New Palestine’s Adam Rickey goes up to get an errant throw as Mt. Vernon’s Eli Bridenthal steals second base.
Tom Russo | The Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — The middle of April means a couple of things.
For one, it marks the deadline for taxpayers to file their annual returns.
For Mt. Vernon baseball, it means Russell Weaver’s about to get hot at the plate.
“Last year, prior to April 15, Russell struggled,” Mt. Vernon coach Brad King said. “This year, prior to April 15, Russell struggled. I had that conversation with him, ‘This is about that time of year where you start hitting.’ On Saturday, he had five or six hits (in our doubleheader). Tonight, he was huge.”
Mt. Vernon trailed rival New Palestine 2-0 heading into the sixth inning. Weaver, a right-handed hitter, got things going with a one-out triple to the opposite field. He scored on a Nick Heitman ground out.
In the seventh, with the score tied 2-2, and the bases loaded, Weaver doubled to the left-center field fence, scoring three runs and finishing out the scoring in a 5-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference victory at New Palestine High School.
The Marauders, seeking a third straight conference championship, improved to 5-0 in HHC play and 8-2 overall. The Dragons dropped to 2-3 in conference play and are 5-4 overall.
“It’s funny that somebody about the same time every year turns it on, but I’m OK with that,” King added on Weaver. “All I know is we can’t go back before April 15, we keep going forward. Russell is going to be a big part of this team. I think sometimes he presses a little too much. But he has to understand, with the team around him, and everybody has to understand, there’s no pressure. The next guy can do the job.”
Neither lineup was having a big night against starting pitching.
For the Dragons, senior Blaine Nunnally threw six innings and gave up just two hits, a bloop single by DJ Scheumann in the third and Weaver’s triple. He struck out six.
Mt. Vernon starter Cam Sullivan, a junior who has verbally committed to Notre Dame, gave up three hits in five innings of work. He struck out 11, but had two wild pitches that scored New Palestine runs.
In the third, New Palestine’s Adam Rickey lined a single by Mt. Vernon shortstop Eli Bridenthal. Rickey stole second base, went to third on a ground out by Nunnally and scored on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, after Sullivan struck out the first two hitters of the inning, Wes Stiller hit a triple to right-center field. He also scored on a wild pitch, giving the Dragons a 2-0 advantage.
In the seventh inning, against New Palestine reliever Michael Thorpe, Joe Wilson led off with a pinch-hit single. With one out, Bridenthal had an infield single and advanced a base on a throwing error. With Wilson at third and Bridenthal at second, Gavin Johnston grounded out, scoring Wilson with the tying run. Walks to Scheumann and Konnor Scheidt followed just ahead of Weaver’s smash to left field.
“I don’t know, it seems every year (this is the time of year I start hitting),” Weaver said. “The first two weeks of the season, I struggle. I’m under .300, and maybe just hitting around .200 with no extra base hits. Soon as it turns around, I start to relax and I am able to see the ball a lot better, drive the baseball, use every part of the field, instead of trying to yank one.”
New Palestine coach Shawn Lyons said Tuesday’s loss was a tough one for his young group.
His club graduated most of the lineup from a 2022 team that reached the regional title game and Class 4A’s Elite 8. He’ll chalk this one up as a learning experience for his youthful group, though it doesn’t take away the hurt that goes with losing the first game of a two-game conference series against the rival Marauders.
“We played really well Saturday against an outstanding program like Guerin (Catholic),” Lyons said. “Tonight we played alright. We have to execute better, but we’re getting better. Our younger kids are getting more experience and more comfortable, but it stings … this one does hurt.”
The Dragons and Marauders meet again tonight in Fortville for game 2 of the series.
–
Mt. Vernon 5, New Palestine 2
Mt. Vernon (8-2, 5-0);000;001;4 —;5;5;0
New Palestine (5-4, 2-3);001;010;0; —;2;3;2
Cam Sullivan, Jack Peine (6) and Grant Payson; Blaine Nunnally, Michael Thorpe (7), Rigg Mahurin (7) and Jackson Kamp. 2B: MV – Russell Weaver. 3B: MV – Weaver. NP – Wes Stiller. WP: Peine. LP: M. Thorpe.
