Hillsboro Indians extend FAC lead by defeating rival McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The Hillsboro Indians extended their Frontier Athletic Conference lead Wednesday night and they did so by going on the road and defeating Highland County rival McClain by a 4-2 score at Mitchell Park.
Hillsboro’s win moves them to 7-1 in the FAC, putting them two conference games ahead of McClain (5-3) and 1.5 games in front of Miami Trace, who are 6-3 in the conference standings. The Indians have two conference games remaining with an away game Monday, April 29 at Miami Trace, followed by a home game against McClain May 6.
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“I’m happy with the outcome, but we have been talking about the past couple weeks that there are a lot of things we need to do to get better,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “It was pretty much the same thing we’ve done all season long. Luke pitched good, not great, and he knows he wasn’t quite on his game, but the thing we do well is we don’t compound mistakes.
“We do the next thing right defensively, and at this level, that is huge. At the plate, we’ve been struggling and we did again tonight, but we did just enough. Brennen Priest is the MVP of this game, and he did what he is supposed to do and that is what it takes to win big ball games.”
McClain had a big opportunity in front of them in the bottom of the first inning as Eric Anderson (2-for-4, one RBI) singled to start the inning, and John Salyers had a one-out walk. Cody Pollock was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Tigers, but that is when HHS junior pitcher Luke Magulac turned up the intensity on the mound.
Having the bases loaded against him, Magulac gained a second out on a called third strike, and then he ended the inning with another called third strike to end the inning.
“Hillsboro has players that were able to shut us down in the first inning,” McClain head coach Rich Bunner said. “That is why they (HHS) are in first place, and they are a good team, too.
“In my opinion, the difference in the game was clutch hitting. We had the bases loaded and couldn’t capitalize. A couple other times, we had runners on first and second and couldn’t capitalize, but Hillsboro did. That was the difference in the ball game, and Matt (Garman) does a great job with them.”
The top of the second saw the Indians score the first run of the game where the inning began with a lead-off double on a ball hit to left field off the bat of Dylan Boone. Boone moved to third on a ground out by Ryan Scott. Having one out against them, the Indians scored their first run off a sacrifice fly by Brennen Priest, allowing Boone to score a run for a 1-0 lead.
McClain tied the score at 1-1, beginning with a two-out walk by Wyatt VanDyke. VanDyke stole second and scored off a two-out double by Eric Anderson, who sent the ball to right field on a line drive.
Hillsboro regained the lead in the top of the fourth by having two runs cross the plate. Grant Crum led off the inning with a base hit, and following the first out, Crum stole second base and Boone drew a walk. Next, Crum went to third on a groundout by Scott.
Having two outs, the Indians had clutch hitting from Priest as he doubled to left field on the first pitch of the at-bat, putting the Indians ahead, 3-1 with Crum and Boone each scoring runs.
McClain made the score closer with one run in the bottom of the fifth, beginning with a bunt single by VanDyke. Following the first out, Colton Mossbarger had a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, moving VanDyke to second base. A single to right field by Salyers to plate VanDyke for a 3-2 score.
Hillsboro added one final run in the top of the sixth inning with Boone taking first base after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Two consecutive outs were recorded, and then came another big hit with two outs as Magulac (2-for-3, one RBI) singled past the shortstop to score Boone, increasing the Indians’ lead to two runs.
Magulac didn’t allow a hit in the final two innings, with McClain going six up, six down to end the game.
“Luke got in a little trouble early, but he has good enough stuff to get himself out of it,” Garman said. “The guys behind him know we are just one play from getting out of an inning, and fortunately we did. You also have to credit McClain because they had some clutch hits, too. They are a solid team, and we’ll see them in less than two weeks, so we have to be ready for them at our place.”
The Indians totaled six hits and committed one error in the game, while the Tigers had four hits and one error in the game. Also having a hit for the Indians was Ethan Humphries.
Magulac pitched a complete game for the Indians, throwing 83 pitches in seven innings. The junior allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks. Magulac finished with nine strikeouts.
Mason Ratcliff for the Tigers was charged with the loss. He allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks. Ratcliff threw 91 pitches for the Tigers.
“Our pitching was good,” Bunner said. “Mason came out and threw strikes, walked a couple batters and unfortunately they came around and scored, but overall he pitched well. Our defense was solid, and I told the guys they can’t hang their heads because Hillsboro is a good team, and we just didn’t get the clutch hits when we needed them.
