Indians move on to sectional finals; defend home field against New Lexington
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Before Monday night’s Division II Sectional Semifinal game, the Hillsboro Indians hadn’t won in the postseason tournament since 2014, a season where they won twice to reach the district round. That all changed in 2018 at Shaffer Park, where the Indians used stout pitching, overcame miscues and took advantage of their opponents’ mistakes to move on to the sectional finals.
Hillsboro — a No. 7 seed — did what they needed to do to get the job done and defeated the visiting No. 10 seed New Lexington Panthers by a 5-3 score, which gives the Indians a opportunity to play Frontier Athletic Conference foe Washington (a No. 2 seed) on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Washington C.H.
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The Indians (12-11) wasted little time scoring runs, tacking on two of them in the bottom of the first inning, but before they did that, the Indians had a strong inning defensively in the top of the first with starting pitcher Luke Magulac only allowing a walk against New Lexington.
In the bottom of the first, Mason Stanley opened the game by taking first base on error in the outfield. Following a strikeout, the Indians scored their first run of the game when Kelton Anderson tripled in Stanley for the 1-0 lead. Anderson soon made the score 2-0 by taking home on a passed ball.
For the game, the Indians totaled two hits and forced nine walks.
“Offensively, I think we could have looked better,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “But their pitcher had a nice breaking ball and kept us off-balanced, so overall I’m pleased with the win. The takeaway for me is I’m really impressed with how the guys come together and they didn’t fall apart. They don’t point fingers, and they all stick together.”
Magulac was strong in the top of the second, striking out the first two batters of the inning and followed that up by forcing a fly ball to second base to retire the side in order. Hillsboro then took advantage of a miscue by New Lexington with Dylan Boone taking first on a two-out infield error by the second baseman. After Justin Scott drew a walk on a 3-2 count, Stanley gained an RBI with a single to right field — on a 3-1 count — to score Boone for a 3-0 lead.
Hillsboro’s hiccup came in the top of the third, where it looked like the inning was going to be over before it was, even with New Lexington forcing a seven-pitch walk to start the inning. Hillsboro answered with a strikeout by Magulac, and even following a single on a full count by the Panthers, Magulac responded with a second strikeout with two runners on the bases.
In the ensuing at-bat, Magulac struck out the batter, but the ball got away and the throw to first base sailed over the first baseman’s head, allowing a run to score. As the inning continued, two more runs scored on infield throws that didn’t reach their mark, resulting in three unearned runs crossing the plate in the inning, leaving the score tied at 3-3. The inning eventually ended with Magulac striking out the batter on three pitches.
“We gave them three unearned runs in one inning. This has been a long season, and these guys have seen just about everything. They are tough, and in a situation like that when we had a 3-0 lead and we gave them runs, nobody pointed fingers, nobody got down and every did what we’ve done all year and that is grind,” Garman said. “We know we were going to get opportunities, and we knew we have guys in the lineup that can take advantage of those opportunities when we had them, and we did.”
Hillsboro had one runner reach the bases on an error in the bottom of the third, as Jared Thompson took advantage of an infield error on a throw by New Lexington with two outs, but the inning ended with a fly ball to the second baseman.
The Indians had Boone and Scott force walks to reach the bases for Hillsboro in the bottom of the fourth, but the inning was ended on a double play. In the top of the fifth, Magulac retired the inning in order for a second time in the game, including two strikeouts to begin the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Hillsboro regained the lead with a two-run inning for what was a 5-3 advantage. Payton Bell began the bottom half of the fifth with a full-count walk and then stole second base and eventually was on third base following a passed ball. Before the passed ball, Ethan Watson forced a walk, then Bell scored a run, giving the Indians a 4-3 lead. Thompson also reached base on a walk, forcing New Lexington to make a pitching change with one out. Magulac also drew a walk, loading the bases with one out.
The Indians took advantage of the situation and added a second run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly hit to centerfield by Hayden Haines, scoring Watson from third base and increasing the Indians’ lead to two runs at 5-3 as those were the final runs scored for the game.
The Indians took care of business on the mound in the final two innings as well when Ethan Humphries pitched two innings of relief. Humphries entered the game in the top of the sixth inning, where following giving up a lead-off single, he forced two fly ball outs and a strikeout to end the sixth and in the seventh Humphries retired the side in order with a strikeout, a pop up to first base and the final out was a pop up back to Humphries to end the game.
On the mound for the Indians, their pitching didn’t disappoint with Magulac earning the win with five innings on the mound. Magulac allowed three runs (none earned) on three hits, two walks and one hit batter, while also collecting nine strikeouts.
Ethan Humphries earned the save with two innings of relief. Humphries allowed no runs on one hit and no walks, while finishing with two strikeouts.
“Ethan came in and did what he’s done all year … throws strikes and make it tough, and we got out of here with a win,” Garman said. “Both pitchers did a good job, and the pitching staff all year has done a great job, top to bottom.”
Next awaits the Washington Blue Lions with the game in WCH on Thursday, May 10 at 5 p.m. in the sectional finals, a team the Indians have played twice before this season. The Indians lost at Washington by a 1-0 score Thursday, April 19, and at Shaffer Park on Thursday, April 5, Hillsboro lost to the Blue Lions, 9-4. The Blue Lions were co-FAC champions this season with Miami Trace.
