New Palestine’s Jersi Gross watches the pitch as she leads off second base against county rival Mt. Vernon.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
The Class 4A baseball and softball sectionals that include all three of Hancock County’s Class 4A schools will each open with county rivalry games.
The IHSAA had its draw for the 2023 baseball and softball postseasons, to begin later this month, Sunday.
In baseball’s Class 4A Sectional 9, to be hosted by Mt. Vernon, the Marauders will play in Game 1 against nearby rival Greenfield-Central.
The sectional portion of the baseball state tournament runs from May 24-29.
Game 2 of the tournament pits Pendleton Heights against Richmond. New Palestine and Muncie Central meet in Game 3.
Game 4 will have Anderson, last year’s tournament champion, against the winner of the Mt. Vernon/Greenfield-Central game.
There will be two returning sectional champions in the tournament. New Palestine won last year’s Class 4A Roncalli Sectional (11) and reached the regional finals. The IHSAA realigned tournaments for the 2022-23 school year.
Dates and times will be determined at a later date by the host school.
In softball’s Class 4A Sectional 9, to be played at New Palestine, the home team will begin the tournament in Game 1 against Mt. Vernon.
Game 2 will have Richmond taking on Anderson. Game 3 will include a pair of Hoosier Heritage Conference rivals in Pendleton Heights and Greenfield-Central. Game 4 will include Muncie Central against the winner of New Palestine/Mt. Vernon. Game 5 is a matchup of winners from Game 2 and Game 3. The championship will include the winners of Game 4 and Game 5.
The IHSAA softball sectional tournament will run from May 22-27.
Eastern Hancock will be playing in Class 2A Sectional 41 for both baseball and softball.
The baseball tournament will be hosted by Northeastern High School in Fountain City.
Eastern Hancock and Hagerstown drew byes in the six-team tournament and will play in a semifinal game.
The Class 2A Sectional 41 softball tournament will be played at Union County High School in Liberty.
Like the tournaments in Class 4A, realignment has set up a potential early head-to-head matchup between two of Class 2A’s top teams.
Eastern Hancock and Union County have met regularly in recent years in the regional round.
Realignment has them both in the same sectional tournament, though they are on opposite sides of the bracket.
Eastern Hancock plays in Game 1 against Shenandoah. Knightstown and Union County play in Game 2.
Game 3 will have Northeastern against the Eastern Hancock/Shenandoah winner. Game 4 pits Hagerstown against the Game 2 victor.
The one-game regional tournament, for softball, is scheduled for Tuesday, May 30. The four-team semi-states are slated for Saturday, June 3 with the state finals to be at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium June 9-10.
For baseball, this year’s state tournament has a different format than in previous years as the regional round and semi-state round have essentially switched.
The regional is now a single-game (June 3) with two championship games being played back-t0-back in a doubleheader format at the same site. The semi-state becomes a two-round affair with the winner advancing to the state championship game.
The four state championship games will be played at Victory Field in Indianapolis June 16-17.
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IHSAA Baseball, Softball Pairings
Baseball
Dates: May 24-29
Times: Determined by host school
Class 4A
Sectional 9 at Mt. Vernon
G1: Mt. Vernon vs. Greenfield-Central
G2: Pendleton Heights vs. Richmond
G3: New Palestine at Muncie Central
G4: Anderson vs. G1 winner
G5: G2 winner vs. G3 winner
Championship: G4 winner vs. G5 winner
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Class 2A
Sectional 41 at Northeastern
G1: Knightstown vs. Northeastern
G2: Shenandoah vs. Union County
G3: G1 winner vs. G2 winner
G4: Hagerstown vs. Eastern Hancock
Championship: G3 winner vs. G4 winner
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Softball
Dates: May 22-27
Times: Determined by host school
Class 4A
Sectional 9 at New Palestine
G1: New Palestine vs. Mt. Vernon
G2: Richmond vs. Anderson
G3: Pendleton Heights vs. Greenfield-Central
G4: Muncie Central vs. G1 winner
G5: G2 winner vs. G3 winner
Championship: G4 winner vs. G5 winner
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Class 2A
Sectional 41 at Union County
G1: Eastern Hancock vs. Shenandoah
G2: Knightstown vs. Union County
G3: Northeastern vs. G1 winner
G4: Hagerstown vs. G2 winner
Championship: G3 winner vs. G4 winner
