Post 129 finishes 2-2 in Wooden Bat Tournament
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
On Sunday, the Hillsboro Post 129 ball club hit the ball hard, but the problem was it went straight to defensive players from Findlay.
Add that with trailing by six runs after the first inning, and it turned into an 8-3 loss, ending their chances of being champions in their wooden bat tournament, as Post 129 finished the three-day tournament at 2-2, in third place out of six teams.
"We were 2-2 on the weekend, and there was only one game where we didn't play well," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "(Sunday) we had one bad inning, and we played even with them the rest of the game.
"Starting (Saturday), we started to hit the ball well, and with wooden bats we usually struggle. If that hitting can continue, we can start putting something together, because our pitching has been there all year."
[[In-content Ad]]The Wooden Bat tournament was eventually won by Waverly Post 142, who defeated Findlay in the championship game on Sunday.
The loss moves Hillsboro to 6-14 on the season.
For Findlay, it was the first inning that was the difference maker, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
They began the game with a double, followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over to third base. The first run eventually scored on a single to left field.
In all, during the first inning, Findlay totaled six runs on seven hits and no walks. All six runs in the inning were earned runs.
The loss was charged to Scottie Mullis, as he was replaced in the first inning by Nick Bush, who pitched the remainder of the game.
Findlay added two more runs in the game, with one run crossing home plate in the fourth and their final run scoring in the fifth.
As for the Post 129 squad, Joey Wilson crossed home plate in the fourth inning, taking the bases on a two-out double to centerfield. Wilson moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single through the middle of the infield by Zach Cox.
In the seventh, scoring runs for Hillsboro were Taylor Greene and Blake Hildebrant. Greene scored on a passed ball, while Hildebrant followed by crossing home plate off a base hit to centerfield by Tyler Williams.
Post 129 finished the game with eight hits with Stephen Pappas going 2-for-2 and Hildebrant going 2-for-3. Also with a hit Sunday was Ryan Inman.
"All throughout the lineup, the guys were hitting the ball," Morgan said. "Even with what the score was, I never felt we were out of the ballgame."
The game ended on a 4-6-3 double play converted by Findlay, the runners-up of the '14 Wooden Bat Tournament at Richard Shaffer Park.
As for Bush, in 6.2 innings of relief, he allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. Bush finished with six strikeouts.
"Nick did a nice job coming in the game in relief, and even the two runs he gave up probably shouldn't have scored," Morgan said. "That's all I can ask for … he did his job. Our pitching staff will be well-rested headed into this week."
For the Wooden Bat Tournament, Hillsboro lost to Waverly 7-0 on Friday, followed by two Saturday wins, defeating Washington C.H. Post 25, 10-2 and Troy by a 9-2 score.
Post 129 will play again on Tuesday when they travel to AIA Grady's Field in Xenia to face the Cincinnati Fury at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, the Post 129 team will play a league game against the Washington C.H. Post 25 Aces at 5 p.m.
On Thursday, June 26 Post 129 will continue a road trip with a doubleheader at Beaver Field against Lancaster, starting at 5 p.m.
Post 129 returns home on Saturday, June 28 when they host Springfield in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.
Add that with trailing by six runs after the first inning, and it turned into an 8-3 loss, ending their chances of being champions in their wooden bat tournament, as Post 129 finished the three-day tournament at 2-2, in third place out of six teams.
"We were 2-2 on the weekend, and there was only one game where we didn't play well," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "(Sunday) we had one bad inning, and we played even with them the rest of the game.
"Starting (Saturday), we started to hit the ball well, and with wooden bats we usually struggle. If that hitting can continue, we can start putting something together, because our pitching has been there all year."
[[In-content Ad]]The Wooden Bat tournament was eventually won by Waverly Post 142, who defeated Findlay in the championship game on Sunday.
The loss moves Hillsboro to 6-14 on the season.
For Findlay, it was the first inning that was the difference maker, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
They began the game with a double, followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over to third base. The first run eventually scored on a single to left field.
In all, during the first inning, Findlay totaled six runs on seven hits and no walks. All six runs in the inning were earned runs.
The loss was charged to Scottie Mullis, as he was replaced in the first inning by Nick Bush, who pitched the remainder of the game.
Findlay added two more runs in the game, with one run crossing home plate in the fourth and their final run scoring in the fifth.
As for the Post 129 squad, Joey Wilson crossed home plate in the fourth inning, taking the bases on a two-out double to centerfield. Wilson moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single through the middle of the infield by Zach Cox.
In the seventh, scoring runs for Hillsboro were Taylor Greene and Blake Hildebrant. Greene scored on a passed ball, while Hildebrant followed by crossing home plate off a base hit to centerfield by Tyler Williams.
Post 129 finished the game with eight hits with Stephen Pappas going 2-for-2 and Hildebrant going 2-for-3. Also with a hit Sunday was Ryan Inman.
"All throughout the lineup, the guys were hitting the ball," Morgan said. "Even with what the score was, I never felt we were out of the ballgame."
The game ended on a 4-6-3 double play converted by Findlay, the runners-up of the '14 Wooden Bat Tournament at Richard Shaffer Park.
As for Bush, in 6.2 innings of relief, he allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. Bush finished with six strikeouts.
"Nick did a nice job coming in the game in relief, and even the two runs he gave up probably shouldn't have scored," Morgan said. "That's all I can ask for … he did his job. Our pitching staff will be well-rested headed into this week."
For the Wooden Bat Tournament, Hillsboro lost to Waverly 7-0 on Friday, followed by two Saturday wins, defeating Washington C.H. Post 25, 10-2 and Troy by a 9-2 score.
Post 129 will play again on Tuesday when they travel to AIA Grady's Field in Xenia to face the Cincinnati Fury at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, the Post 129 team will play a league game against the Washington C.H. Post 25 Aces at 5 p.m.
On Thursday, June 26 Post 129 will continue a road trip with a doubleheader at Beaver Field against Lancaster, starting at 5 p.m.
Post 129 returns home on Saturday, June 28 when they host Springfield in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.