“Overall, the team effort was great.”
The loss moves McClain to 8-6 overall, while the Indians are now 13-4 on the season.
Hillsboro’s win moves them to 7-1 in the FAC, putting them two conference games ahead of McClain (5-3) and 1.5 games in front of Miami Trace, who are 6-3 in the conference standings. The Indians have two conference games remaining with an away game Monday, April 29 at Miami Trace, followed by a home game against McClain May 6.
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“I’m happy with the outcome, but we have been talking about the past couple weeks that there are a lot of things we need to do to get better,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “It was pretty much the same thing we’ve done all season long. Luke pitched good, not great, and he knows he wasn’t quite on his game, but the thing we do well is we don’t compound mistakes.
“We do the next thing right defensively, and at this level, that is huge. At the plate, we’ve been struggling and we did again tonight, but we did just enough. Brennen Priest is the MVP of this game, and he did what he is supposed to do and that is what it takes to win big ball games.”
McClain had a big opportunity in front of them in the bottom of the first inning as Eric Anderson (2-for-4, one RBI) singled to start the inning, and John Salyers had a one-out walk. Cody Pollock was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Tigers, but that is when HHS junior pitcher Luke Magulac turned up the intensity on the mound.
Having the bases loaded against him, Magulac gained a second out on a called third strike, and then he ended the inning with another called third strike to end the inning.
“Hillsboro has players that were able to shut us down in the first inning,” McClain head coach Rich Bunner said. “That is why they (HHS) are in first place, and they are a good team, too.
“In my opinion, the difference in the game was clutch hitting. We had the bases loaded and couldn’t capitalize. A couple other times, we had runners on first and second and couldn’t capitalize, but Hillsboro did. That was the difference in the ball game, and Matt (Garman) does a great job with them.”
The top of the second saw the Indians score the first run of the game where the inning began with a lead-off double on a ball hit to left field off the bat of Dylan Boone. Boone moved to third on a ground out by Ryan Scott. Having one out against them, the Indians scored their first run off a sacrifice fly by Brennen Priest, allowing Boone to score a run for a 1-0 lead.
McClain tied the score at 1-1, beginning with a two-out walk by Wyatt VanDyke. VanDyke stole second and scored off a two-out double by Eric Anderson, who sent the ball to right field on a line drive.
Hillsboro regained the lead in the top of the fourth by having two runs cross the plate. Grant Crum led off the inning with a base hit, and following the first out, Crum stole second base and Boone drew a walk. Next, Crum went to third on a groundout by Scott.
Having two outs, the Indians had clutch hitting from Priest as he doubled to left field on the first pitch of the at-bat, putting the Indians ahead, 3-1 with Crum and Boone each scoring runs.
McClain made the score closer with one run in the bottom of the fifth, beginning with a bunt single by VanDyke. Following the first out, Colton Mossbarger had a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, moving VanDyke to second base. A single to right field by Salyers to plate VanDyke for a 3-2 score.
Hillsboro added one final run in the top of the sixth inning with Boone taking first base after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Two consecutive outs were recorded, and then came another big hit with two outs as Magulac (2-for-3, one RBI) singled past the shortstop to score Boone, increasing the Indians’ lead to two runs.
Magulac didn’t allow a hit in the final two innings, with McClain going six up, six down to end the game.
“Luke got in a little trouble early, but he has good enough stuff to get himself out of it,” Garman said. “The guys behind him know we are just one play from getting out of an inning, and fortunately we did. You also have to credit McClain because they had some clutch hits, too. They are a solid team, and we’ll see them in less than two weeks, so we have to be ready for them at our place.”
The Indians totaled six hits and committed one error in the game, while the Tigers had four hits and one error in the game. Also having a hit for the Indians was Ethan Humphries.
Magulac pitched a complete game for the Indians, throwing 83 pitches in seven innings. The junior allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks. Magulac finished with nine strikeouts.
Mason Ratcliff for the Tigers was charged with the loss. He allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks. Ratcliff threw 91 pitches for the Tigers.
“Our pitching was good,” Bunner said. “Mason came out and threw strikes, walked a couple batters and unfortunately they came around and scored, but overall he pitched well. Our defense was solid, and I told the guys they can’t hang their heads because Hillsboro is a good team, and we just didn’t get the clutch hits when we needed them.
“Overall, the team effort was great.”
The loss moves McClain to 8-6 overall, while the Indians are now 13-4 on the season.