Griego walkoff leads to DH sweep for Post 129
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — Tuesday was double the fun for the Hillsboro Post 129 American Legion baseball team as they didn't win just one time, but twice for a doubleheader sweep over Portsmouth Post 23.
Post 129 won the opener of the twin bill at Shaffer Park by an 11-1 score in five innings via the run-rule, then won with a walk-off single by Tyler Griego in the nightcap for a 2-1 victory in extra innings, improving to 3-3 in their summer South Central Ohio League standings.
Overall, Post 129 improves to 10-15 overall.
"All day long, our pitching and defense was great," Hillsboro head coach Scott Morgan said. "To only allow two runs in 13 innings is impressive."
For the more exciting win, Post 129 waited until extra innings – the eighth inning, to be exact – where they scored the winning run when Griego batted in Tyler Williams with a base hit on a 2-1 count for the win. Williams reached first on an infield error at short.
Hillsboro trailed 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh, as they had an two-out rally to extend the game an extra inning.
Joey Wilson kept the inning alive with a double to left field on a 2-1 count. Blake Hildebrant, a Fairfield High School teammate of Wilson, came in as a pinch runner, where he tied the game after beating a run down to take third base.
As Hildebrant was sliding to third base, there was an errant throw in the infield, allowing him to stand up and race home as the ball rolled toward left field.
"In game one, we had the key hits we haven't had all season, and we only had one error. If we play like that, we can win games," Morgan said. "In the second game, we had to manufacture runs … we are now putting it all together."
Corey Walker led Post 129 by going 2-for-4. Also gaining one hit each were Austin Merkle, Latrell Haithcock and Brent Shannon.
Post 23 Portsmouth led 1-0 from the top of the second until the play in the seventh with Shears scoring their lone run.
A lot of the credit for the victory goes not only to the timely scoring and clutch base running of Post 129, but to the pitching as well.
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Starter Luke Taggert allowed just the one earned run in eight complete innings. Taggert allowed three hits and walked one. The recent Whiteoak graduate struck out four.
"Luke bounced back from his last start," Morgan said. "He made them put the ball in play, and they didn't hit the ball hard against him."
In game one, Post 129 scored one run in the first and followed that with two more in the second for a 3-1 lead.
The big inning for Hillsboro was the bottom third where they plated six runs, bringing 10 batters to the plate.
From there, Post 129 completed the run-rule with a run in the fourth and one in the fifth.
Post 129 collected 12 hits in game one with Walker going 4-for-4 with three RBIs, two doubles and two runs.
Derek Peters followed at 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run. Merkle, the Post 129 lead-off hitter, had one hit with one walk and three runs scored.
Camden Vinup was 1-for-2 for the home team, collecting one RBI, as he was hit by a pitch and forcing one walk.
" alt="" width="323" height="269" />Jared Halley had one hit, one walk and one RBI, while Wilson forced one walk and scored one run. Williams was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice and one run scored. Williams was also hit by a pitch.
Taggert also had one hit but also batted in two runners while also scoring one run. Hildebrant totaled one hit, two runs and one steal.
Griego was the winning pitcher. The Hillsboro graduate allowed one run (unearned) on two hits and one hit batter. He collected three strikeouts in the win.
"Tyler came back strong (Tuesday)," Morgan said. "He kept the ball down and didn't go deep into counts. His off-speed pitches were working and he was around the plate."
Post 129 will play again on Thursday as they host Lancaster for a single game, starting at 6 p.m. at Shaffer Park. On Friday, Post 129 will host Chillicothe Post 757 in a doubleheader, starting at 4 p.m. in league play.
Post 129 won the opener of the twin bill at Shaffer Park by an 11-1 score in five innings via the run-rule, then won with a walk-off single by Tyler Griego in the nightcap for a 2-1 victory in extra innings, improving to 3-3 in their summer South Central Ohio League standings.
Overall, Post 129 improves to 10-15 overall.
"All day long, our pitching and defense was great," Hillsboro head coach Scott Morgan said. "To only allow two runs in 13 innings is impressive."
For the more exciting win, Post 129 waited until extra innings – the eighth inning, to be exact – where they scored the winning run when Griego batted in Tyler Williams with a base hit on a 2-1 count for the win. Williams reached first on an infield error at short.
Hillsboro trailed 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh, as they had an two-out rally to extend the game an extra inning.
Joey Wilson kept the inning alive with a double to left field on a 2-1 count. Blake Hildebrant, a Fairfield High School teammate of Wilson, came in as a pinch runner, where he tied the game after beating a run down to take third base.
As Hildebrant was sliding to third base, there was an errant throw in the infield, allowing him to stand up and race home as the ball rolled toward left field.
"In game one, we had the key hits we haven't had all season, and we only had one error. If we play like that, we can win games," Morgan said. "In the second game, we had to manufacture runs … we are now putting it all together."
Corey Walker led Post 129 by going 2-for-4. Also gaining one hit each were Austin Merkle, Latrell Haithcock and Brent Shannon.
Post 23 Portsmouth led 1-0 from the top of the second until the play in the seventh with Shears scoring their lone run.
A lot of the credit for the victory goes not only to the timely scoring and clutch base running of Post 129, but to the pitching as well.
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Starter Luke Taggert allowed just the one earned run in eight complete innings. Taggert allowed three hits and walked one. The recent Whiteoak graduate struck out four.
"Luke bounced back from his last start," Morgan said. "He made them put the ball in play, and they didn't hit the ball hard against him."
In game one, Post 129 scored one run in the first and followed that with two more in the second for a 3-1 lead.
The big inning for Hillsboro was the bottom third where they plated six runs, bringing 10 batters to the plate.
From there, Post 129 completed the run-rule with a run in the fourth and one in the fifth.
Post 129 collected 12 hits in game one with Walker going 4-for-4 with three RBIs, two doubles and two runs.
Derek Peters followed at 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run. Merkle, the Post 129 lead-off hitter, had one hit with one walk and three runs scored.
Camden Vinup was 1-for-2 for the home team, collecting one RBI, as he was hit by a pitch and forcing one walk.
" alt="" width="323" height="269" />Jared Halley had one hit, one walk and one RBI, while Wilson forced one walk and scored one run. Williams was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice and one run scored. Williams was also hit by a pitch.Taggert also had one hit but also batted in two runners while also scoring one run. Hildebrant totaled one hit, two runs and one steal.
Griego was the winning pitcher. The Hillsboro graduate allowed one run (unearned) on two hits and one hit batter. He collected three strikeouts in the win.
"Tyler came back strong (Tuesday)," Morgan said. "He kept the ball down and didn't go deep into counts. His off-speed pitches were working and he was around the plate."
Post 129 will play again on Thursday as they host Lancaster for a single game, starting at 6 p.m. at Shaffer Park. On Friday, Post 129 will host Chillicothe Post 757 in a doubleheader, starting at 4 p.m. in league play.