Hillsboro Indians lose sectional opener to Fairfield Union in extra innings
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — Amid an unseasonably cool temperature, sprinkles of rain and cloud coverage on Monday night, a pitchers’ duel with clutch two-out hitting broke out at Shaffer Park with the game needing extra innings to see the No. 3 seeded Hillsboro Indians fall to the visiting No. 6 seeded Fairfield Union Falcons, 3-2 in eight innings.
Both starting pitchers for the game, Hillsboro junior Luke Magulac and Fairfield Union senior Tylor Wolfe, battled strong, and even both relief pitchers — senior Ethan Humphries for the Indians and senior James Troup for the Falcons — didn’t disappoint with their efforts on the mound, either.
[[In-content Ad]]
“This game was two really good teams playing each other, and some people might look at the six seed from them and think this is a game we are supposed to win, and we are probably supposed to win, but as is always the case with teams coming out of the MSL (Mid-State League), they are a heck of a lot better than a six seed,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Garman said. “Their pitcher is probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all year. He was throwing hard.
“We grinded and we had opportunities late in the game to win, and it’s not like we gave it to them, they earned it and we made them take it from us. That’s baseball. They made one more play than we did.”
What sealed the game for the Falcons (10-14) was their two-out hitting on two different occasions, with the game-tying run being scored on a two-out single in the top of the sixth inning, and later a two-out double in the top of the eighth to score the go-ahead run.
Fairfield Union to start the top of the eighth recorded two consecutive outs with a fly ball hit to centerfield, followed by a fly ball hit to right field. Down to the final out of the inning, Wolfe — on a 0-1 count — doubled to left field, beating the throw to second on a head-first slide to keep the inning alive.
Sophomore Josh Tipton put the Falcons in the lead for good, hitting another Fairfield Union double to the left field fence — this one with a 1-1 count — with the ball sailing over the fielder’s head as he pursued the ball to score Wolfe for what turned out to be the final 3-2 score. Tipton ended the game at 2-for-4 with one RBI.
The Indians started off their half of the eighth inning like Fairfield Union, starting with a fly ball to centerfield, then a second out on a strikeout with a full count against the batter. The Indians forced another full count, as this time it was Magulac drawing a six-pitch walk to see the Indians’ season going.
Magulac even stole second base, but he was left stranded in scoring position as the next batter struck out on four pitches to see the season come to a sudden close for the Frontier Athletic Conference champions.
“There isn’t much I can say to the guys that can take the sting off of this loss after the game,” Garman said. “I’m sure we’ll look back and think about winning our first conference championship in a while, and that is something to hang our hat on. We won 16 games, and those are things we can look back on and be happy about. The guys worked hard all year to try to get back where we were last year (district finals), but I told them it is really, really hard to win tournament games in Division II, and people don’t realize just how tough our district is.”
The loss ends the Indians’ season at 16-6 overall, as they were the FAC champions with a conference record of 6-2.
“It took both pitchers a little bit to get used to the mound, and then it became a pitchers’ duel,” Garman said of the game. “That is the case in these tournament games because everyone has their ace on the mound, and you get 3-2 games that go eight innings.”
Both of the teams saw their pitchers work out of trouble in the early innings of the Division II SE District Sectional Semifinal game with the Falcons being held to a single run in the top of the first inning, as senior Cody Fyffe drew a walk on a full count in the second at-bat of the game with one out. In the ensuing at-bat, Wolfe battled in his teammate with a two-strike double to right field for the 1-0 lead. Wolfe finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Magulac bounced back by leaving Wolfe stranded at second as he struck out the next two batters on a combined nine pitches. Magulac pitched six innings in the no-decision, totaling 110 pitches at Shaffer Park. He allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits and three walks. The junior starter struck out eight batters.
“Both ways, the Wolfe kid and Luke were really good, and Ethan came in and pitched well, and so did their reliever,” Garman said of the pitching. “That last inning, we had a runner on second base, and we had a missile hit, and their kid just throws the glove down and makes the play. One inch or two, left or right, and it is us winning the game. We played sound baseball for eight innings, we had great approach to the plate, but this is what happens when you play great teams. You get really great games that hinge on one to two high-leverage plays.”
The Indians had an answer for the Falcons in the bottom of the first starting with senior Ethan Watson drawing a lead-off walk on a full count. Watson raced to third on a single by Grant Crum, as the senior hit the ball to right field. Watson took advantage of a miscue by the Falcons, as a throw from the catcher went past the first basemen on an attempt to catch the runner of the base, resulting in Watson scoring a run with two outs, tying the score at 1-1.
Just like the Indians did with their pitching, the Falcons saw their starter get out of trouble as Hillsboro loaded the bases with consecutive two-out walks by Ryan Scott and Brennen Priest, only to see the pitcher strike out the next batter to end the inning on a full count.
Fairfield Union went down in order in the top of the second, and the Indians saw Brock Haines gain a lead-off walk but was out on a fielder’s choice. The lone hit of the inning for the Indians came off the bat of Crum, hitting a two-out single to centerfield. Crum led the Indians at the plate by going 3-for-4.
