Lady Tigers win on the road at Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the second consecutive day, the McClain Lady Tigers gained a South Central Ohio League victory over the Hillsboro Lady Indians, with the second win coming on the road in Hillsboro. The game was nearly the same on the scoreboard, as the Lady Tigers defeated the host Lady Indians, 15-1 in five innings Wednesday.
On the previous day in Greenfield, the Lady Tigers defeated Hillsboro, 15-3, giving McClain the two-game season sweep over their Highland County rival.
“It was a team win (Wednesday). Everybody contributed, and we even had two or three of our JV kids we brought up get base hits, so that was good for them and good for us,” MHS head coach Ed Bolender said. “It was a good way to end the week with three in a row after losing seven in a row, so that’s a nice bounce back. The kids are playing with confidence.”
As for the game on Wednesday, what looked like it could have been a 1-2-3 inning for the Lady Tigers, as HHS gained the first two outs with a fly ball and a ground out, turned into an excellent inning for MHS. The Lady Tigers were down to their final strike in the top of the first as Kaylee Stevenson was down to a 3-2 count. She eventually forced a walk and took second base on a passed ball.
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That was just the start of the two-run rally by McClain with Chantel Landrum also drawing a full-count walk, followed with Mackenzie Anderson being hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count. That left the bases loaded for Liz Kegley, and she doubled to left field to plate both Stevenson and Landrum for the first two runs of the game. Next was a single from Payton Smith, who scored both Anderson and Kegley for the four-run lead.
Kegley finished the game 4-for-4 with eight RBIs, two runs and one stolen base.
HHS gained a hit from Jordan Moberly with one out, sending the ball to centerfield. With two outs, Christine Page forced a walk, but both batters were left stranded with the next out coming via strikeout.
McClain took complete control of the game in the second inning, plating five runs with Kali Anderson, Kendall Pollard, Allison Beatty, Stevenson and Mackenzie Anderson all scoring runs. The inning began with Kali Anderson drawing a walk, followed by an error in the outfield on a fly ball that allowed Pollard to reach the bases. Next, an interference call was made at the plate, allowing Beatty to load the bases. The bases stayed loaded, but a run scored when Stevenson drew an RBI walk to bring home Kali Anderson.
Following the first out of the inning, Mackenzie Anderson tripled to right field past the fielder’s reach, clearing the bases for three RBIs, as all three runners crossed home plate. Kegley joined in on the hitting with a single to centerfield to plate Mackenzie Anderson for the 9-0 lead. The inning also saw Smith hit a single down the first base line. Smith finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Hillsboro had two more base runners in the bottom of the second, beginning with Mottie drawing a leadoff walk, but was eventually called out on a double play. The lone hit in the inning came off the bat of Shea Boggs as HHS totaled three hits on the day.
MHS added three runs in the third with Beatty, Landrum and Mackenzie Anderson all scoring runs. Beatty scored on an error, while Kegley had a two-run double with two outs, sending the ball to centerfield to score both Landrum and Mackenzie Anderson for what was a 12-run lead.
Hillsboro scored their lone run in the bottom of the third with Scott rounding the bases, scoring on an RBI ground out to the shortstop by Jordan Moberly.
Neither team scored a run in the fourth, but in the fifth McClain had Stevenson, Kaleigh Easter and Kegley all circle the bases. All three runners scored on a three-run home run by Kegley, blasting the ball over the right field fence for the 15-1 final score. Stevenson led off the inning with a walk, while Easter singled on a line drive to centerfield. Also in the inning, Smith and Cierra Bolender also had base hits.
In all, the Lady Tigers totaled 12 hits, seven walks, four steals and were hit by pitches on two occasions.
Bolender was the winning pitcher, going all five innings. The freshman allowed just one run (unearned) on three hits and three walks. She faced a total of 18 batters and finished with one strikeout.
“We’ve had good pitching the past two games against Hillsboro with Abby (Shrout) pitching Tuesday and Cierra (Wednesday), so they’ve both pitched well for us,” Bolender said. “Cierra has been hurt because with the rain we didn’t get to play a lot of our non-league games, but pitching against Washington and now Hillsboro, she’s got a couple good league tests for her, and she’ll have to go next year for us.
“We also have a puzzle piece to fix at third base as we lost our starting third baseman Beckley Smith for the rest of the year this week as she had surgery (Wednesday) on her legs,” Bolender said. “She’s doing well, and we are glad to hear that.”
The loss was charged to Riley Moberly, who allowed just one earned run in the loss. She walked seven and struck out five batters.
