Post 129 drops 2 tourney games Sunday
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Post 129 team was able to have its big inning against the No. 1 seeded Circleville Post 134 … the problem was Circleville was able to have a bigger inning and played with more consistency throughout nine innings, leading to a 10-5 loss for Hillsboro at VA Memorial Stadium in the Region 5 tournament.
Hillsboro lost their second game Sunday, falling to Post 199 by a 9-4 score, ending their season.
Post 129 finishes 20-21 overall and 2-2 in the postseason.
Hillsboro totaled 13 hits in their game with Post 134 with Tyler Williams leading at 3-for-5, while Corey Walker, Tyler Griego and Zach Docter each had two hits. With one hit each were Austin Merkle, Joey Wilson, Jared Halley and Luke Taggert.
Post 129 also forced four walks with Taggert having two, while Walker and Wilson each had one.
Circleville collected 14 hits in their win over Hillsboro.
"We didn't play bad against Post 134, we were just a couple key hits away," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We had a couple base-running mistakes, but in hindsight, those didn't matter."
Circleville scored their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning off a 325-foot two-run home run by Cody Blackburn over the right field wall.
That was OK for Hillsboro,for the time being, as they answered with a four-run top of the third, scoring their first three runs of the inning with one out.
Post 129 began the third with a base hit by Taggert, as Hillsboro sent nine batters to the plate. Austin Merkle followed with a single past second base.
Then the runs began to cross home plate for the visitors with Walker singling to left field, scoring Taggert. That was followed by Griego knocking in Merkle on a base hit past third base. In the same sequence, Post 129 took the lead as Walker raced to third base on the hit by Griego, then advanced home on an errant throw to third base for a 3-2 lead.
Hillsboro added one more run in the inning with Griego scoring off a two-out single to shallow centerfield by Docter.[[In-content Ad]]
"We were aggressive on the bases, and again, we played well," Morgan said. "We didn't lose the game, but it was Circleville beating us. We came in on a high note after winning Saturday.
"We were resilient after they hit a home run off us, but this team didn't quit."
The lead for Post 129 didn't stay on the scoreboard for long with Post 134 of Circleville plating five runs in their half of the third, taking a 7-4 lead after three innings.
In the the Circleville half of the third, Matt Shannon led off with a double, followed by a two-base hit to right field by teammate Robbie McKinney, scoring Shannon and making it a one-run game. Following a sacrifice fly by Daryin Lewis, Brandon Wright knocked in McKinney with a single to centerfield, tying the game at four.
The inning continued from with Rusty Shull getting hit by a pitch, and both runners scored on a triple hit to the deep centerfield wall by Chris Cline, with Post 134 taking a 6-4 advantage. They added one more run in the inning with Cline scoring on a ground out by Blackburn.
Following a few scoreless innings, Hillsboro added one run in the top half of the seventh.
Walker led off the inning with a walk and took second on an infield out by Griego. Walker stole third and raced home on an errant throw to third base, beating the throw to home plate with a head-first slide to cut the deficit to two runs.
Again, Circleville answered by regaining the run with a two-out inside-the-park home run by Shannon in the bottom of the eighth. That run sparked a two-out rally in which Post 134 scored three runs in the inning.
After the home run, McKinney singled and Lewis doubled, putting runners on second and third. They both crossed home plate off a base hit to shallow centerfield by Brandon Wright for the final five-run lead.
The loss went to Derek Peters, who pitched 2.1 innings for Post 129. Camden Vinup tossed 5.1 innings of relief, and Docter followed with 0.1 innings in relief, facing one batter for the third out in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Vinup, in his relief appearance, allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout. Of the seven hits he allowed, four came with two outs in the eighth inning.
"Camden came in for five innings and basically shut them down," Morgan said. "He pitched well."
The winning pitcher for Circleville was reliever David Burroughs, who entered the game in the top of the fourth inning. Also pitching in relief for Post 134 was Stephen Templeton, entering the game in the sixth inning with one out.
• • • • •
Hillsboro's Post 129 fell to Harrison Yeager Post 199, 9-4 in the finals of the loser's bracket in the Region 5 tournament.
The loss at VA Memorial Stadium was the team's second loss of the day, as Hillsboro lost to Circleville Post 134, 10-5. Post 199 will now meet Circleville in the championship. Post 199 must win twice over Circleville, while Circleville has to just win once to earn a trip to the state tournament.
Against Yeager, Hillsboro scored one run each in the third, fourth, fifth and ninth innings.
Yeager began their scoring with one run in the first, followed by a five-run second and one run in the third. From there, they added a run in the fourth and one in the ninth.
The loss was charged to Luke Taggert, who had one strikeout and three walks, while allowing three hits in 1.1 innings. Austin Merkle pitched six innings of relief with three strikeouts. Corey Walker pitched 1.2 innings of relief, collecting two strikeouts and allowing just two hits.
Post 129 totaled 10 hits in the game against Post 199, with Tyler Griego going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Merkle, Taggert, Latrell Haithcock, Joey Wilson and Tyler Williams each had a hit, and Walker collected two hits.
