PENDLETON — Nearly a week of practice will have accrued for the Arabians before they begin their post-season play. Pendleton Heights drew a bye and will play in the sectional semifinal Saturday, May 25.
It will face the winner of the first-round Muncie Central-Richmond matchup from Wednesday, May 22 (after press time).
The Arabians finished their regular season 15-9 after dropping a finale doubleheader at Delta on May 16 and winning 5-3 in a late-scheduled May 20 game against Guerin Catholic.
“We picked up the game with Guerin because I did not want to be off too long. At this point in the year, staying game-fresh is more important,” coach Travis Keesling said.
He said coaches run intrasquad games with the junior varsity during the week to keep the varsity on point.
In the Hoosier Heritage Conference, the Arabians were 9-5 and tied for second with New Palestine behind conference champion Greenfield-Central.
Walker Stull will be on the mound for the Arabians in the sectional. Stull is 6-0 in his senior season and has taken out 72 batters at the plate this season with a career-high 17 strikeouts during the finals of the Nick Muller tournament against Lapel.
At the plate, Rene Casas is batting .309 and has 21 RBI for the season. He’s also hit two of the six Arabians homeruns. Casas has signed a letter of intent to play at Anderson University next year. Kamden Earley wields strength to bring the runs home as well. He’s second to Casas with 17 RBI.
Leadoff hitter Evan Douglas and cousin Wyatt Douglas also present dangers to the opposing team once they get on base. Wyatt has 14 steals to his credit, and Evan has eight. Stull is also a threat on the bases with eight steals
In the win at Guerin, Schuyler Haynes picked up the win, and Cole Miller went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Saturday’s game begins at 11 a.m.
The winner of the Pendleton Heights semifinal game will face the winner of the other semifinal game in the championship on Monday, May 27.
The other semifinal (also scheduled for Saturday, May 25) will be between the winners of the Connersville/Anderson and Mt. Vernon/Greenfield-Central first-round games, both of which were scheduled for today, May 23.
