Post 129 sees season end in District 7 tournament
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — The summer season for the 2014 American Legion Hillsboro Post 129 baseball team came to a close on Tuesday afternoon.
The Hillsboro squad lost a tied score in the seventh and couldn't bounce back, falling to the Waverly Post 142 Shockers, 10-4 in a District 7 Tournament game at VA Memorial Stadium.
Post 129 finishes 0-2 in the District 7 tournament, losing on Monday by a 7-6 score to Chillicothe Post 757. For the season, Hillsboro won 12 games.
"I'm proud of the kids," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "They battled the entire day and put us in a position to make a rally.
"I've never questioned their effort in this game or all season. We just came up a few hits short when we really needed them. The guys showed up to play baseball (Tuesday)."
Hillsboro was first to score a run, in the top of the third inning. It took them until the eighth batter of the game to get their first hit, a single by Nick Bush (2-for-4) to left field, moving Isaiah Liggins to third base, as he walked to begin the inning.
Cameron Spangler hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Liggins for the 1-0 lead. Spangler finished 1-for-1 with the sacrifice fly, and he was also hit by a pitch.
In the top of the fourth, Hillsboro increased their lead to 3-0 with Joey Wilson and Jared Halley crossing home plate. Wilson was 2-for-3 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. Halley also had two hits.
Halley batted in Wilson with a double to left field. Halley took third base and scored on an errant throw on the steal of third base for the three-run lead.
The three-run lead didn't last with Post 142 scoring two runs.
Post 142 took 4-3 lead with a two-line sixth off a double by Tyler Nartker.
Hillsboro tied the score in the top of the seventh when Wilson rounded the bases off a base hit to centerfield by Zach Cox with two outs. Earlier in the inning, Wilson was able to beat a rundown attempt between second and third base to keep the inning going.
After a pitching change to replace starting pitcher Wilson, Post 142 regained the lead for good, scoring one run in the seventh, followed by five more runs in the bottom of the eighth for the six-run loss.
Hillsboro did make the end of the game a little uncomfortable for Post 142 with Hildebrant, Wilson and Halley all hitting singles in the ninth, but no runs were able to cross the plate.
For Post 129, they left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings.
"This was the story of the season … we were in the game but were unable to finish," Morgan said. "Our record wasn't the best, but we were in a lot of games this season, and if we were able to finish, we could have easily flipped our record.
"This group had a lot of great individuals. They were fun to be around. They kept loose on the field and always had each other's back."
The loss was charged to Jesse Walker. Also pitching in the game were Inman and Bush.
Just seven players will be eligible to return for next season, and Morgan wanted to thank all of the departing players.
"I can't thank them enough for all they did these season," Morgan said. "Like I said, they were a great group to be around."
The fall tryouts for Post 129 will be held on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. at Richard Shaffer Park. Any player who was born on Jan. 1, 1996 or after can try out. The tryout will be held rain or shine.[[In-content Ad]]
The Hillsboro squad lost a tied score in the seventh and couldn't bounce back, falling to the Waverly Post 142 Shockers, 10-4 in a District 7 Tournament game at VA Memorial Stadium.
Post 129 finishes 0-2 in the District 7 tournament, losing on Monday by a 7-6 score to Chillicothe Post 757. For the season, Hillsboro won 12 games.
"I'm proud of the kids," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "They battled the entire day and put us in a position to make a rally.
"I've never questioned their effort in this game or all season. We just came up a few hits short when we really needed them. The guys showed up to play baseball (Tuesday)."
Hillsboro was first to score a run, in the top of the third inning. It took them until the eighth batter of the game to get their first hit, a single by Nick Bush (2-for-4) to left field, moving Isaiah Liggins to third base, as he walked to begin the inning.
Cameron Spangler hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Liggins for the 1-0 lead. Spangler finished 1-for-1 with the sacrifice fly, and he was also hit by a pitch.
In the top of the fourth, Hillsboro increased their lead to 3-0 with Joey Wilson and Jared Halley crossing home plate. Wilson was 2-for-3 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. Halley also had two hits.
Halley batted in Wilson with a double to left field. Halley took third base and scored on an errant throw on the steal of third base for the three-run lead.
The three-run lead didn't last with Post 142 scoring two runs.
Post 142 took 4-3 lead with a two-line sixth off a double by Tyler Nartker.
Hillsboro tied the score in the top of the seventh when Wilson rounded the bases off a base hit to centerfield by Zach Cox with two outs. Earlier in the inning, Wilson was able to beat a rundown attempt between second and third base to keep the inning going.
After a pitching change to replace starting pitcher Wilson, Post 142 regained the lead for good, scoring one run in the seventh, followed by five more runs in the bottom of the eighth for the six-run loss.
Hillsboro did make the end of the game a little uncomfortable for Post 142 with Hildebrant, Wilson and Halley all hitting singles in the ninth, but no runs were able to cross the plate.
For Post 129, they left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings.
"This was the story of the season … we were in the game but were unable to finish," Morgan said. "Our record wasn't the best, but we were in a lot of games this season, and if we were able to finish, we could have easily flipped our record.
"This group had a lot of great individuals. They were fun to be around. They kept loose on the field and always had each other's back."
The loss was charged to Jesse Walker. Also pitching in the game were Inman and Bush.
Just seven players will be eligible to return for next season, and Morgan wanted to thank all of the departing players.
"I can't thank them enough for all they did these season," Morgan said. "Like I said, they were a great group to be around."
The fall tryouts for Post 129 will be held on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. at Richard Shaffer Park. Any player who was born on Jan. 1, 1996 or after can try out. The tryout will be held rain or shine.[[In-content Ad]]