Maruders win 6-3

For those who weren't able to listen, Mt. Vernon won tonight's sectional championship with a 6-3 victory over No. 2 New Palestine.

Zach McKinney had the big blow for MV -- a three-run homer in the third to straightaway centerfield in the third that broke a 1-1 tie. MV added another run on Zach McFarland's RBI double in the inning, and Troy Montgomery hit a solo homer in the sixth to provide a key insurance run.

Logan Blair scattered 10 hits to get the pitching victory. He is now 8-2 on the year. NP got on the board early on David Gunst's solo homer in the top of the first, but the Dragons couldn't get the deficit below three after McKinney's homer -- Gunst singled and scored in the fifth, and doubled and scored in the seventh. Blair worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to preserve the four-run lead.

MV will play Crawfordsville at 11 a.m. Saturday in the opening game of the Mt. Vernon regional. Join Andrew and Chris for the call. http://www.justin.tv/hancockcountysports

Crawfordsville won its sixth straight sectional title, walloping Danville 17-1 and Western Boone 14-2 in Monday's games, both in five innings.

Friday baseball: The final weekend

Sectional play begins next week, but tonight is the final weekend of HHC play. Some good matchups -- starting with ours, which is one of the biggest in the conference this season.

Three teams enter Friday night in the mix for the HHC title. New Palestine, Mt. Vernon and Pendleton Heights. NP has already clinched at least a share, and one victory will give the Dragons the outright title. MV needs to sweep the Dragons to tie, while PH needs to sweep Yorktown in addition to an MV sweep to forge a three-way tie.

Chris Lambert and Andrew Smith will be on with you at 5 p.m. Friday with NP-MV play-by-play. Should be a good matchup between two evenly-matched teams tuning up for the sectional contests. NP is 20-3 overall and ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. The Dragons' Friday night pitchers have been Nick Smith, who had nine strikeouts in a loss to G-C last week, and Brian Page, who has pitched well and has a perfect 6-0 mark this season. Reid Clark is also a perfect 6-0. MV is 15-6, but is very dangerous, especially with Troy Montgomery returning to the lineup. The Marauders' top two of Matt Lohrey and Logan Blair is especially solid, and MV spent some time in the Top 10 this season.

Join us at 5 p.m. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE!

Baseball sectional pairings

The baseball sectional pairings were drawn today ... of the four county schools, only three-time defending sectional champ New Palestine drew a bye, but the Dragons face Hamilton Heights and likely one of the state's top lefties in the opening round. Mt. Vernon opens with host Shelbyville.

NP beat HH 8-0 Monday night. MV split two games with Shelbyville last Friday. 

Greenfield-Central will open against Anderson in the Pendleton Heights sectional. Eastern Hancock will open up against Hagerstown in the Centerville sectional.

Class 4A at Pendleton Heights
First round
Greenfield-Central vs. Anderson.
Pendleton Heights vs. Muncie Central.
Connersville vs. New Castle.
Semifinals
Richmond vs. G-C/Anderson
PH/MC vs. Conn/NC


Class 3A at Shelbyville
Wednesday, May 25
6 p.m.: Shelbyville vs. Mt. Vernon
Monday, May 30
10 a.m.: New Palestine vs. Hamilton Heights
1:30 p.m.: Rushville vs. Shelby/MV
7 p.m.: Championship

Class 2A at Centerville
Knightstown vs. Cambridge City Lincoln.
Hagerstown vs. Eastern Hancock.
Union County vs. Northeastern.
Centerville vs. Shenandoah.
Semifinals
Ktown/CCL vs. Hagerstown/EH
UC/N'eastern vs. C'ville/Shen.