.m. – Championship game
Favorites: New Palestine
Contenders: Danville
Longshots: Silver Creek, Heritage Hills
Players to watch: New Palestine — Emily O’Connor (.545, 16 HR, 45 RBI), Jaylin Calvert (.520, 14 HR, 46 RBI), Michaela Jones (.455, 11 HR, 41 RBI), Sam Booe (1.85 ERA, 15-0, 97 K); Silver Creek — P Abby Whitlock (2.58 ERA, 9-3, 79 K), Alisha Harbold (.416, 4 HR, 35 RBI), Kira Gibson (.385, 5 HR, 19 RBI); Danville — Ella Brinkley (.474, 13 RBI), Cassidy Tewes (.457, 1 HR, 30 RBI), Abigal Yarnell (.438, 1 HR, 33 RBI), Savanah Jones (1.36 ERA, 15-1, 146 K); Heritage Hills — Lauren Caswell (.537, 5 HR, 28 RBI), Emma Eubank (2.28, 12-4, 120 K)
Outlook: Anything other than a New Palestine/Danville semistate championship game would be a big surprise here, and the Dragons should make their way through to a third straight state championship game. New Palestine has been clicking on all cylinders lately, outscoring their four tournament opponents, 54-3. The biggest threat to the Dragons in this semistate is the Warriors, who have ridden strong pitching to the semistate semifinal. The Warriors have given up eight runs in their past five games and have allowed less than two runs per game this year. If the New Palestine offense is still clicking – and it has been for a few weeks – the Dragons should be back at Purdue on June 8.
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What: Class 3A Jasper Semistate
Where: Jasper High School, 1600 St. Charles St., Jasper, IN 47546
When: Saturday. New Palestine vs. Silver Creek, 11 a.m., Danville vs. Heritage Hills, 1 p.m., championship game, 7 p.m.
Cost: $8 per session or $10 for season
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