In the two back-to-back games between the two teams, of the total 30 runs scored by McClain, just a total of three runs were scored as earned runs.
On the previous day in Greenfield, the Lady Tigers defeated Hillsboro, 15-3, giving McClain the two-game season sweep over their Highland County rival.
“It was a team win (Wednesday). Everybody contributed, and we even had two or three of our JV kids we brought up get base hits, so that was good for them and good for us,” MHS head coach Ed Bolender said. “It was a good way to end the week with three in a row after losing seven in a row, so that’s a nice bounce back. The kids are playing with confidence.”
As for the game on Wednesday, what looked like it could have been a 1-2-3 inning for the Lady Tigers, as HHS gained the first two outs with a fly ball and a ground out, turned into an excellent inning for MHS. The Lady Tigers were down to their final strike in the top of the first as Kaylee Stevenson was down to a 3-2 count. She eventually forced a walk and took second base on a passed ball.
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That was just the start of the two-run rally by McClain with Chantel Landrum also drawing a full-count walk, followed with Mackenzie Anderson being hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count. That left the bases loaded for Liz Kegley, and she doubled to left field to plate both Stevenson and Landrum for the first two runs of the game. Next was a single from Payton Smith, who scored both Anderson and Kegley for the four-run lead.
Kegley finished the game 4-for-4 with eight RBIs, two runs and one stolen base.
HHS gained a hit from Jordan Moberly with one out, sending the ball to centerfield. With two outs, Christine Page forced a walk, but both batters were left stranded with the next out coming via strikeout.
McClain took complete control of the game in the second inning, plating five runs with Kali Anderson, Kendall Pollard, Allison Beatty, Stevenson and Mackenzie Anderson all scoring runs. The inning began with Kali Anderson drawing a walk, followed by an error in the outfield on a fly ball that allowed Pollard to reach the bases. Next, an interference call was made at the plate, allowing Beatty to load the bases. The bases stayed loaded, but a run scored when Stevenson drew an RBI walk to bring home Kali Anderson.
Following the first out of the inning, Mackenzie Anderson tripled to right field past the fielder’s reach, clearing the bases for three RBIs, as all three runners crossed home plate. Kegley joined in on the hitting with a single to centerfield to plate Mackenzie Anderson for the 9-0 lead. The inning also saw Smith hit a single down the first base line. Smith finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Hillsboro had two more base runners in the bottom of the second, beginning with Mottie drawing a leadoff walk, but was eventually called out on a double play. The lone hit in the inning came off the bat of Shea Boggs as HHS totaled three hits on the day.
MHS added three runs in the third with Beatty, Landrum and Mackenzie Anderson all scoring runs. Beatty scored on an error, while Kegley had a two-run double with two outs, sending the ball to centerfield to score both Landrum and Mackenzie Anderson for what was a 12-run lead.
Hillsboro scored their lone run in the bottom of the third with Scott rounding the bases, scoring on an RBI ground out to the shortstop by Jordan Moberly.
Neither team scored a run in the fourth, but in the fifth McClain had Stevenson, Kaleigh Easter and Kegley all circle the bases. All three runners scored on a three-run home run by Kegley, blasting the ball over the right field fence for the 15-1 final score. Stevenson led off the inning with a walk, while Easter singled on a line drive to centerfield. Also in the inning, Smith and Cierra Bolender also had base hits.
In all, the Lady Tigers totaled 12 hits, seven walks, four steals and were hit by pitches on two occasions.
Bolender was the winning pitcher, going all five innings. The freshman allowed just one run (unearned) on three hits and three walks. She faced a total of 18 batters and finished with one strikeout.
“We’ve had good pitching the past two games against Hillsboro with Abby (Shrout) pitching Tuesday and Cierra (Wednesday), so they’ve both pitched well for us,” Bolender said. “Cierra has been hurt because with the rain we didn’t get to play a lot of our non-league games, but pitching against Washington and now Hillsboro, she’s got a couple good league tests for her, and she’ll have to go next year for us.
“We also have a puzzle piece to fix at third base as we lost our starting third baseman Beckley Smith for the rest of the year this week as she had surgery (Wednesday) on her legs,” Bolender said. “She’s doing well, and we are glad to hear that.”
The loss was charged to Riley Moberly, who allowed just one earned run in the loss. She walked seven and struck out five batters.
In the two back-to-back games between the two teams, of the total 30 runs scored by McClain, just a total of three runs were scored as earned runs.