New Palestine softball uses pitcher-catcher connection to win sectional championship

PENDLETON – Since seventh grade, Reese Rosenbaum and Courtney Study have been attached at the hip. They have been bus buddies, classmates, throwing partners and a reliable pitcher-catcher duo for the New Palestine High School softball team.

Now, they’re sectional champions.

“We’re everything,” Study, a senior, said. “The bond helps the trust; I know she’ll get every ball I throw to her.”

When Study gets into a jam on the mound, Rosenbaum is the steady hand to help bring Study back to a calm mindset.

“I just tell her not to overthink,” Rosenbaum said. “I always tell her all of her pitches are looking good. Whenever she’s throwing good, no one can hit her.”

Study may not have had a career-best game in a 10-4 4A sectional championship victory against Greenfield-Central, but she pitched all seven innings and battled her way out of numerous jams to hold the Cougars to just four runs, none through the first 5⅓ innings. In fact, New Palestine held its sectional opponents scoreless through the first 16⅓ innings of the sectional.

New Pal (23-4) scored three runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Two of these runs were driven in by Rosenbaum, who drilled a two-RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning to put New Palestine ahead by seven runs. As she remembered the emotion pouring out of her after the hit, Rosenbaum explained her mentality during that at-bat.

“‘You’re not getting out, you’re not striking out and if she throws you an inside pitch, you’re hitting it,’” she thought. “That’s exactly what she did.”

Reflecting on her four years at New Palestine, losing in multiple sectional title games before finally bringing the first sectional championship to the program since 2019, Rosenbaum said they were confident 2024 was the year they’d finally be able to claim the 15th sectional title in program history.

“We’ve been trying so hard,” she said. “… We thought every year that we were going to be able to do it and we finally did.”

New Palestine is set to face the winner of Cathedral vs. Ben Davis/Lawrence North for their regional championship contest Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Greenfield-Central received a first-round bye but defeated Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Mt. Vernon 7-5 in the semifinals. After beating Muncie Central 21-0 in the first round, New Palestine pitched a 9-0 shutout against HHC foe Pendleton Heights to punch its ticket to the sectional championship.

While the Cougars fell short of their quest to claim their ninth sectional championship in program history and first since 2017, New Pal coach Marcum was greeted by his players with an icy shower after the game.

Still soaked from the cold water, Marcum said the celebratory polar plunge was unexpected, but welcome.

“We’ll take it every year,” he laughed.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at KSmedley@Gannett.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New Palestine softball wins first sectional championship in 5 years