Hancock County Athlete of the Year-Baseball: Maddox Manes of New Palestine.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — Senior Maddox Manes took his versatility to another level.
Manes could pitch.
He went 8-1 — winning his final eight decisions — with a 1.45 earned run average, striking out 76 batters in 53 innings.
Manes threw a no-hitter in the sectional round of the Dragons postseason run, beating Perry Meridian 7-0 on May 30. He struck out 10 and walked two in the victory.
The talented right-hander followed up by going the distance in a 7-2 victory over a strong-hitting Brownsburg club in a regional semifinal.
He had double-figure strikeouts four times, totaling 11 Ks each in Hoosier Heritage Conference wins against Yorktown, Delta and New Castle.
“The no-hitter against Perry was probably the highlight of my high school career,” The Daily Reporter Hancock County Baseball Athlete of the Year said. “The Brownsburg win was really nice, too.”
Manes could hit.
In an 8-2 win over Hoosier Heritage Conference champion Mt. Vernon — a game he earned the victory on the mound, too — Manes went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. One of the runs came on a colossal home run that veteran coach Shawn Lyons said was one of the longest he’s seen at the New Pal ballpark.
Manes hit .355 for the season with three home runs, five doubles and 23 RBI.
In the game that started the Dragons run of winning 18 of 19 ballgames, Manes did both of his on-field specialties.
On April 27, the Dragons beat Greenfield-Central 7-5. Manes struck out nine in five innings. He also had two of the team’s six hits.
Manes said a big key to his success was playing at an even keel. He tried not to get too high on the big moments or too low on the tough ones.
“I was pitching well against New Castle (on May 18) and I hit a home run. I got too high and came back on the mound and threw an awful inning. I realized then the more I stayed calm and collected and focused, the better I do,” Manes said.
And, Manes could lead.
One of 11 seniors on New Palestine’s talented 24-7 club that reached Class 4A’s state quarterfinals, Manes was the go-to-guy on and off the field.
“I feel like I got more comfortable and more confident in that role,” Manes said of being one of the team leaders during his senior season. “Last year, I was somebody that was leaned on for pitching, but I wasn’t confident enough to be as much of a leader like this year. I had multiple teammates help me, but I feel like I was playing a big role in off-season stuff, getting the team together for optional workouts. I feel like that’s what set us apart from other teams, working together, sweating together, creating that bond — a brotherhood.”
Lyons saw the gain in leadership and confidence.
He recalled an on-field leadership moment in the regional semi-final win against Brownsburg.
The veteran coach had told Manes the Bulldogs were a good hitting team, but a very “lippy” group.
New Palestine had a big lead, but Brownsburg was putting together a fifth-inning rally. The Bulldogs had the bases loaded with one out and were fighting to get back in the game.
Lyons decided it was time to go talk to his veteran pitcher.
“We were told they would be lippy,” Lyons said. “When we took infield they were on us. It got a little harry in the fifth inning. They had the bases loaded and I walked out to the mound. They were on me and Maddox looked me in the eye and said, ‘Coach, I got your back.’ He put his hand out to me. I said, ‘Alright Maddox, I’m all in.’ The next pitch they hit a grounder to third, we went home and to first and got out of the inning and that was it.”
Manes was a big part of that team chemistry and camaraderie. It wasn’t just player to player, but also players to coaches.
“(Coach) Lyons came out to the mound and I can’t repeat what they said to him and he looked over at them and told them to be quiet. They said something else and he got riled up,” Manes said of the moment in the win over Brownsburg. “That was a good moment for me and coach. He had our backs and I had his back. That brought us all closer.”
Lyons said Manes did a lot of work to be a better baseball player, too.
“He led by his work ethic and all of our guys followed him,” the coach added. “(Maddox) did a good job in the weight room, got his velocity up, worked on his mechanics and he took off. He just out-dueled New Castle’s ace (in a late-season HHC win).
“We knew he’d be good. He just didn’t believe in himself. I think the light came on after our Greenfield game and he carried us. He pitched in all of our big games, had good command. In the regional, that’s the best hitting team we’ve faced all year and he shut them down.”
Manes will play next year at Franklin College.
Lyons said he will miss his 11-member senior class, led by his standout pitcher/hitter/leader. They led the Dragons to a memorable season with 24 victories and a sectional championship.
“We had 11 seniors, (and Maddox) was a big piece of that,” Lyons said. “You want talent and you want chemistry. Maddox was one of the big catalyst, the ring-leader of our leaders and we had a bunch of great senior leaders.”
