New Palestine High School

The New Palestine softball team is headed to the IHSAA State Finals. Here's the important fan information. #7 New Palestine Dragons (24-7) vs. #10 Hanover Central Wildcats (25-6) Time: 5:30 p.m. Friday Location: Bittinger Stadium, West Lafayette (directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yHZHde5ZMm44ei5H6) Tickets: $15, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=192334&p=294507. All seats general admission. Audio broadcast: NewPalRadio.com (free) Video broadcast: IHSAAtv.org ($15) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons softball team is making its 10th State Finals appearance and ninth title game appearance. The Dragons are six-time state champions (2004, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019) and have been runners-up in 2003 and 2024. The Dragons are seeking to tie Center Grove as the program with the most IHSAA softball state championships with seven. Head coach Ed Marcum has led the Dragons to all six state titles, tying a state record for most by a head coach. NP’s nine state title game appearances are third-most in state history, behind Tecumseh (13) and Center Grove (12). The Dragons are 6-2 all-time in state title games. The Dragons’ first-ever State Finals game was in 2003, a 4-0 Dragons win over Hanover Central in 11 innings in the Class 2A semifinal. It was the final 3-class tourney. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons have caught fire coming into the state tournament, as they have outscored opponents 47-12 in the six tournament games. The Dragons have been battle-tested, as they beat No. 9 Indian Creek and No. 5 Roncalli in the sectional and then faced No. 8 Edgewood in the regional. Hanover Central will be the Dragons’ fourth ranked opponent in seven tourney games. NP has come from behind five times in six tourney games. A big reason why is clutch hitting. Cara Steele broke a tie with a seventh-inning grand slam in the sectional opener against Indian Creek, a 7-4 Dragons victory. In the semistate title game, she hit a three-run blast in the sixth inning to give the Dragons the lead in a 4-1 victory over Evansville Memorial. Steele has 11 RBI in the tourney. N.C. State commmit Payton Dye has been leading the offense. She has three homers, seven RBI and is hitting .526 in the tournament. She and Claire Fitzgerald each hit two homers in the Dragons’ 14-4 semistate semifinal win over Jennings County. Pitcher Sadey Hughbanks - a Second Team All-State and Indiana All-Star series selection - has a 1.23 ERA in the tourney. Fitzgerald is taking a seven-game hitting streak into the State Finals. She is hitting .429 in the tournament with seven RBI. Head coach Ed Marcum is the fifth-winningest softball coach in IHSAA history with 563 career victories over 23 years. SCOUTING THE WILDCATS Hanover Central is making its second straight State Finals appearance. A year ago, the Wildcats lost to Cathedral 5-4 in the title game. The Wildcats also made it to the State Finals in 2003 - when they fell to New Palestine in the 2A semis - and in 2004, when they won the 2A title in the first four-class year. Hanover Central won the Northwest Crossroads Conference title this year. Pitcher Jillian DeYoung is 20-4 for the Wildcats, posting a 1.28 earned run average. She averages 1.7 strikeouts per inning. Hanover Central has outscored its five tourney foes 37-3, advancing with a 7-1 victory over East Noble in the semistate final. The Wildcats beat No. 2 Logansport 2-0 in the semifinal game. Senior Sienna Stilley leads the Wildcats at the plate, hitting .465 with 13 homers and 35 RBI. TOURNEY NOTES NPHS assistant coach Alyssa (Marcum) Dillard was the IHSAA’s Mental Attitude Award recipient in 2008. NP also had Mental Attitude Award receipients in 2009 (Sara Evans), 2017 (Elisha Barker), 2018 (Ashley Prange), 2019 (Emily O’Connor) and 2024 (Sydney Oliver). In addition to the six softball state titles, New Palestine has won six other team state championships. Five are in football - 2014 (4A),2018 (4A), 2019 (5A), 2024 (4A) and 2025 (5A). One came in baseball in 2004 (3A). A title victory would give the Dragons two state championships in the same academic year for the third time in school history (softball/baseball in 2003-04, football/softball in 2018-19).