Indians battle for season-opening win at Adena
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
FRANKFORT — Behind the pitching of junior Luke Magulac and offense at opportune times, the Hillsboro Indians went on the road and won their 2019 season opener, keeping pace from where they were late last season and defeating the host Adena Warriors, 4-2.
The Saturday afternoon non-conference win by the Indians saw the Indians battle back from leaving runners on bases in earlier innings to making the hits and runners count as the game went on, though it was Hillsboro — who reached the district finals last season — who scored first in the second inning.
Hillsboro’s first run of the season came with two-out hitting that pleased head coach Matt Garman. Brennen Priest began the scoring of the first run with a double on a ball hit hard to centerfield to keep the inning going with two outs. Magulac took first on an infield error by the Warriors, moving Priest to third base.
The run was scored as the Indians took advantage of a miscue by Adena as Priest raced home on a passed ball for the early 1-0 lead.
“It was a good win against a quality opponent,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Garman told The Highland County Press Saturday following the win. “Adena always has a good team, and they are going to be tough in their league and their tournament. This is a fantastic win for us to start the season.
“We were hitting the ball, and we were being aggressive at the plate. We popped up a little too much, but we’ll clean that up, though. We have a lot of gamers, and they understand how to get outs and they aren’t deterred by errors – those will happen. When you feed off each other like we did today, the game is a lot of fun.”
For the next three innings, the Indians and the Warriors saw a half of the inning end on a play at the plate or on a rundown, including the Indians being out at the plate to close out the top of the third. The defense of the Indians came out strong in the bottom of the fourth as the third out was recorded with a 6-5-2 rundown down the third base line, keeping HHS ahead by the 1-0 score.
Hillsboro opened the fifth inning with Ryan Harless reaching first on an infield error. Next, on a bunt attempt, Ethan Humphries took first on a fielder’s choice as Harless was thrown out at second on the bunt to the pitcher. Next came a four-pitch walk by Ryan Scott, moving Humphries to second base. The bases were then loaded on a four-pitch walk forced by Grant Crum.
The second out was recorded on an infield fly for the automatic out, keeping all of the runners on the bases. On a passed ball, Humphries scored from third base to push the Indians ahead 2-0 with Ethan Watson at the plate. Watson (2-for-4) battled the Adena pitcher with a long at-bat as Watson eventually singled the ball past the third baseman to score Scott, though the Indians were out at the plate to end the inning when trying to extend their lead.
“We had a fantastic offensive day at the plate by Brennen Priest (2-for-3, two doubles) with his two doubles and two runs of the four we had. He stepped up when we needed him to (Saturday),” Garman said.
Hillsboro’s 3-0 lead didn’t last long with Adena scoring their first run in the bottom of the fifth, but Hillsboro regained that run back with a run of their own in the top of the sixth. Hillsboro scored their final run of the game beginning with a six-pitch walk by Dylan Boone. From there, Boone took second on a wild pitch and then scored on a 3-2 count line drive double by Priest for a 4-1 lead.
Adena added their final run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
For the game, both teams each committed three errors, and both teams each had six hits.
As for the pitching of the Indians, Magulac (1-0) was on point for the Tribe, pitching six innings for the win. The junior pitched 74 pitches (49 for strikes), allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks. Magulac finished with five strikeouts as 66.2 percent of his pitches went for strikes.
Also for Magulac, he had four outs recorded via groundout and seven via flyout. Also for the starting pitcher Magulac, he threw 15 first-pitch strikes against the 25 batters he faced.
“Luke went out and did what he did last year, and he was dominant the whole game. We made plays behind him, and our defense played well,” Garman said.
Humphries was credited with the save, pitching the seventh inning in relief. He threw just five pitches in the save opportunity as he allowed one hit with no runs or walks. The Indians ended the game with a 6-4-3 double play.
“Ethan came in and does exactly what he does, and that is throwing strikes down in the zone and forcing guys to put the ball into play and we made plays behind him,” Garman said.
For the game, the Indians totaled six hits, with Grant Crum and Jared Thompson and each having one, while Watson and Priest each had two. Boone totaled two walks, while Scott, Crum and Priest each had one walk, as the Indians totaled five in the win.
Hillsboro’s game Monday at Unioto was postponed due to rain. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 27 at Unioto High School.