After seeing their first two batters strikeout to start the third, the Falcons gained a base hit from Fyffe with a line drive past a stretched out third baseman. He stole second after the Indians dropped the baseball during a run down but was ultimately left stranded as the final out of the top half of the inning came on a fly ball hit to centerfield.
Then came a stretch for the Indians where they struck out in five of the next six at-bats as they faced Wolfe, including the fourth inning where the Indians had three straight batters out via swinging third strikes.
HHS didn’t allow much from the Falcons in the fourth and fifth innings as Magulac struck out two batters in the top of the fourth, and in the fifth he started the inning by causing a called third strike, followed by the Indians gaining a double play to end the inning.
Hillsboro took advantage of that momentum gained and took it with them into the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with Watson gaining a lead-off walk in a five-pitch at-bat. He was moved to second base on a groundout to the pitcher by Crum. Watson crossed home plate as he scored from second base off a one-out double hit to centerfield by Jared Thompson (1-for-3) for the 2-1 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as the clutch two-out hitting showed up for the Falcons, as they tied the score off a two-out single, with two strikes against them, as the base runner beat the throw from the outfield home, sliding into home plate for the 2-2 tied score.
In their half of the sixth, the Indians struck out twice and had a groundout, and the seventh inning saw Fairfield Union leave a runner stranded at second base. The Indians also left runners on the bases in the bottom of the seventh as Crum gained his third hit of the game with a two-out single to centerfield, followed by Thompson drawing a full-count walk.
The inning ended with the ensuing at-bat as the batter smashed the ball to first base, but the Falcons’ first baseman came away with the baseball to end the inning.
Also with hits in the game for the Falcons were Fyffe, Taylor Vaughn and Ethan Hyme.
In his five innings, Wolfe gained a no-decision where he threw a total of 105 pitches. Wolfe allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits and five walks. He finished with nine strikeouts.
Troup was the winning pitcher for the Falcons, as he pitched three innings of relief, where in 52 pitches, he allowed no runs on one hit and two walks, while also collecting four strikeouts.
Humphries was charged with the loss for the Indians. In two innings of relief, Humphries allowed one run (earned) on three hits and no walks as he threw 26 pitches.
Seniors for the Indians this season are: Grant Crum, Jared Thompson, Ethan Watson, Ethan Humphries, Brennen Priest and Dylan Boone.
“This senior class has been a good group of guys as far as working, as far as being baseball guys for four consecutive years. These guys have worked so hard. You always want it to end better than this. You always want to win a couple tournament games and get to Athens, so you feel awful for them,” Garman said. “We aren’t going to replace this senior group. The heart they have is so unbelievable. They are such great baseball and program guys. I’m going to miss them so much, and I feel so bad for them.
“Grant played like a machine tonight, and he was big for us. Everybody was making plays, but it just wasn’t our night tonight.”
Both starting pitchers for the game, Hillsboro junior Luke Magulac and Fairfield Union senior Tylor Wolfe, battled strong, and even both relief pitchers — senior Ethan Humphries for the Indians and senior James Troup for the Falcons — didn’t disappoint with their efforts on the mound, either.
[[In-content Ad]]
“This game was two really good teams playing each other, and some people might look at the six seed from them and think this is a game we are supposed to win, and we are probably supposed to win, but as is always the case with teams coming out of the MSL (Mid-State League), they are a heck of a lot better than a six seed,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Garman said. “Their pitcher is probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all year. He was throwing hard.
“We grinded and we had opportunities late in the game to win, and it’s not like we gave it to them, they earned it and we made them take it from us. That’s baseball. They made one more play than we did.”
What sealed the game for the Falcons (10-14) was their two-out hitting on two different occasions, with the game-tying run being scored on a two-out single in the top of the sixth inning, and later a two-out double in the top of the eighth to score the go-ahead run.
Fairfield Union to start the top of the eighth recorded two consecutive outs with a fly ball hit to centerfield, followed by a fly ball hit to right field. Down to the final out of the inning, Wolfe — on a 0-1 count — doubled to left field, beating the throw to second on a head-first slide to keep the inning alive.
Sophomore Josh Tipton put the Falcons in the lead for good, hitting another Fairfield Union double to the left field fence — this one with a 1-1 count — with the ball sailing over the fielder’s head as he pursued the ball to score Wolfe for what turned out to be the final 3-2 score. Tipton ended the game at 2-for-4 with one RBI.
The Indians started off their half of the eighth inning like Fairfield Union, starting with a fly ball to centerfield, then a second out on a strikeout with a full count against the batter. The Indians forced another full count, as this time it was Magulac drawing a six-pitch walk to see the Indians’ season going.
Magulac even stole second base, but he was left stranded in scoring position as the next batter struck out on four pitches to see the season come to a sudden close for the Frontier Athletic Conference champions.
“There isn’t much I can say to the guys that can take the sting off of this loss after the game,” Garman said. “I’m sure we’ll look back and think about winning our first conference championship in a while, and that is something to hang our hat on. We won 16 games, and those are things we can look back on and be happy about. The guys worked hard all year to try to get back where we were last year (district finals), but I told them it is really, really hard to win tournament games in Division II, and people don’t realize just how tough our district is.”
