New Palestine High School

The New Palestine softball team was one out away from victory in the seventh. When the Dragons got another chance to put the game away in the ninth, they slammed the door. The Dragons beat host Hamilton Heights 6-4 in nine innings Thursday, a game that was added to the schedule a day before. The Dragons built a 3-0 lead in the third after Payton Dye's two-run homer, but the Huskies scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. The lead remained 3-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when a hit batter and a walk put two Huskies on base. With two outs, a two-run double tied the game. Sadey Hughbanks struck out the next batter to end the threat, and after the Dragons went down in order in the eighth, she pitched around two one-out singles to extend the game. The Dragons broke through in the ninth. Claire Fitzgerald and Callie Cromwell both reached on errors to begin the inning. Kenna Tweedy's grounder forced Cromwell, putting runners on the corners with one out. Lyndsay Goodin gave the Dragons the lead by lining a single to left. Morgan Hutchinson followed with a hit to load the bases. After another groundout - forcing the lead runner at home - Saydie Miller delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-3. A passed ball brought home an insurance run. HH wouldn't go away. A one-out single and a groundout put runners in scoring position. An error allowed the run to score and kept the Huskies alive. Another single put the tying run on base, but Hughbanks induced a flyout to Tweedy in right to seal the victory. Both teams had eight hits. Hughbanks earned the win, pitching a complete game. She allowed two earned runs, two walks and struck out nine. The Dragons scored first with a two-out rally in the top of the second. Fitzgerald reached on two errors won the same play, and later scored on the Huskies' third error of the inning. In the third, Morgan Hutchinson led off with a hit and Dye then drilled a 2-1 pitch over the centerfield fence for a two-run homer, giving the Dragons a three-run lead. HH got a run back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out single and a pair of errors. Both pitchers had command until the Huskies tied the game in the seventh. Hutchinson was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Dye was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer. Miller was 1-for-5 with an RBI. Cromwell and Tweedy were both 1-for-3. Goodin was also 1-for-3 with an RBI. The Dragons are now 17-7 on the season. They finish the regular season Friday with a Senior Night contest against Delta.