Softball wrap: Ed Marcum clears 500 wins, Marion County finals set, Cathedral wins City

New Palestine coach Ed Marcum added another line to his already illustrious resume Saturday afternoon, becoming the seventh Indiana high school softball coach to clear 500 career wins. The Dragons secured the milestone for the long-time coach with a 13-1 win over Jennings County, then picked up win No. 501 via five-inning mercy rule in game two.

An Indiana Softball Hall of Famer, Marcum has guided the Dragons to a state-record six state championships during his career (the first came during his first season at the helm), with 20 straight seasons of 20 wins or more. He was previously an assistant coach under Pete Cook and was on staff during NP's run to the 2003 finals (lost to Gibson Southern).

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"You can tell he really does care about you as a person and you as a player, but when he's angry — you can tell," senior shortstop Allie Blum laughed. "He'll put his foot down when it's necessary. But he's also very calm when he wants to be and can be your friend and talk with you when you need it. … He's a great coach. He really cares about us and the sport in general."

Here's what else we learned and you need to know from the past week in Class 4A.

Rained out Dragons

Thanks to six rainouts and a couple cancellations, the Dragons (13-1) played just their 11th game of the season Wednesday night at Roncalli. That was tied for the fewest games played among Class 4A teams at the time (West Lafayette Harrison and Fort Wayne Carroll were two of the others), and only a handful of 4A teams have played fewer games than NP entering the final two weeks of the regular season.

Most teams have played 18-20 games.

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Marcum said his players have taken everything in stride, but it's been frustrating for him as a coach — understandably so.

"It seems like it rains every time we go to play, then (Tuesday) we don't have a game scheduled and it's the nicest day of the year," he said. "It's been frustrating, but we'll be alright. … It's all part of it. I'm not making excuses."

Wednesday's outcome, a 5-1 loss — New Pal's first of the season — was mostly the result of a very good pitching performance by Avery Clark, who shut down a lineup that averages 12 runs and 12 hits per game (.410 average).

Katie Hirschy accounted for NP's lone hit with a solo homer in the second.

"The way we've been hitting, I never would have thought a pitcher could've kept us off-balance like she did," Marcum said. "She did a great job."

There were positives from the visitors' side. The defense was terrific, committing just one error and making some excellent plays in the field, including this diving catch in foul territory by Blum.

There was also sophomore pitcher Cailyn Hurst. She pitched four innings in relief, allowing just one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.

We'll ignore the forecast and look ahead to this week in Tuesday's Fab 15.

Marion County finals set

A week-and-a-half after losing to Roncalli by 14, Franklin Central mercy-ruled the Royals, 10-0, in the Marion County quarterfinals Saturday. The Flashes had lost six straight in the series and followed the big win with a 5-0 triumph over Beech Grove to secure a spot in Monday's final.

The pitching across both games was tremendous. Kiley Renick posted a two-hit shutout vs. Roncalli (and also went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs); Mallory Stinson stymied a potent Beech Grove lineup to record a three-hit shutout.

Sarah Miller totaled seven hits on the day, including a 3-for-3 showing vs. Roncalli that included a homer and four runs scored. Ashyr Lawson drove in three in game one; August Coons had a pair of RBIs in game two.

The Flashes advance to face Lawrence North, which pulled away to beat Perry Meridian, then took out Speedway in the semis. Sydney Moss capped a big week with a massive Saturday that included two homers and seven RBIs.

First pitch for the final is set for 6 p.m. Monday at Lawrence North.

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Cathedral claims City crown

The Irish pulled away for a 10-4 win over Covenant Christian on Friday, then rolled by Chatard on Saturday to claim the City championship.

Angela Valentine had two hits (one homer), four RBIs and two runs scored against Chatard, while Maddie Liter and Sidney Feczko both registered a couple RBIs apiece. Feczko fanned seven over four shutout innings; Shelby Johnson wrapped it up with a scoreless fifth.

Quick hits

>> Hamilton Southeastern won an 11-inning marathon vs. Noblesville on Tuesday. Addy Justice tied it at 4 in the bottom of the sixth, both teams missed with runners on in the seventh, then Alex Kiemeyer walked it off with a single in the 11th.

>> South Bend St. Joseph needed nine innings to fend off South Bend Riley, 1-0. Kenadie Schrock hit a walk-off single to score Kiley Weinberg; Oklahoma commit Berkley Zache spun a two-hit shutout with 18 strikeouts and four walks. Elliana Gonzales allowed just the one run on three hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts for Riley. SBSJ vs. Penn on Monday.

>> Speaking of Penn: The Kingsmen mustered only two runs on four hits in a 7-2 loss to Crown Point. Lexi Howard, Lexi Smith, Nevaeh Rangel and Corrine Peart all homered for the Bulldogs, who picked up four shutout innings from Smith. Paige Liezert struck out six over the remaining three innings.

>> What a week for Yorktown's Caitlin LaFerney at the three-game county tournament: Zero runs, four hits, 27 strikeouts and no walks over 12.1 innings pitched.

>> West Lafayette Harrison scored four in the bottom of the seventh to beat Avon, 5-4. Hannah Voll brought the Raiders within a run with a single, then the next two runs were scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and an error. Brownsburg (Wednesday) and Roncalli (Saturday) are among Harrison's remaining opponents.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Softball wrap: Ed Marcum clears 500 wins, Marion County finals set, Cathedral wins City