Indians hold off rival Tigers for SCOL win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — When two rivals like the McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians meet on the baseball diamond, nothing matters but that game, and the bragging rights that go with the victory.
For Wednesday, it was the Hillsboro Indians (5-2, 6-7) who were able to hold off a scrappy Tigers team that wouldn't quit or let the visitors leave with the "easy" win, as the Tigers attempted to rally in the final inning, but it was Hillsboro who won the first round with a score of 7-4 at Mitchell Park.
"We scored our runs early … we jumped on McClain, but we let them back in the game," HHS head coach Tim Hunt said. "That's been our problem all year, because when we stop hitting, everything is magnified.
"Credit McClain, they battled back. Credit their players and their coaching staff. They are well coached."
[[In-content Ad]]The Indians scored early with six runs in the third, for a 6-1 advantage at the completion of the inning, an inning where the Tigers committed four errors that led to the six HHS runs.
Hillsboro's Ryan Lemaster began the inning with a walk, followed by a sacrifice by Trey Moberly, and a walk from Cole Reveal. Latrell Haithcock, singled to centerfield, scoring Lemaster for the 1-1 score with one out.
Ty Crum followed with a base hit, and Zach Young reached on an error. That was followed with another error by the McClain infield, which allowed Wyatt Condo to take first base.
A third consecutive error came with Seth Meyer taking first on an errant throw to first base. A fourth error allowed Lemaster to reach the bases on an error in the outfield.
All four of those errors allowed five more runs to cross the plate in favor of the Indians, with Haithcock, Crum, Young, Condo and Lemaster all scoring runs for the 6-1 score.
Haithcock led HHS, finishing 3-for-4.
"We played well and hit the ball hard, which is what we are looking for, but we can't have four errors in an inning and expect to win," McClain head coach Matt Raike said. "Having four errors is completely unacceptable this time of the year."
Before the errors hurt the Tigers, they did hold a 1-0 lead with Randall Mischal rounding the bases off an infield single by Shawn Haddox with two outs.
Micchal finished 4-for-4 at the plate.
McClain made the game more interesting in the fifth, scoring three runs with Cameron Spangler, Dakota Hampton and Mischal all rounding the bases.
The fifth began with an infield error and two consecutive base hits, with Zach Puckett hitting a line drive down the third-base line to score Hampton. Travis Hall followed with a single that bounced off second base to score Hampton, and Logan Rhonemus batted in Mischal with a two-out single to centerfield.
HHS scored their final run in the top of the sixth with Moberly crossing home plate.
The winning pitcher was R.J. Collard, with the loss going to Haddox.
The Tigers had two double plays in the game, one each in the second inning (5-4-3) and in the seventh (6-4-3). HHS had one double play at 1-3-5.
HHS finished by forcing five walks, and MHS had two.
For Wednesday, it was the Hillsboro Indians (5-2, 6-7) who were able to hold off a scrappy Tigers team that wouldn't quit or let the visitors leave with the "easy" win, as the Tigers attempted to rally in the final inning, but it was Hillsboro who won the first round with a score of 7-4 at Mitchell Park.
"We scored our runs early … we jumped on McClain, but we let them back in the game," HHS head coach Tim Hunt said. "That's been our problem all year, because when we stop hitting, everything is magnified.
"Credit McClain, they battled back. Credit their players and their coaching staff. They are well coached."
[[In-content Ad]]The Indians scored early with six runs in the third, for a 6-1 advantage at the completion of the inning, an inning where the Tigers committed four errors that led to the six HHS runs.
Hillsboro's Ryan Lemaster began the inning with a walk, followed by a sacrifice by Trey Moberly, and a walk from Cole Reveal. Latrell Haithcock, singled to centerfield, scoring Lemaster for the 1-1 score with one out.
Ty Crum followed with a base hit, and Zach Young reached on an error. That was followed with another error by the McClain infield, which allowed Wyatt Condo to take first base.
A third consecutive error came with Seth Meyer taking first on an errant throw to first base. A fourth error allowed Lemaster to reach the bases on an error in the outfield.
All four of those errors allowed five more runs to cross the plate in favor of the Indians, with Haithcock, Crum, Young, Condo and Lemaster all scoring runs for the 6-1 score.
Haithcock led HHS, finishing 3-for-4.
"We played well and hit the ball hard, which is what we are looking for, but we can't have four errors in an inning and expect to win," McClain head coach Matt Raike said. "Having four errors is completely unacceptable this time of the year."
Before the errors hurt the Tigers, they did hold a 1-0 lead with Randall Mischal rounding the bases off an infield single by Shawn Haddox with two outs.
Micchal finished 4-for-4 at the plate.
McClain made the game more interesting in the fifth, scoring three runs with Cameron Spangler, Dakota Hampton and Mischal all rounding the bases.
The fifth began with an infield error and two consecutive base hits, with Zach Puckett hitting a line drive down the third-base line to score Hampton. Travis Hall followed with a single that bounced off second base to score Hampton, and Logan Rhonemus batted in Mischal with a two-out single to centerfield.
HHS scored their final run in the top of the sixth with Moberly crossing home plate.
The winning pitcher was R.J. Collard, with the loss going to Haddox.
The Tigers had two double plays in the game, one each in the second inning (5-4-3) and in the seventh (6-4-3). HHS had one double play at 1-3-5.
HHS finished by forcing five walks, and MHS had two.