Insider: Sadey Hughbanks 'owns the circle,' New Pal exceeding expectations — even its own
NEW PALESTINE — New Palestine softball wanted to beat rival Roncalli. It wants to win every game, obviously. But with a likely rematch looming in the sectional championship game, the stakes of Wednesday's showdown was watered down.
Even so, coach Ed Marcum knew that given his competitive nature, he was going to have a tough time pulling pitcher Sadey Hughbanks if she started and his red-hot, top-ranked Dragons took an early lead.
Marcum didn't want the co-No. 1 Royals to see his ace for a full seven innings … but he also wanted to win.
So he struck a sort of compromise.
New Pal would 'mix-and-match' its pitchers, only using Hughbanks when they 'really needed her.' Ideally, Marcum said, they would have a decent lead entering the latter innings and she could close it out.
It was a solid plan and all things considered, executed quite well.
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Hughbanks pitched the Dragons out of jams with two outs in the third and one out in the fourth, holding the deficit at one until the bottom of the fifth when Saydie Miller roped a two-out double to score Jersi Gross and Maddie Engle.
Lead in hand, Hughbanks entered for the final two innings. She pitched a perfect sixth, then worked around a lead-off single in the seventh to close out a 4-3 win over Roncalli and end NP's five-game losing streak in the series ahead of that potential postseason rematch.
Hughbanks' final line: 3 innings pitched, one hit, zero runs, zero walks, one strikeout. She also went 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a run scored.
'She really stepped up like she has all year,' Marcum said.
'That was a great job by the team,' he later added. 'They stayed with it and did exactly what I asked them to do. They were all ready when it was their turn. I'm just really proud of them.'
Wednesday's performance was the latest checkmark amidst a surprise season by the Dragons. Sure, preseason expectations were high for this group. But 15-1 with wins over Plainfield, Hamilton Southeastern, Zionsville, Noblesville, Center Grove, Shelbyville and Roncalli? After graduating a glut of college commits, including their top pitcher, a starting outfielder and two SEC infielders? Come on…
"Honestly, yeah," Engle replied when asked if they've been exceeding their own expectations.
"Everyone's asked me how we were going to be this year and I was like, 'I have no idea,'" Hughbanks added.
No. 17 has been a driving force behind NP's success.
The first-year ace — who boasted an ERA around 2.00 through her first two seasons (61 innings pitched) — is 14-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 94 strikeouts through 89 innings. She's allowed just 18 earned runs on 63 hits and issued only 22 walks.
Hughbanks has been dynamite, pitching with a particular confidence that's necessary to flourish against such a daunting schedule.
She "owns the circle (and) I'm very proud of her for that," Engle said, her teammate blushing as she stood next to her.
Thanks, bro, Hughbanks smiled, gently bumping shoulders with the senior infielder.
That confidence, Hughbanks said, was gained as colleges began scouting her more heavily during the fall travel season. She knows she can pitch at this level and that belief has been critical.
Hughbanks struck out 11 and allowed only two runs on eight hits against Plainfield, allowed a single unearned run on four hits across six innings in a 12-1 win over defending 4A state champion Hamilton Southeastern and allowed just three runs on nine hits to a red-hot Noblesville at the end of April.
"I've been pitching well, but my defense has really had my back," Hughbanks said. "So it's not just me doing all the work. They've been fantastic behind me."
This group cares deeply about one another and love being together, Marcum added, explaining how the players all refer to each other as "besties."
"It's a really neat team to coach," he continued. "And for us to pull out those wins against our gauntlet of a schedule is a testament to how hard they play. … It's fun to watch."
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