Daily Reporter staff reports
Eastern Hancock’s Tom Barton did not allow a single hit in seven innings of work Tuesday night, clinching the Royals’ first no-hitter since 2006.
He struck out seven Blue River Valley hitters and was three walks away from a perfect game in leading Eastern Hancock to a 4-0 victory.
Royals coach Chad Coughenour said Barton knew before the game he was capable of accomplishing something special.
“He told us he was only going to need one (run of support) tonight,” Coughenour said after the game. “Colt Fout hit a solo shot in the first inning, and that was it.”
Coughenour also said that as spectacular as Barton was, the Royals’ defense deserves a lot of the credit for the achievement.
Coughenour cited Austin Clutinger’s diving catch in center field in the first inning and Austin Lacy’s slick play in the infield in the seventh as critical defensive stops that helped preserve the no-hit bid.
“It’s a very good team accomplishment,” Coughenour said. “One person gets the accolades for it, but unless he strikes out everybody, the whole team plays a part.”
The no-hitter was the first of Barton’s career and the first thrown by a Royals’ pitcher since Jordan Richey in 2006 against Southwestern (Shelby).
The win was the sixth straight victory for the Royals (9-4). They go for No. 7 Monday at Hancock County rival Greenfield-Central.
Dragons fall to top team
New Palestine lost 12-2 on Wednesday against Class 4A No. 1 Indianapolis Cathedral.
The Dragons fell behind early and could never recover. They scored their only two runs of the game in the fifth inning and trailed 8-2.
New Palestine (9-5, 5-3 Hoosier Heritage Conference) will try to bounce back Friday against league rival Yorktown (10-2, 6-2 HHC).
golf
Cougars edge Rushville
Clayton Long and Gage Mann led the Cougars boys golf team to a narrow 199-204 victory Tuesday at Hawk’s Tail Golf Course vs. Rushville.
Long secured medalist honors after shooting a 42, and Mann trailed closely behind with a 45.
The Cougars, now 4-2 in dual-match play, don’t play again until Tuesday at Fishers.
Royals fall by 4 strokes
Visiting Eastern Hancock’s 187 was four strokes too many against the Vikings on Tuesday, as it fell 183-187.
Nelson Dullin and Kenny Bunnell led the Royals with 45s.
Eastern Hancock visits Cambridge City Lincoln today.
New Palestine tops Morristown
The Dragons had no trouble with the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday in a 182-203 victory.
Sophomores Blake Barnette and Nick Lyons led the way for New Palestine, earning co-medalist honors with a pair of 44s.
Next up for the Dragons is today’s match against Beech Grove at Hawk’s Tail.
TRACK AND FIELD
Marauders take 3rd at Noblesville
Mt. Vernon finished third and Greenfield-Central fourth at Tuesday night’s Noblesville Miller Invitational.
The host Millers won the event with 155 points, followed by runner-up Hamilton Southeastern (138 points). The Marauders secured third with 77 points, and the Cougars came up with 59 points. Rounding out the field were Frankfort (39) and Delta (28).
Individual victors for Mt. Vernon were Wyatt Gutierrez (shot put) and Christian Noble (3,200). Also winning was the 4×800 relay team of Aaron Rush, Brisco Wood, Noble and Jordan House.
“After winning the Pendleton Invitational so handily last Thursday it was time to come back down to Earth with a whipping from Noblesville and HSE,” Mt. Vernon coach Bruce Kendall said after the meet. “Even still, we handled ourselves well with the 4×800, posting one of the better times in the state and Noble coming within 11 seconds of the school record in the 3,200.
“This was a fast-paced meet, so it also was a prelude to what we face as we approach the Hoosier Heritage Conference and IHSAA tourneys.”
Highlighting the Cougars’ day at Noblesville was the school record breaking performance of Zach Bishop, Tommy Hembree, Syrus Fletcher and Jason LaFord, who ran the 4×800 in 8:17 and finished second in Tuesday’s race.
Other top finishers were Zach Phillips (second, discus), Andy Kim (third, shot put) and Jason LaFord (third, 800 meters).
Both the Cougars and Marauders run again on Saturday. Greenfield-Central will be at the Greensburg Pirate Invite, and Mt. Vernon will participate in the Kokomo Relays.
Cougars girls win Pendleton Invite
The Greenfield-Central girls track and field team scored 107.5 points en route to a first-place finish at Tuesday’s Pendleton Heights Women’s Invitational.
Lapel was runner-up with 97 points, followed by the Arabians (96.83), Mt. Vernon (93.33), Yorktown (75), New Castle (65.33), Rushville (45) Liberty Christian (20), Muncie Burris (12) and Delta (11).
Leading the way for the Cougars was the 4×800 relay team of Katie Helgason, Sydney Cook, Savannah Girolami and Rebekah Gottwald. The team set a school record and meet record with a time of 10:05.73. The previous meet record was 10:10 and owned by Zionsville.
Regan Lewis broke her own meet record in high jump with a winning leap of 5 feet, 6 inches. Cook set a meet record in the 800 with a winning time of 2:24.08. Maddie Wise, Gottwald, Cook and Girolami also won the 4×400 relay.
Girolami (200-meter dash), Wise (100-meter hurdles) and Emily Jones (pole vault) notched second-place finishes.
For the fourth-place Marauders, Olivia Coleman led the way, winning and setting new meet records in the 200- and 400-meter dashes as well as winning the long jump and tying for second in the high jump.
Senior Aubri Benbow finished second in the 300-meter low hurdles with a new career best time and fourth in the 100-meter high hurdles. Alexa Franklin finished second in the 100-meter dash and Alexa Christensen fourth in the same race. Meg Schleter came in third in the pole vault and the 4×100 relay team (Kiara Gibson, Schleter, Christensen, Benbow) finished third.
