Eastern Hancock’s Grace Stapleton celebrates a home run against New Palestine on Monday, March 21, 2022. The game was tied 5-5 going into extra innings but was called due to darkness. (Tom Russo/Daily Reporter)
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Not even daylight savings time was enough.
Projected as a potential slugfest between two softball state-contenders Monday, neither the Class 4A New Palestine Dragons or the 2A Eastern Hancock Royals disappointed in their season openers.
They just needed more sunlight.
With a combined 16 hits, four home runs and 10 runs driven in through seven innings of regulation, the Dragons and Royals ended in a tie, 5-5, as the tug-of-war contest was suspended in the top of the eighth due to darkness.
The host Royals don’t have stadium lights installed at their facility, which prompted the officials to halt the nearly three-hour game with New Palestine’s Aglaia Rudd up at-bat with a 2-0 count, one out and one runner on base.
The Dragons trailed 5-3 after five innings, but they rallied back to tie the game behind a one-out, two-run home run from Allie Blum in the top of the sixth.
The program’s will look to resume the extra-inning game at a later date, yet to be determined, as both schools face spring breaks, beginning next week.
“We’ll let the (athletic directors) figure that out. I don’t think it will be this week, but I’m not sure, and next week I’ll be missing half my team (due to spring break), but we’ll try to figure that out,” Eastern Hancock head coach Terry Stephens said.
Even if the contest goes down as an exhibition, both teams put on a display, with a total of eight runs scored on four home runs.
The Dragons took the initial lead, 1-0, in the top of the first with a one-out sacrifice fly from starting pitcher Alexa Holman to score Blum, who finished 3-for-4 with a three RBI, a walk, two singles and a home run.
The Royals responded with their first home run of the season in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 lead. The school’s single-season home-run record holder, Sammie Bolding, crushed a one-out, two-run bomb that landed in the neighboring Eastern Hancock baseball field down the third-base line.
Bolding had a school-record 14 home runs last season. The Royals set a single-season record with 51 during the 2021 campaign.
A one-out solo home run by New Palestine’s Paige Ernstes off Royals starter Madison Stephens tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the second.
Later, Blum gave the Dragons a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth with a two-out RBI single that scored Nyla Lewis, who courtesy ran for Holman.
A three-run home run by Eastern Hancock’s Grace Stapleton in the bottom of the fifth and two outs put the Royals back in front 5-3. Brooklyn Willis finished 1-for-3 with a double for Eastern Hancock’s only other extra-base hit.
“To their credit, they took advantage of their breaks,” New Palestine head coach Ed Marcum said. “Their players took advantage of the mistakes that we made, but overall, for the first time out, I thought we did a really good job of battling back. We could have dropped our heads there when we got behind.”
Trailing by two runs, the Dragons charged back, once again, in the top of the sixth, after Reese Rosenbaum reached base with a single, and Alaina Miller hit into a fielder’s choice. Blum stepped up after Miller and deadlocked the game up 1-0 in the count before launching her first home run of the season.
“Their center fielder (Caroline Stapleton) made some outstanding catches out there that saved them,” Marcum said. “I thought defensively, we played very well, too. It was a good game. It was a good game between two really good teams. Early in the season, you never know how you’re going to respond, and we did a good job. We just chased too many pitches in key situations, but we’ll get it.”
Holman went 4.0 innings for the Dragons, surrendering three hits, including two home runs, struck out one and walked four. The Royals drew five walks overall.
Dragons’ ace Katie Kottlowski came in as a reliever, and the left-hander struck out one, gave up two hits and retired six straight at one point in 3.0 innings pitched.
“What I like about playing New Pal early is being a team like they are, they show you things you need to work on,” Terry Stephens said. “We have things to take to practice starting tomorrow, and we’ll figure it out. We can play better.”
Madison Stephens pitched the entire game, striking out five in 7.0 complete innings with five walks issued. New Palestine logged 11 hits compared to Eastern Hancock’s five.
“Last year, I think it took until the third game to get our first home run, so we did pretty good to start out with two of them,” Terry Stephens said. “But, we can’t rely on home runs. We need some base hits, too. We have to get more base runners on, but that goes to their pitching. They stymied us in a lot of ways.”
