Indians rally in 7th for SCOL win over Falcons

The old saying "It ain't over till it's over" never rang more true for the 2014 Hillsboro Indians baseball team than on Monday night at Richard Shaffer Park.

Down by four runs headed into the bottom of the seventh and final inning, the Hillsboro squad put together what may be their finest inning of baseball of the season.

The Indians gained hits, took bases and forced walks against their South Central Ohio League counterpart, Clinton-Massie, en route to a five-run inning for a 7-6 victory, with Latrell Haithcock coming up with the game's final hit, with two outs, scoring Logan Lesley from third base and taking the lead for good.

"Last year or even earlier this year, we would have not won this type of game," Hillsboro head coach Tim Hunt said. "Clinton-Massie is a very good team. They are well-coached, but it goes without saying, this is a great win for our guys.

"This win shows them they can play against anyone if they stay focused."

Staying focused is exactly what the Indians (4-2, 5-7) did in the bottom of the seventh inning, staring a four-run deficit in the face, pushing it aside with clutch hits and walks, then to top things off, defending their home field for the league win.

The sixth inning began with Ty Crum taking first with a walk, then moving over to second on a base hit by Zach Young.

R.J. Collard came to the plate and sent the ball to deep left field, with a full-count, to score both Crum and Young, bringing the Indians to within two runs of tying the score with no outs.

"R.J. was huge for us," Hunt said. "He hasn't seen live pitching in about a week, and for him to come in and hit like he did in that situation was impressive."

Seth Meyer forced a walk, and Logan Lesley singled to reach the bases.

Following an out off a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Lemaster and a runner being picked off at second base, after Collard and Meyer both scored off a one-out hit by Trey Moberly, Cole Reveal walked, setting the stage for Haithcock and company.

With a 2-1 count and runners at second and third, Haithcock looped the ball to the outfield, scoring Lesley and bringing out an improbable celebration at first base where Haithcock stood after hitting the game-winner.

"Latrell came up big with two outs," Hunt said. "He's been our one constant all season. For him to get a hit like that … it is great to see for him and for this team.

"A win like this has been a long time coming. At times, we've lacked hitting this season, but this is hopefully a huge confidence booster for the whole team. If there was ever a team win, it was this. The whole team stayed in, and they did a great job."

Hunt was then asked what he said to his team before the bottom of the seventh began.

"All we said to them was 'Don't quit, maintain your focus and trust your abilities," the HHS head coach said. "The kids played well, and all the credit goes to them."

Hillsboro's rally actually began in the previous inning, scoring what turned into two very important runs with Lesley and Lemaster crossing home plate in the bottom half of the sixth.

For the Falcons, they scored two runs in the first, followed by one run in the sixth and three in the seventh inning.

In this game, HHS didn't have their first hit until the sixth inning, when Lemaster batted in Lesley. Haithcock batted in Lemaster with a ground out to second base.

Lesley was the winning pitcher, pitching in relief of starter Jacob Helterbrand.

"Logan and Jake both gave us opportunities to stay in this game and battle, and that's what we needed from both of them," Hunt said.

The Indians will host their ALS Fundraiser game on Tuesday, April 22 at Shaffer Park as they host Amelia in non-league play. The pregame festivities will begin at 5 p.m., and game time will be around 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, the Indians are scheduled to travel to Greenfield to face SCOL and Highland County rival McClain at Mitchell Park. HHS will then travel to Clarksville for a rematch with the Falcons, and on Friday, HHS will host county foe, Lynchburg-Clay.