As for the runs scored, Merkle crossed home plate twice, while Williams and Taggert each had one run.
Hillsboro lost their second game Sunday, falling to Post 199 by a 9-4 score, ending their season.
Post 129 finishes 20-21 overall and 2-2 in the postseason.
Hillsboro totaled 13 hits in their game with Post 134 with Tyler Williams leading at 3-for-5, while Corey Walker, Tyler Griego and Zach Docter each had two hits. With one hit each were Austin Merkle, Joey Wilson, Jared Halley and Luke Taggert.
Post 129 also forced four walks with Taggert having two, while Walker and Wilson each had one.
Circleville collected 14 hits in their win over Hillsboro.
"We didn't play bad against Post 134, we were just a couple key hits away," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We had a couple base-running mistakes, but in hindsight, those didn't matter."
Circleville scored their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning off a 325-foot two-run home run by Cody Blackburn over the right field wall.
That was OK for Hillsboro,for the time being, as they answered with a four-run top of the third, scoring their first three runs of the inning with one out.
Post 129 began the third with a base hit by Taggert, as Hillsboro sent nine batters to the plate. Austin Merkle followed with a single past second base.
Then the runs began to cross home plate for the visitors with Walker singling to left field, scoring Taggert. That was followed by Griego knocking in Merkle on a base hit past third base. In the same sequence, Post 129 took the lead as Walker raced to third base on the hit by Griego, then advanced home on an errant throw to third base for a 3-2 lead.
Hillsboro added one more run in the inning with Griego scoring off a two-out single to shallow centerfield by Docter.[[In-content Ad]]
"We were aggressive on the bases, and again, we played well," Morgan said. "We didn't lose the game, but it was Circleville beating us. We came in on a high note after winning Saturday.
"We were resilient after they hit a home run off us, but this team didn't quit."
The lead for Post 129 didn't stay on the scoreboard for long with Post 134 of Circleville plating five runs in their half of the third, taking a 7-4 lead after three innings.
In the the Circleville half of the third, Matt Shannon led off with a double, followed by a two-base hit to right field by teammate Robbie McKinney, scoring Shannon and making it a one-run game. Following a sacrifice fly by Daryin Lewis, Brandon Wright knocked in McKinney with a single to centerfield, tying the game at four.
The inning continued from with Rusty Shull getting hit by a pitch, and both runners scored on a triple hit to the deep centerfield wall by Chris Cline, with Post 134 taking a 6-4 advantage. They added one more run in the inning with Cline scoring on a ground out by Blackburn.
Following a few scoreless innings, Hillsboro added one run in the top half of the seventh.
Walker led off the inning with a walk and took second on an infield out by Griego. Walker stole third and raced home on an errant throw to third base, beating the throw to home plate with a head-first slide to cut the deficit to two runs.
Again, Circleville answered by regaining the run with a two-out inside-the-park home run by Shannon in the bottom of the eighth. That run sparked a two-out rally in which Post 134 scored three runs in the inning.
After the home run, McKinney singled and Lewis doubled, putting runners on second and third. They both crossed home plate off a base hit to shallow centerfield by Brandon Wright for the final five-run lead.
The loss went to Derek Peters, who pitched 2.1 innings for Post 129. Camden Vinup tossed 5.1 innings of relief, and Docter followed with 0.1 innings in relief, facing one batter for the third out in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Vinup, in his relief appearance, allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout. Of the seven hits he allowed, four came with two outs in the eighth inning.
"Camden came in for five innings and basically shut them down," Morgan said. "He pitched well."
The winning pitcher for Circleville was reliever David Burroughs, who entered the game in the top of the fourth inning. Also pitching in relief for Post 134 was Stephen Templeton, entering the game in the sixth inning with one out.
• • • • •
Hillsboro's Post 129 fell to Harrison Yeager Post 199, 9-4 in the finals of the loser's bracket in the Region 5 tournament.
The loss at VA Memorial Stadium was the team's second loss of the day, as Hillsboro lost to Circleville Post 134, 10-5. Post 199 will now meet Circleville in the championship. Post 199 must win twice over Circleville, while Circleville has to just win once to earn a trip to the state tournament.
Against Yeager, Hillsboro scored one run each in the third, fourth, fifth and ninth innings.
Yeager began their scoring with one run in the first, followed by a five-run second and one run in the third. From there, they added a run in the fourth and one in the ninth.
The loss was charged to Luke Taggert, who had one strikeout and three walks, while allowing three hits in 1.1 innings. Austin Merkle pitched six innings of relief with three strikeouts. Corey Walker pitched 1.2 innings of relief, collecting two strikeouts and allowing just two hits.
Post 129 totaled 10 hits in the game against Post 199, with Tyler Griego going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Merkle, Taggert, Latrell Haithcock, Joey Wilson and Tyler Williams each had a hit, and Walker collected two hits.
As for the runs scored, Merkle crossed home plate twice, while Williams and Taggert each had one run.