NEW PALESTINE — Up and down the lineup, the New Palestine Dragons can simply hit.
They are widely known as a home-run hitting team for good reason, having set the state record two years running for long balls in a season.
But it’s about more than that. The Dragons have been remarkably consistent from year to year, and 2019 is no different. They are hitting home runs, sure, with a state-best 61 in 31 games. They’ve also won seven games this year without a homer.
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The Dragons were actually significantly behind their record-setting pace of last year until close to the end of the season. New Palestine has hit over a third of its home runs — 21 to be exact — since the regular-season finale against Delta.
“You look at three years ago when we hit 57, that shattered the state record. Last year to come back with 69 was just crazy,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “It felt like we were behind all year, but we weren’t really thinking about home runs or home run totals, so to speak. That last week of the season we got on a roll, hit a bunch against Greenfield, hit a bunch against Delta, and it’s just kind of carried through. When you have three in double figures like we’ve got, and then everybody else starts hitting some, it’s been fun to watch.”
With the bats on fire since the tournament began, the Dragons find themselves at the front in the state and ranked fourth nationally in home runs. They have three players ranked in the top 10, as senior Emily O’Connor has 17, good for fourth, while fellow senior Jaylin Calvert is sixth (15) and junior Michaela Jones is 10th (12).
Six other Dragons have home runs, with senior Macy Miller adding six, senior Tatum Biddle hitting four, junior Raegan Hiatt launching three, sophomore Sam Booe hitting two and sophomores Kendal Calvert and Lexi Campbell each hitting one.
While the power numbers are big, the team also has 77 doubles and eight triples, and they rank 14th in the state in batting average with a .405 team average.
They are ranked third in several categories, including slugging percentage (.713), RBIs (278) and total runs scored (307).
Pretty much everyone has contributed, as nine New Palestine hitters are averaging at least a .365 batting average, with six of them being over .400 and two above .500.
“All one through nine, even the girls who don’t get as many opportunities to bat, we all put in the same amount of work,” senior Emma Tucher said. “It’s cool how sometimes, other people aren’t having the best game, but you do have everybody else picking them up to get those hits. We all do really well at stringing together the hits to produce the runs.”
Ten different Dragons have driven in at least 10 runs this year, making every spot in the lineup dangerous in its own way.
“It’s just awesome knowing that, say one of us has a bad game, your teammate will pick you up no matter what,” Jones said. “Someone is going to have a game. Always knowing that top through bottom, someone will always be picking each other up, is just awesome.”
One of their biggest offensive performances of this season came against the team they’ll face Saturday, with a state championship on the line.
The Dragons blasted six home runs, their second-most of the year — they hit seven against Greenfield-Central — and scored 17 runs in a shutout against then-No. 3 Yorktown.
That kind of performance has been par for the course for the Dragons lately. They’ve scored double-digit runs in 19 games and were held below 10 just a dozen times.
“I think it’s a philosophy we have on repetition and how much we hit. We try to get the girls as much confidence as we can before they get in the game,” Marcum said. “Coach (Kyle) Ralph has done a great job — most all of these girls are in the Advanced PE class. They’ve gotten stronger, and because they’ve gotten stronger, those balls that were warning track are now going out.”
They love hitting home runs, sure, just as their coach loves seeing them. Their love for winning is even greater.
Because of their power, because of their strength and their consistency, they’ve done plenty of that during their run toward their ultimate goal. They’ve hit 187 home runs in the past three seasons, but more importantly, they’ve won 89 games and two state titles.
“We’re all just very close as a group. I think of course that helps,” Miller said. “With us all being so strong, we kind of just push each other to be our best. I think that’s how we’ve been so successful. We all want to be the best, and we all have the same goal in mind.”
All year, that goal has been a state championship three-peat. The Dragons will try to achieve it, try to get past Yorktown one more time, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium.
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What: IHSAA Softball State Finals
Who: No. 1 New Palestine vs. No. 7 Yorktown
Where: Bittinger Stadium at Purdue University
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person
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Still to come this week, the Daily Reporter will have an in-depth look at the Class 3A state championship softball game between the No. 1 New Palestine Dragons and the No. 7 Yorktown Tigers.
Saturday: The Dragons look to make history with a three-peat
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Emily O’Connor, senior
.538 avg., 17 HR, 47 RBI
Jaylin Calvert, senior
.505 avg., 15 HR, 50 RBI
Macy Miller, senior
.444 avg., 6 HR, 32 RBI
Tatum Biddle, senior
.406 avg., 4 HR, 27 RBI
Emma Tucher, senior
.297 avg., 12 RBI, 25 R
Sarah Greene, senior
17 R
Michaela Jones, junior
.450 avg., 12 HR, 44 RBI
Kinsey Mitchell, sophomore
.372 avg., 7 RBI, 30 R
Lexi Campbell, sophomore
.365 avg., 1 HR, 10 RBI
Kendal Calvert, sophomore
.262 avg., 1 HR, 11 RBI
Pitchers/catchers at the plate
Kaylea Bullock, junior
.267 avg., 2 RBI
Sam Booe, sophomore
.389 avg., 2 HR, 13 RBI
Raegan Hiatt, junior
.400 avg., 3 HR, 16 RBI
Vivian Long, sophomore
.278, 4 RBI
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