Hillsboro — a No. 7 seed — did what they needed to do to get the job done and defeated the visiting No. 10 seed New Lexington Panthers by a 5-3 score, which gives the Indians a opportunity to play Frontier Athletic Conference foe Washington (a No. 2 seed) on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Washington C.H.
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The Indians (12-11) wasted little time scoring runs, tacking on two of them in the bottom of the first inning, but before they did that, the Indians had a strong inning defensively in the top of the first with starting pitcher Luke Magulac only allowing a walk against New Lexington.
In the bottom of the first, Mason Stanley opened the game by taking first base on error in the outfield. Following a strikeout, the Indians scored their first run of the game when Kelton Anderson tripled in Stanley for the 1-0 lead. Anderson soon made the score 2-0 by taking home on a passed ball.
For the game, the Indians totaled two hits and forced nine walks.
“Offensively, I think we could have looked better,” HHS head coach Matt Garman said. “But their pitcher had a nice breaking ball and kept us off-balanced, so overall I’m pleased with the win. The takeaway for me is I’m really impressed with how the guys come together and they didn’t fall apart. They don’t point fingers, and they all stick together.”
Magulac was strong in the top of the second, striking out the first two batters of the inning and followed that up by forcing a fly ball to second base to retire the side in order. Hillsboro then took advantage of a miscue by New Lexington with Dylan Boone taking first on a two-out infield error by the second baseman. After Justin Scott drew a walk on a 3-2 count, Stanley gained an RBI with a single to right field — on a 3-1 count — to score Boone for a 3-0 lead.
Hillsboro’s hiccup came in the top of the third, where it looked like the inning was going to be over before it was, even with New Lexington forcing a seven-pitch walk to start the inning. Hillsboro answered with a strikeout by Magulac, and even following a single on a full count by the Panthers, Magulac responded with a second strikeout with two runners on the bases.
In the ensuing at-bat, Magulac struck out the batter, but the ball got away and the throw to first base sailed over the first baseman’s head, allowing a run to score. As the inning continued, two more runs scored on infield throws that didn’t reach their mark, resulting in three unearned runs crossing the plate in the inning, leaving the score tied at 3-3. The inning eventually ended with Magulac striking out the batter on three pitches.
“We gave them three unearned runs in one inning. This has been a long season, and these guys have seen just about everything. They are tough, and in a situation like that when we had a 3-0 lead and we gave them runs, nobody pointed fingers, nobody got down and every did what we’ve done all year and that is grind,” Garman said. “We know we were going to get opportunities, and we knew we have guys in the lineup that can take advantage of those opportunities when we had them, and we did.”
Hillsboro had one runner reach the bases on an error in the bottom of the third, as Jared Thompson took advantage of an infield error on a throw by New Lexington with two outs, but the inning ended with a fly ball to the second baseman.
The Indians had Boone and Scott force walks to reach the bases for Hillsboro in the bottom of the fourth, but the inning was ended on a double play. In the top of the fifth, Magulac retired the inning in order for a second time in the game, including two strikeouts to begin the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Hillsboro regained the lead with a two-run inning for what was a 5-3 advantage. Payton Bell began the bottom half of the fifth with a full-count walk and then stole second base and eventually was on third base following a passed ball. Before the passed ball, Ethan Watson forced a walk, then Bell scored a run, giving the Indians a 4-3 lead. Thompson also reached base on a walk, forcing New Lexington to make a pitching change with one out. Magulac also drew a walk, loading the bases with one out.
The Indians took advantage of the situation and added a second run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly hit to centerfield by Hayden Haines, scoring Watson from third base and increasing the Indians’ lead to two runs at 5-3 as those were the final runs scored for the game.
The Indians took care of business on the mound in the final two innings as well when Ethan Humphries pitched two innings of relief. Humphries entered the game in the top of the sixth inning, where following giving up a lead-off single, he forced two fly ball outs and a strikeout to end the sixth and in the seventh Humphries retired the side in order with a strikeout, a pop up to first base and the final out was a pop up back to Humphries to end the game.
On the mound for the Indians, their pitching didn’t disappoint with Magulac earning the win with five innings on the mound. Magulac allowed three runs (none earned) on three hits, two walks and one hit batter, while also collecting nine strikeouts.
Ethan Humphries earned the save with two innings of relief. Humphries allowed no runs on one hit and no walks, while finishing with two strikeouts.
“Ethan came in and did what he’s done all year … throws strikes and make it tough, and we got out of here with a win,” Garman said. “Both pitchers did a good job, and the pitching staff all year has done a great job, top to bottom.”
Next awaits the Washington Blue Lions with the game in WCH on Thursday, May 10 at 5 p.m. in the sectional finals, a team the Indians have played twice before this season. The Indians lost at Washington by a 1-0 score Thursday, April 19, and at Shaffer Park on Thursday, April 5, Hillsboro lost to the Blue Lions, 9-4. The Blue Lions were co-FAC champions this season with Miami Trace.