“We are away all week, and we will be facing some great baseball teams,” Garman said. “This was a quality win against a great ball club, but there is no rest for the wicked, and we’ll be back at it this upcoming week.”
The Saturday afternoon non-conference win by the Indians saw the Indians battle back from leaving runners on bases in earlier innings to making the hits and runners count as the game went on, though it was Hillsboro — who reached the district finals last season — who scored first in the second inning.
Hillsboro’s first run of the season came with two-out hitting that pleased head coach Matt Garman. Brennen Priest began the scoring of the first run with a double on a ball hit hard to centerfield to keep the inning going with two outs. Magulac took first on an infield error by the Warriors, moving Priest to third base.
The run was scored as the Indians took advantage of a miscue by Adena as Priest raced home on a passed ball for the early 1-0 lead.
“It was a good win against a quality opponent,” Hillsboro head coach Matt Garman told The Highland County Press Saturday following the win. “Adena always has a good team, and they are going to be tough in their league and their tournament. This is a fantastic win for us to start the season.
“We were hitting the ball, and we were being aggressive at the plate. We popped up a little too much, but we’ll clean that up, though. We have a lot of gamers, and they understand how to get outs and they aren’t deterred by errors – those will happen. When you feed off each other like we did today, the game is a lot of fun.”
For the next three innings, the Indians and the Warriors saw a half of the inning end on a play at the plate or on a rundown, including the Indians being out at the plate to close out the top of the third. The defense of the Indians came out strong in the bottom of the fourth as the third out was recorded with a 6-5-2 rundown down the third base line, keeping HHS ahead by the 1-0 score.
Hillsboro opened the fifth inning with Ryan Harless reaching first on an infield error. Next, on a bunt attempt, Ethan Humphries took first on a fielder’s choice as Harless was thrown out at second on the bunt to the pitcher. Next came a four-pitch walk by Ryan Scott, moving Humphries to second base. The bases were then loaded on a four-pitch walk forced by Grant Crum.
The second out was recorded on an infield fly for the automatic out, keeping all of the runners on the bases. On a passed ball, Humphries scored from third base to push the Indians ahead 2-0 with Ethan Watson at the plate. Watson (2-for-4) battled the Adena pitcher with a long at-bat as Watson eventually singled the ball past the third baseman to score Scott, though the Indians were out at the plate to end the inning when trying to extend their lead.
“We had a fantastic offensive day at the plate by Brennen Priest (2-for-3, two doubles) with his two doubles and two runs of the four we had. He stepped up when we needed him to (Saturday),” Garman said.
Hillsboro’s 3-0 lead didn’t last long with Adena scoring their first run in the bottom of the fifth, but Hillsboro regained that run back with a run of their own in the top of the sixth. Hillsboro scored their final run of the game beginning with a six-pitch walk by Dylan Boone. From there, Boone took second on a wild pitch and then scored on a 3-2 count line drive double by Priest for a 4-1 lead.
Adena added their final run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
For the game, both teams each committed three errors, and both teams each had six hits.
As for the pitching of the Indians, Magulac (1-0) was on point for the Tribe, pitching six innings for the win. The junior pitched 74 pitches (49 for strikes), allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks. Magulac finished with five strikeouts as 66.2 percent of his pitches went for strikes.
Also for Magulac, he had four outs recorded via groundout and seven via flyout. Also for the starting pitcher Magulac, he threw 15 first-pitch strikes against the 25 batters he faced.
“Luke went out and did what he did last year, and he was dominant the whole game. We made plays behind him, and our defense played well,” Garman said.
Humphries was credited with the save, pitching the seventh inning in relief. He threw just five pitches in the save opportunity as he allowed one hit with no runs or walks. The Indians ended the game with a 6-4-3 double play.
“Ethan came in and does exactly what he does, and that is throwing strikes down in the zone and forcing guys to put the ball into play and we made plays behind him,” Garman said.
For the game, the Indians totaled six hits, with Grant Crum and Jared Thompson and each having one, while Watson and Priest each had two. Boone totaled two walks, while Scott, Crum and Priest each had one walk, as the Indians totaled five in the win.
Hillsboro’s game Monday at Unioto was postponed due to rain. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 27 at Unioto High School.
“We are away all week, and we will be facing some great baseball teams,” Garman said. “This was a quality win against a great ball club, but there is no rest for the wicked, and we’ll be back at it this upcoming week.”