New Palestine’s Maddox Manes winds up his delivery on the mound against Greenfield-Central on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A mix of high batting averages, good power numbers, speed, and dominant pitching make up the 2022 Daily Reporter All-Hancock County Baseball Team.
Here’s a look at the group of six seniors and six juniors.
P/SS: Eli Bridenthal, Mt. Vernon, junior
A year ago, Bridenthal committed to play baseball at NCAA D-I program Xavier. He backed it up with a solid junior season. The Marauder ace went 5-0 with a 1.59 earned run average, fanning 69 in 44 innings of work. He has other strengths, too. Bridenthal, an All-Hoosier Heritage Conference choice, hit .354 and stole 22 bases. The rising senior had a team-best 29 hits and 26 runs scored.
OF/P: Landon Clark, Mt. Vernon, senior
Clark was another multi-talented Marauder. His final year at MV was a good one. Clark hit .339 with eight doubles, three triples, two homers and 22 RBI. The Oakland University recruit added 10 stolen bases. One of four Marauders named All-HHC, Clark was a strong contributor on the mound. He was 1-0 with two saves and a 0.54 ERA in 13 innings of work.
IF: Gavin Johnston, Mt. Vernon, junior
The junior infielder was one of Mt. Vernon’s top batters. Johnston hit at a .343 clip, was tied for the team lead in doubles with eight. He drove in 17 and had 10 stolen bases. The All-HHC infielder had 23 hits and scored 23 runs. Johnston had five multi-hit games, including a two-hit, three-RBI contest in a 16-15 win over Greenfield-Central. He had a double and a triple in the win over the Cougars.
2B: Luke Legault, New Palestine, senior
Legault was named to the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association honorable mention Class 4A All-State team. A key contributor for the 24-7 Dragons, Legault hit .418 with five home runs, 34 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and 25 runs scored. One of 11 seniors on the New Pal squad, Legault also earned all-HHC honors. He will play next year at Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, an NCAA D-III program that plays in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
P/1B: Maddox Manes, New Palestine, senior
Whether on the mound or at the plate, Manes was a leader for a Dragons club that reached Class 4A’s state quarterfinals. Manes, who his headed to Franklin College, was 8-1 on the hill with a 1.45 ERA. He threw a no-hitter in a sectional win over Perry Meridian. He pitched 53 innings and had 76 strikeouts. As a hitter, Manes, an All-HHC choice, batted .355 with three home runs and 23 RBI. He also had five doubles.
3B: A.J. Oden, Greenfield-Central, junior
The Cougar junior was one of the area’s top hitters. Oden hit .435 with five home runs and 27 RBI. His .554 on-base percentage was also a top number on the G-C leaderboard. He had a two-HR, 4-RBI game in a 12-5 win over HHC-foe Delta. He was one of three Greenfield-Central players to be named all-conference.
OF: Grant Shepherd, Greenfield-Central, junior
The junior outfielder was selected to play in the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Futures Game last month. He’s coming off a strong junior season with a .373 batting average with 12 RBI and a .500 on-base percentage. The All-HHC outfielder had two doubles and two RBI in a 14-10 conference victory over Shelbyville.
P/OF: Conner Sims, Greenfield-Central, junior
The junior hurler/outfielder was often dominant on the mound. Sims, one of three G-C players on the All-HHC team, had a 1.49 ERA and struck out 72 in only 33 innings pitched. He struck out 16 in a 5-0 no-hit victory over Delta and had a six-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts in a win over Pendleton Heights. Sims fanned 16 in a 6-5 loss early in the year against New Castle. At the plate, he hit .345 with 21 RBI.
C: Zayden Stiller, New Palestine, senior
Another one of New Palestine’s strong 11-member senior class, Stiller is a three-year veteran behind the plate. Headed to Anderson University, Stiller wrapped up his Dragon career hitting .375 with 18 RBI. The all-conference backstop was third on the team with 36 hits and led the Dragons defensively with a .992 fielding percentage.
OF/P: Carter Stogsdill, New Palestine, senior
Like many of the other all-county selections, Stogsdill was extremely versatile. He hit .388 with a home run, 12 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He led the Dragons with 40 runs scored. Bound for Indiana Wesleyan, Stogsdill was often used as New Palestine’s closer. He had three saves to go with a 1-0 record and 1.58 ERA. New Pal’s everyday center fielder was one of four Dragons named all-league.
SS: Wyatt Sutton, Eastern Hancock, senior
Sutton had eye-popping numbers in his senior season with the Royals. The IU-Columbus recruit hit .649 with 37 hits in 57 at-bats. Sutton had 13 doubles and two triples. He struck out just two times, scored 23 runs and stole nine bases. He was Eastern Hancock’s lone representative on the All-Mid-Eastern Conference team.
UT: Russell Weaver, Mt. Vernon, junior
Weaver led the strong-hitting Marauders with a .362 batting average. A .551 slugging percentage ranked third among Mt. Vernon players. Weaver had five doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. He totaled 21 hits on the campaign.
Wednesday’s Daily Reporter wraps up another strong campaign of local high school baseball with the announcement of the 2022 player and coach of the year.
