Big inning advances Post 129 in District 7 tourney
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — More quality pitching, plus an offensive outburst in the fourth inning, allowed the Hillsboro Post 129 squad to advance to the next round of the American Legion District 7 tournament Saturday.
Using the pitching of Matt Carey, offense and a near perfect defensive effort (no errors until the ninth), Post 129 (19-25) defeated Washington C.H. Post 25, 7-1 at Unioto High School in the second round of the postseason tourney.
The win moves Hillsboro to the semifinals of the winner's bracket, where they will face Circleville Post 134 on Sunday at VA Memorial Stadium, with the winner advancing to the championship round on Tuesday. The loser of Sunday's game will play at 6 p.m. on Monday in the loss bracket. In three games during the regular season vs. Circleville, Hillsboro went 1-2.
"We have played two really nice games back-to-back," Hillsboro Post 129 head coach Ritchie Butler said. "Again, until the last inning, we played well defensively.
"As for Sunday's game … we've played Circleville three times, beat them once. We just have to keep our focus and keep playing solid baseball each time we take the field."
As for their game on Saturday, Hillsboro, who totaled 13 hits, entered the fourth inning ahead 2-0 following a two-run top of the third inning. Runs came off an RBI sacrifice fly to right field by Corey Walker (scoring Bryce Bean, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI) and Paul Snyder, with two outs, hitting a line drive to right-centerfield, scoring Brandon Wilson (2-for-5, one run) for the two-run lead.
As for the fourth inning … Hillsboro dominated with four runs, taking a 6-0 lead. Joey Wilson began the inning by getting hit in the leg on a 3-2 pitch to advance to first base. He was followed by a base hit by Luke Taggert, and the bases were loaded when Zach Docter was hit by a pitch.
Joey Wilson scored on a bases-loaded single by Bean, and Brandon Wilson grounded out to second, scoring Taggert. Walker continued the inning with a double to the outfield, and he scored on a single to centerfield by Tyler Griego (3-for-3, walk, sacrifice, two RBIs) for the six-run lead. Walker led Hillsboro with three RBIs.
The lead moved to seven runs in the top of the sixth with Docter leading off the inning with a line drive single past the Washington third baseman. He moved on to second with a single past third by Bean and to third with a base hit by Brandon Wilson. Walker brought Docter home with a sacrifice fly to the outfield.
Washington scored their lone run in their half of the sixth as they finished the game with eight hits, leaving 10 runners stranded.
The winning pitcher was Carey, who pitched eight complete innings (91 pitches). Carey allowed one earned run on six hits and no walks. Carey finished with 10 strikeouts. Casey Jordan pitched the ninth in relief, allowing no runs.
"We had an outstanding effort on the mound by Matt Carey," Butler said. "Add his pitching with the timely hits we had at the plate in the district tournament … that's how we want to play this time of the year.
"It was a complete team win (Saturday) … everyone contributed positively. Others are stepping up when teammates are having their struggles. That's what we want to see.a We have worked all season to play like we did (Saturday)."
BOX SCORE
H 002 401 000 — 7 13 2
W 000 001 000 — 1 8 2
[[In-content Ad]]
Using the pitching of Matt Carey, offense and a near perfect defensive effort (no errors until the ninth), Post 129 (19-25) defeated Washington C.H. Post 25, 7-1 at Unioto High School in the second round of the postseason tourney.
The win moves Hillsboro to the semifinals of the winner's bracket, where they will face Circleville Post 134 on Sunday at VA Memorial Stadium, with the winner advancing to the championship round on Tuesday. The loser of Sunday's game will play at 6 p.m. on Monday in the loss bracket. In three games during the regular season vs. Circleville, Hillsboro went 1-2.
"We have played two really nice games back-to-back," Hillsboro Post 129 head coach Ritchie Butler said. "Again, until the last inning, we played well defensively.
"As for Sunday's game … we've played Circleville three times, beat them once. We just have to keep our focus and keep playing solid baseball each time we take the field."
As for their game on Saturday, Hillsboro, who totaled 13 hits, entered the fourth inning ahead 2-0 following a two-run top of the third inning. Runs came off an RBI sacrifice fly to right field by Corey Walker (scoring Bryce Bean, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI) and Paul Snyder, with two outs, hitting a line drive to right-centerfield, scoring Brandon Wilson (2-for-5, one run) for the two-run lead.
As for the fourth inning … Hillsboro dominated with four runs, taking a 6-0 lead. Joey Wilson began the inning by getting hit in the leg on a 3-2 pitch to advance to first base. He was followed by a base hit by Luke Taggert, and the bases were loaded when Zach Docter was hit by a pitch.
Joey Wilson scored on a bases-loaded single by Bean, and Brandon Wilson grounded out to second, scoring Taggert. Walker continued the inning with a double to the outfield, and he scored on a single to centerfield by Tyler Griego (3-for-3, walk, sacrifice, two RBIs) for the six-run lead. Walker led Hillsboro with three RBIs.
The lead moved to seven runs in the top of the sixth with Docter leading off the inning with a line drive single past the Washington third baseman. He moved on to second with a single past third by Bean and to third with a base hit by Brandon Wilson. Walker brought Docter home with a sacrifice fly to the outfield.
Washington scored their lone run in their half of the sixth as they finished the game with eight hits, leaving 10 runners stranded.
The winning pitcher was Carey, who pitched eight complete innings (91 pitches). Carey allowed one earned run on six hits and no walks. Carey finished with 10 strikeouts. Casey Jordan pitched the ninth in relief, allowing no runs.
"We had an outstanding effort on the mound by Matt Carey," Butler said. "Add his pitching with the timely hits we had at the plate in the district tournament … that's how we want to play this time of the year.
"It was a complete team win (Saturday) … everyone contributed positively. Others are stepping up when teammates are having their struggles. That's what we want to see.a We have worked all season to play like we did (Saturday)."
BOX SCORE
H 002 401 000 — 7 13 2
W 000 001 000 — 1 8 2
[[In-content Ad]]