New Palestine High School

The New Palestine softball team used another big day at the plate Wednesday to beat host Franklin Central 10-0 in five innings. The Class 3A No. 2 Dragons are now 5-0 on the year and have outscored their opponents 51-3. Payton Dye started things off with a two-run homer in the first and the Dragons rolled from there. In the second, Kylee Beranek drilled a two-run triple and then scored on Jersi Gross' base hit to push the lead to 5-0. The Dragons added another run in the third by loading the bases on two singles and a walk. Catherine Trebley's sacrifice fly plated the run. The Dragons added four more runs in the fourth. Again, they loaded the bases on a single by Maddie Engle, a walk and a hit batter. Katie Hirschy was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Engle came home on Saydie Miller's groundout. An error brought two more runs home. Sadey Hughbanks and Tessa Mohr combined on a five-hit shutout. Hughbanks earned the win with 3 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and fanning two. Mohr allowed one hit and fanned one in 1 2/3 innings. Neither issued a walk. Seven different players delivered the Dragons' nine hits. Dye was 2-for-2 with a homer, two runs and two RBI. Gross was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Beranek was 1-for-2 with a triple, a run and an RBI. Hirschy was 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI. Trebley was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Kenna Tweedy was 1-for-3. Engle was 1-for-3 with a run. Wednesday begins a four-games-in-four-days stretch for the Dragons. They next play Thursday at Hamilton Southeastern in a rematch of last year's 4A state championship game, before returning home Friday to face Carmel and Saturday to meet East Central.