New Palestine High School

The New Palestine baseball program has accomplished a lot in its storied history, but never had it won four sectional titles in a row. Until now. The third-ranked Dragons rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat No. 2 Roncalli 10-3 in Monday's sectional championship game, clinching the 20th sectional title in school history and the fourth straight. The Dragons will look to win their third straight regional title - and a regional game for the fourth consecutive year - Saturday against Cascade. The site and time are TBA. The Cadets beat Owen Valley 12-0 to win their sectional title. A number of unlikely heroes stepped up for the Dragons, who improved to 23-3 with the victory, and a few familiar ones. Pitching on one day's rest after throwing five shutout innings in the sectional semifinal win over Indian Creek, Rigg Mahurin (8-1) pitched five scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. Ryan Haines set the table, going 2-for-3 with a hit batter, leading to a run each time. Liam Atkinson's RBI single up the middle in the fifth gave the Dragons the lead for good, and he added the exclamation mark with his first varsity homer - a three-run shot in the seventh inning. The Royals jumped ahead early, scoring a run on two hits in the first, keyed by Sam Roeder's two-out ground-rule RBI double, and adding two on one hit, a walk and a hit batter in the second. Again, a two-out RBI double - this time by Gio Ardizzone - was the big hit. Dragons coach Shawn Lyons opted to bring in Mahurin in relief of Jacob Morris, who returned to his usual shortstop position and turned in spectacular defense. Roncalli starter Nico Amodeo was dealing early, retiring the first six batters he faced. But he plunked Atkinson leading off the third. A fielder's choice and a single by Haines followed. With two outs, Gavin Neal roped two-run single up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-2. After being retired in order in the fourth, the Dragons tied the game with a two-out rally in the fifth. Haines started it with a sharp single to right. Mahurin singled to left and Gavin Neal walked to load the bases. Morris hit a hot smash up the middle that deflected off the pitcher's glove for a game-tying infield hit. In the bottom of the inning, Roncalli put the leadoff man, but Mahurin picked him off first for the second straight frame. After a single, Morris turned a 6-4-3 doubleplay to end the threat. The Dragons took the lead in the top of the sixth. Kingston Hedges led off with a long triple to right-center. With one out, Atkinson lined a single up the middle to put the Dragons up 4-3. But they weren't done. Haines was hit by a pitch with two outs, putting two runners on for Mahurin, who laced a line drive into the left-field corner for a two-run double that extended the lead to three. In the bottom of the sixth, Roncalli again got a one-out single, and again, the Dragons erased it with a 6-4-3 doubleplay. The Dragons blew it open in the seventh, with four straight one-out hits. Jackson Kamp and Hedges started the rally with back-to-back singles to right, putting runners on the corners. Jesse Isaacs executed a perfect squeeze bunt and beat it out for a hit. Atkinson followed and blasted a pitch over the leftfield fence for a towering three-run homer. Mahurin pitched around two baserunners in the bottom of the frame to nail down the sectional title, touching off a big celebration. He allowed four hits in five shutout innings, striking out four. Despite conceding six baserunners over those five innings, he faced two batters more than the minimum due to two pickoffs and two doubleplays. Offensively, the Dragons' 12-hit attack was led by Atkinson, who was 2-for-3 with a single, a homer, two runs and four RBI. Hedeges was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run - and his pinch-runner scored another. Haines was 2-for-3 with two runs - and his pinch-runner scored another. Mahurin was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Neal was 1-for-3 with two RBI. Morris was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Kamp was 1-for-4 with a run.