New Palestine High School

The New Palestine softball team clinched a perfect record in the Hoosier Heritage Conference Friday, capping the conference slate with a 16-0 victory over Delta. The Dragons completed a perfect 7-0 conference record for the program's 13th HHC championship and ninth in the last 10 seasons. The Dragons are 19-3 with one regular season game left, a Saturday morning tilt at Avon. The Dragons scored nine runs in the first inning and tallied runs in each of their four at-bats. Senior Allie Blum homered twice, tripled and drove in four, going 4-for-4 and scoring four times. Eight of the Dragons' 16 hits were for extra bases. Courtney Study, Sadey Hughbanks and Cailyn Hurst combined on a three-hit shutout. Study scattered two hits and struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings. Hughbanks pitched a perfect inning, while Hurst came in for the final out. In the opening inning, Blum started things off with a solo homer to center. After a walk to Sydney Oliver and a single by Paige Ernstes, Katie Hirschy singled in a run. A base hit by Maddie Engle loaded the bases. Reese Rosenbaum drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, then Ella Holman hit a bases-clearing triple to put the Dragons up 6-0. After a walk to Jersi Gross, Blum came up a second time in the inning and blasted her second homer of the frame and 17th of the season. The three-run shot put NP up 9-0. The Dragons added two more runs in the second on Rosenbaum's bases-loaded sacrifice fly and a double by Ella Holman. In the third, Oliver had an RBI single, Ernstes a sacrifice fly and Engle an RBI double to put the Dragons up 14-0. Kenna Tweedy had a sacrifice fly in the fourth, followed by Blum's triple and a base hit by Oliver to add two more runs. In addition to Blum's 4-for-4, four-run, four-RBI day, Engle was 3-for-3 with two runs, a double and an RBI. Holman was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, a run and four RBI. Oliver was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Ernstes was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Gross was 1-for-2 with two runs. Hirschy was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Nyla Lewis was 1-for-3 with a run.