Rest can do a team good.

The Pendleton Heights baseball team used two rare off-days to complete a nearly flawless week and get itself back on track during a hectic two-month season.

The Arabians (11-3) defeated Shenandoah, Highland and Shelbyville before falling to Shelbyville in the second game of a Friday night doubleheader.

“We’ve got to continue to improve in our at-bats,” said Arabians coach Bill Stoudt. “We have big, long swings and we’ve got to shorten them up and make more contact. It’s really going to catch up to us when we face better pitching.”

The week began with a methodical 8-2 thumping of Shenandoah on April 21. Nick Burke, hitting in the lead-off spot, improved his batting average to .385 with a 3-RBI hit to break the game open.

Ben Cronk and Sean Collins added two hits apiece for the Arabians, while Nate Frazier picked up the win on the mound. Cronk is batting .345 with a team-high 12 RBIs on the season.

“Ben’s just on fire,” Stoudt said. “He’s hitting the ball very, very hard and had a big weekend. That’s a big plus for us.”

The Arabians were fortunate not to have to see the Scots during the Nick Muller Tournament as Anderson was forced to face the lethal back-to-back of Highland and Pendleton Heights.

With hot bats and timely pitching, PH was able to dismantle Highland 12-3 on April 22, thanks in large part to a strong fourth inning.

The Arabians held just a 4-3 lead before Burke walked, Hubble singled, Collins doubled, Nate Clem tripled and Cronk homered over the left field wall. The team cycle was propelled by a Scots error earlier in the inning that allowed Clint McCord to get on base, making all of the runs unearned.

“It (fourth inning) was big. It was huge,” Stoudt said. “It was nice to get a lead and have some distance so that Tyler Holloway could settle in and just pitch without worrying about making every pitch perfect.”

Perhaps the story of the game was the play of Collins, forced into the designated hitter role with tendonitis in his throwing arm. His focus on hitting paid off as he recorded two doubles, a home run and four RBI. He also reached base all four times he stepped to the plate.

“He’s proven over that last four years that he can do both for us, but obviously his hitting is important for us right now,” Stoudt said.

After a two-day break, the Arabians came back to defeat Shelbyville 9-5 on April 25, but they lost 6-5 in the second game of the doubleheader.

Collins was 2-for-3 with a double and triple, and Allen Thompson pitched the win without allowing an extra base hit in the first game, but a shortage of pitchers and an injury to Derek Wright quickly caught up to PH.