New Palestine High School

Payton Dye and Claire Fitzgerald both hit homers in the ninth inning and Cara Steele hit for the cycle to power the New Palestine softball team to a wild 17-13 nine-inning victory Saturday at East Central. In a game that featured 31 runs, 36 hits, seven homers, 15 extra-base hits, two players hitting for the cycle, multiple big innings, more than three hours of softball and nearly 400 pitches thrown between the two teams, the Dragons snapped a two-game skid with the long ball. The Dragons led 9-2 and 12-6, but a three-run homer in the ninth allowed East Central to tie the game. In the eighth, the Dragons went in order and Sadey Hughbanks pitched around a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning. In the ninth, the Dragons took control with the long ball. Morgan Hutchinson reached with a one-out single. Dye then blasted a 1-1 pitch over the centerfield fence to put the Dragons on top 14-12. Saydie Miller and Amber Hurt followed with back-to-back hits. After falling behind 0-2, Fitzgerald lined a 2-2 pitch over the leftfield fence for a three-run blast. The Trojans wouldn't go away in the bottom of the frame. Leadoff hitter Broegan Knuz homered to complete a cycle - she finished the day going 5-for-6 with a single, two doubles, a triple and a homer. She scored five times and drove in seven. A two-out double and RBI single followed, but Hughbanks recorded her 16th strikeout to end the game. Steele also hit for the cycle for the Dragons, going 4-for-6 with two runs and four RBI. She was one of five Dragons to homer. Kenna Tweedy and Miller also hit homeruns in regulation for the Dragons. NP had 20 hits in the game, and seven players had at least two. Hutchinson, batting in the leadoff spot, was 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI. Dye was 2-for-6 with two runs and a two-run homer. Miller was 2-for-4 with three runs and a two-run homer. Hurt was 3-for-5 with a run, a double and three RBI. Fitzgerald was 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, a run and four RBI. Tweedy was 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Callie Cromwell (1-1, run) and Lyndsay Goodin (1-5) also had hits for the Dragons. Hughbanks pitched nine innings, allowing 14 hits, nine earned runs and striking out 16. With the Dragons leading 9-2 in the fourth, Cailyn Hurst came on in relief and allowed two hits and four runs - only one of which was earned - before yielding the circle back to Hughbanks. The Dragons fell behind 2-0 in the first two innings - Knuz led off witih a triple and scored on the throw home. In the top of the second, the Dragons loaded the bases with none out, but were unable to score. Two walks and a hit gave EC a 2-0 lead in the second. The Dragons broke through in the top of the third with three runs. Hutchinson walked and scored on Miller's homer. Steele and Fitzgerald then hit back-to-back doubles to put NP up 3-2. They extended the lead to 9-2 in the fourth. Goodin and Tweedy led off with singles, plating a run on Hutchinson's RBI hit. After a groundout and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, Hurt cleared the bags with a three-run double to right. Steele then followed with a homer to left to cap a six-run frame. EC clawed back, using two hits, two walk and two passed balls to score four runs in the fourth. Hughbanks came back in to retire the side. With the lead having been cut to three, the Dragons again pushed it to six, as Tweedy finished a nine-pitch at-bat with a solo homer to left to lead off the fifth. Dye and Cromwell both singled and scored when Steele tripled to center to put the Dragons up 12-6. EC cut it to 12-8 in the bottom of the fifth on a single, walk and a two-out two-run double. The Trojans added another run on three hits in the sixth. In the seventh, a walk, error and three-run homer tied the game. Hughbanks then retired the next three batters to send the game to extra innings. The Dragons outhit their hosts 20-16 and improved to 6-2 on the season. They return to action Monday with a home game against Westfield.