New Palestine High School

The New Palestine baseball team posted a big 4-2 victory Tuesday at home against Hoosier Heritage Conference leader Greenfield-Central, giving the Cougars their first conference loss of the year. The Dragons are now 8-5 on the season and 3-3 in HHC play, two and a half games back of G-C and two games back of second-place Shelbyville, who the Dragons will face Friday. NP and G-C meet in a rematch Wednesday at Greenfield-Central. Mason Monnier was 2-for-2 with an RBI to lead the Dragons' six-hit attack. Gavin Neal (1-2, R, RBI), Jacob Morris (1-1), Haydon Mills (1-3, R) and Marshall Giant (1-2, 2R) also had hits for the DRagons. Holden Hughes pitched a solid 6 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits and two earned runs, to earn the win. He struck out seven. Neal nailed down the final two outs for the save. After Hughes pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second, the Dragons gave him a cushion in the bottom of the inning, as Mills and Giant led off with singles. After a bunt by Monnier moved them into scoring position, Mills scored on Eli Whiteside's sacrifice fly and Giant came home on Neal's line-drive single to center to put NP up 2-0. G-C again had two on and none out in the third, but Hughes pitched out of the jam. The Cougars got on the board in the fourth after a one-out walk turned into a run after a steal and a single, cutting the lead to 2-1. The Dragons extended the lead in the fifth. Neal reached on an error, stole second, and then scored on an errant throw as he was attempting to steal third, to make it a 3-1 game. A leadoff homer in the sixth drew the Cougars within one again, but the Dragons got some insurance in the bottom of the frame when Giant was hit by a pitch with two outs. He came home on a hit by Monnier. G-C brought the tying run aboard with a one-out single in the sventh. Neal came in and induced a lineup, and then struck out the last batter to end the game.