The loss ends the Indians’ season at 16-6 overall, as they were the FAC champions with a conference record of 6-2.
“It took both pitchers a little bit to get used to the mound, and then it became a pitchers’ duel,” Garman said of the game. “That is the case in these tournament games because everyone has their ace on the mound, and you get 3-2 games that go eight innings.”
Both of the teams saw their pitchers work out of trouble in the early innings of the Division II SE District Sectional Semifinal game with the Falcons being held to a single run in the top of the first inning, as senior Cody Fyffe drew a walk on a full count in the second at-bat of the game with one out. In the ensuing at-bat, Wolfe battled in his teammate with a two-strike double to right field for the 1-0 lead. Wolfe finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Magulac bounced back by leaving Wolfe stranded at second as he struck out the next two batters on a combined nine pitches. Magulac pitched six innings in the no-decision, totaling 110 pitches at Shaffer Park. He allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits and three walks. The junior starter struck out eight batters.
“Both ways, the Wolfe kid and Luke were really good, and Ethan came in and pitched well, and so did their reliever,” Garman said of the pitching. “That last inning, we had a runner on second base, and we had a missile hit, and their kid just throws the glove down and makes the play. One inch or two, left or right, and it is us winning the game. We played sound baseball for eight innings, we had great approach to the plate, but this is what happens when you play great teams. You get really great games that hinge on one to two high-leverage plays.”
The Indians had an answer for the Falcons in the bottom of the first starting with senior Ethan Watson drawing a lead-off walk on a full count. Watson raced to third on a single by Grant Crum, as the senior hit the ball to right field. Watson took advantage of a miscue by the Falcons, as a throw from the catcher went past the first basemen on an attempt to catch the runner of the base, resulting in Watson scoring a run with two outs, tying the score at 1-1.
Just like the Indians did with their pitching, the Falcons saw their starter get out of trouble as Hillsboro loaded the bases with consecutive two-out walks by Ryan Scott and Brennen Priest, only to see the pitcher strike out the next batter to end the inning on a full count.
Fairfield Union went down in order in the top of the second, and the Indians saw Brock Haines gain a lead-off walk but was out on a fielder’s choice. The lone hit of the inning for the Indians came off the bat of Crum, hitting a two-out single to centerfield. Crum led the Indians at the plate by going 3-for-4.
After seeing their first two batters strikeout to start the third, the Falcons gained a base hit from Fyffe with a line drive past a stretched out third baseman. He stole second after the Indians dropped the baseball during a run down but was ultimately left stranded as the final out of the top half of the inning came on a fly ball hit to centerfield.
Then came a stretch for the Indians where they struck out in five of the next six at-bats as they faced Wolfe, including the fourth inning where the Indians had three straight batters out via swinging third strikes.
HHS didn’t allow much from the Falcons in the fourth and fifth innings as Magulac struck out two batters in the top of the fourth, and in the fifth he started the inning by causing a called third strike, followed by the Indians gaining a double play to end the inning.
Hillsboro took advantage of that momentum gained and took it with them into the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with Watson gaining a lead-off walk in a five-pitch at-bat. He was moved to second base on a groundout to the pitcher by Crum. Watson crossed home plate as he scored from second base off a one-out double hit to centerfield by Jared Thompson (1-for-3) for the 2-1 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as the clutch two-out hitting showed up for the Falcons, as they tied the score off a two-out single, with two strikes against them, as the base runner beat the throw from the outfield home, sliding into home plate for the 2-2 tied score.
In their half of the sixth, the Indians struck out twice and had a groundout, and the seventh inning saw Fairfield Union leave a runner stranded at second base. The Indians also left runners on the bases in the bottom of the seventh as Crum gained his third hit of the game with a two-out single to centerfield, followed by Thompson drawing a full-count walk.
The inning ended with the ensuing at-bat as the batter smashed the ball to first base, but the Falcons’ first baseman came away with the baseball to end the inning.
Also with hits in the game for the Falcons were Fyffe, Taylor Vaughn and Ethan Hyme.
In his five innings, Wolfe gained a no-decision where he threw a total of 105 pitches. Wolfe allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits and five walks. He finished with nine strikeouts.
Troup was the winning pitcher for the Falcons, as he pitched three innings of relief, where in 52 pitches, he allowed no runs on one hit and two walks, while also collecting four strikeouts.
Humphries was charged with the loss for the Indians. In two innings of relief, Humphries allowed one run (earned) on three hits and no walks as he threw 26 pitches.
Seniors for the Indians this season are: Grant Crum, Jared Thompson, Ethan Watson, Ethan Humphries, Brennen Priest and Dylan Boone.
“This senior class has been a good group of guys as far as working, as far as being baseball guys for four consecutive years. These guys have worked so hard. You always want it to end better than this. You always want to win a couple tournament games and get to Athens, so you feel awful for them,” Garman said. “We aren’t going to replace this senior group. The heart they have is so unbelievable. They are such great baseball and program guys. I’m going to miss them so much, and I feel so bad for them.
“Grant played like a machine tonight, and he was big for us. Everybody was making plays, but it just wasn’t our night tonight.”