Hillsboro Indians shut out rival McClain in 5 innings
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — In a Frontier Athletic Conference battle on Friday night, the Hillsboro Indians defended Richard Shaffer Park against conference and Highland City foe McClain, winning by a 10-0 score in five innings.
The Indians gained the win with a very strong start, as they scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, then followed with one run in the second. From there, the Indians scored two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth for their 10-run total.
HHS totaled seven hits in the win, while committing one error. McClain had one hit and committed three errors.
“We had a tough one Wednesday night where we didn’t swing the bats very well, so it was nice to come out to be more aggressive and more intelligent at the plate. It was also nice to have it pay off, where we found some holes, got on base, moved some runners early,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “All in all, it was a good team win.”
Ryan Scott was nearly perfect on the mound, with the only hit allowed coming off an infield bunt from Carson Spangler that landed perfectly for the visiting Tigers. Scott went all five innings in the win, allowing no runs and no walks on 52 pitches. He finished the game with eight strikeouts.
Scott threw 41 of his 52 pitches for strikes and had 13 first-pitch strikes against 16 batters faced.
Garman spoke about his two top starting pitchers this season, as they both had excellent outings this week.
“Ryan and Tanner have been really good so far this year on the mound,” Garman said. “They have been all over the dish all the time, and they have been really tough on hitters. Ryan was at 52 total pitches, which was well under what we want for an average, and that was a great thing tonight. Even on Wednesday night, Tanner throws five innings of two-hit baseball and he did a great job on Wednesday as well. Those two are locked in right now.”
For Hillsboro, they saw Scott at the plate finish 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Quintin Captain was 1-for-2 with two runs and one walk.
Hunter Green was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI, and teammate Brayden Cochran collected one run and one walk. Spencer Wyckoff finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Tanner Warner had two runs, one RBI and forced two walks.
Also for the Tribe, Coltin Hunter had one run and one RBI, and Cullen Barney also scored a run. Zach Humphries finished 1-for-2 with one walk.
Captain had the lone extra-base hit for Hillsboro as he gained a double. Scott hit a sacrifice fly, and Lance Hainline, Hunter and Warner were all hit by a pitch. Green, Hunter and Brayden Kisling each had a stolen base.
Kaden Penwell was charged with the loss as he pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and five walks. He threw a total of 96 pitches.
“We had a lot of positives,” McClain head coach Kenny Branscom said. “We put the ball in play a lot, and their pitcher (Ryan) Scott came out throwing hard, and his slider was good tonight. We put the ball in play, which is something we haven’t done recently, so it was good to see us put the bat on the ball, but we just couldn’t string enough of them together to get across the plate.”
The loss improves the Indians to 10-2 overall, while McClain now stands at 5-6 on the season.
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The Indians gained the win with a very strong start, as they scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, then followed with one run in the second. From there, the Indians scored two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth for their 10-run total.
HHS totaled seven hits in the win, while committing one error. McClain had one hit and committed three errors.
“We had a tough one Wednesday night where we didn’t swing the bats very well, so it was nice to come out to be more aggressive and more intelligent at the plate. It was also nice to have it pay off, where we found some holes, got on base, moved some runners early,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “All in all, it was a good team win.”
Ryan Scott was nearly perfect on the mound, with the only hit allowed coming off an infield bunt from Carson Spangler that landed perfectly for the visiting Tigers. Scott went all five innings in the win, allowing no runs and no walks on 52 pitches. He finished the game with eight strikeouts.
Scott threw 41 of his 52 pitches for strikes and had 13 first-pitch strikes against 16 batters faced.
Garman spoke about his two top starting pitchers this season, as they both had excellent outings this week.
“Ryan and Tanner have been really good so far this year on the mound,” Garman said. “They have been all over the dish all the time, and they have been really tough on hitters. Ryan was at 52 total pitches, which was well under what we want for an average, and that was a great thing tonight. Even on Wednesday night, Tanner throws five innings of two-hit baseball and he did a great job on Wednesday as well. Those two are locked in right now.”
For Hillsboro, they saw Scott at the plate finish 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Quintin Captain was 1-for-2 with two runs and one walk.
Hunter Green was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI, and teammate Brayden Cochran collected one run and one walk. Spencer Wyckoff finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Tanner Warner had two runs, one RBI and forced two walks.
Also for the Tribe, Coltin Hunter had one run and one RBI, and Cullen Barney also scored a run. Zach Humphries finished 1-for-2 with one walk.
Captain had the lone extra-base hit for Hillsboro as he gained a double. Scott hit a sacrifice fly, and Lance Hainline, Hunter and Warner were all hit by a pitch. Green, Hunter and Brayden Kisling each had a stolen base.
Kaden Penwell was charged with the loss as he pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and five walks. He threw a total of 96 pitches.
“We had a lot of positives,” McClain head coach Kenny Branscom said. “We put the ball in play a lot, and their pitcher (Ryan) Scott came out throwing hard, and his slider was good tonight. We put the ball in play, which is something we haven’t done recently, so it was good to see us put the bat on the ball, but we just couldn’t string enough of them together to get across the plate.”
The loss improves the Indians to 10-2 overall, while McClain now stands at 5-6 on the season.
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