Post 129 surpasses the .500 plateau
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the first time this summer, the Hillsboro Post 129 baseball team has surpassed the .500 plateau in the standings, sweeping Chillicothe Post 62 Wednesday night, as the team is playing their best baseball of the summer.
The two wins at Shaffer Park, by scores of 6-4 and 8-2, put Hillsboro at 17-16 overall, and more importantly put them tied for first place with Circleville Post 134 in the summer SCOL standings at 8-3.
Hillsboro has won eight of their past nine games.
"We are doing a lot of the little things right," Post 129 assistant coach Matt Garman said. "We had timely hitting, and we had the hitting behind the base runners. We are making the routine plays, and we had great pitching.
"This is a great time of year to be doing the things we are doing."
There are four games remaining in the league season. Post 129 has league games remaining with Portsmouth (2), Waverly (1) and Chillicothe Post 757 (1). Circleville holds the tiebreaker over Hillsboro.
Wednesday night in the doubleheader, Post 129 overcame a mild bump in the road in the opener and dominated all aspects of the nightcap, under the lights at Shaffer Park.
In game one, Post 62 scored two of their four runs in the top of the first, followed by one run in each of the next two innings, including a home run for their fourth and final run.
Hillsboro answered with one run in the first, followed by another run in the second. The home team added two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.
Post 129's first run in the opening inning came with Corey Walker (2-for-4) reaching base with a single with two outs. Walker stole second and third bases and eventually scored on an error by the visitors.
Zach Docter scored the second Hillsboro run in the second inning. Docter singled, and two outs later, after stealing second base, scored on a base hit by Austin Merkle.
In the fourth, Hillsboro saw Merkle (2-for-4) and Derek Peters cross home plate, tying the score at 4-4. Peters scored off a two-base hit by Merkle. Walker batted in Merkle with a double.
The final two runs were scored in the bottom of the sixth. Merkle singled with two outs for Hillsboro, and Luke Taggert was hit by a pitch to keep the inning going. Walker singled to left field, knocking in Merkle, and Taggert scored on a base hit by Tyler Griego.
Joey Wilson was the winning pitcher, going six complete innings on the mound. The save went to Walker, as he pitched the seventh inning. Wilson allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks. The starting pitcher struck out two and hit two batters.
Walker faced four batters in the seventh inning, tossing 20 pitches. Walker allowed no runs, while allowing one hit. He collected two strikeouts.
Also in the first game, Tyler Williams was left stranded after legging out a triple with one out in the third inning.
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The nightcap of the twin bill saw the Post 129 club be a little more patient at the plate, forcing eight walks in the six-run win.
Jared Halley and Taggert each had two hits for Post 129, with Halley going 2-for-4, while Taggert was 2-for-3 with a walk. Merkle, Walker, Wilson and Docter each had one hit. Merkle, Walker, Williams, Wilson, Docter (2) and Camden Vinup also forced walks.
The score was 1-1 following the conclusion of the first inning, with Merkle scoring the first run for Post 129, while tying the score. Merkle forced a walk and took second on a passed ball. He went to third on a ground out and then scored on a passed ball.
Hillsboro took the lead for good in the second with a three-run inning. Halley fouled to centerfield, followed with Merkle taking first on an infield error with one out. Taggert batted by both runners with a double to centerfield. Taggert eventually went to third on a passed ball and then scored the third run of the inning.
Post 129 added one run in the fourth with Taggert (who singled) scoring on an infield error for a 5-2 score, as Post 62 scored their final run in the top half of the fourth.
The final three runs for Hillsboro came in the bottom of the fifth, making it the final 8-2 score.
Docter, Vinup and Merkle all rounded the bases with Docter scoring on a passed ball, while the other runners scored on a two-out base hit to centerfield by Walker.
Griego was the winning pitcher, going the distance for Hillsboro. He pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks and two hit batters. Griego struck out five.
"Tyler was in complete control the whole game," Garman said. "His pitching set the tone for the second game."
Hillsboro will play again on Sunday as they will host Springfield in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.
The two wins at Shaffer Park, by scores of 6-4 and 8-2, put Hillsboro at 17-16 overall, and more importantly put them tied for first place with Circleville Post 134 in the summer SCOL standings at 8-3.
Hillsboro has won eight of their past nine games.
"We are doing a lot of the little things right," Post 129 assistant coach Matt Garman said. "We had timely hitting, and we had the hitting behind the base runners. We are making the routine plays, and we had great pitching.
"This is a great time of year to be doing the things we are doing."
There are four games remaining in the league season. Post 129 has league games remaining with Portsmouth (2), Waverly (1) and Chillicothe Post 757 (1). Circleville holds the tiebreaker over Hillsboro.
Wednesday night in the doubleheader, Post 129 overcame a mild bump in the road in the opener and dominated all aspects of the nightcap, under the lights at Shaffer Park.
In game one, Post 62 scored two of their four runs in the top of the first, followed by one run in each of the next two innings, including a home run for their fourth and final run.
Hillsboro answered with one run in the first, followed by another run in the second. The home team added two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.
Post 129's first run in the opening inning came with Corey Walker (2-for-4) reaching base with a single with two outs. Walker stole second and third bases and eventually scored on an error by the visitors.
Zach Docter scored the second Hillsboro run in the second inning. Docter singled, and two outs later, after stealing second base, scored on a base hit by Austin Merkle.
In the fourth, Hillsboro saw Merkle (2-for-4) and Derek Peters cross home plate, tying the score at 4-4. Peters scored off a two-base hit by Merkle. Walker batted in Merkle with a double.
The final two runs were scored in the bottom of the sixth. Merkle singled with two outs for Hillsboro, and Luke Taggert was hit by a pitch to keep the inning going. Walker singled to left field, knocking in Merkle, and Taggert scored on a base hit by Tyler Griego.
Joey Wilson was the winning pitcher, going six complete innings on the mound. The save went to Walker, as he pitched the seventh inning. Wilson allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks. The starting pitcher struck out two and hit two batters.
Walker faced four batters in the seventh inning, tossing 20 pitches. Walker allowed no runs, while allowing one hit. He collected two strikeouts.
Also in the first game, Tyler Williams was left stranded after legging out a triple with one out in the third inning.
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The nightcap of the twin bill saw the Post 129 club be a little more patient at the plate, forcing eight walks in the six-run win.
Jared Halley and Taggert each had two hits for Post 129, with Halley going 2-for-4, while Taggert was 2-for-3 with a walk. Merkle, Walker, Wilson and Docter each had one hit. Merkle, Walker, Williams, Wilson, Docter (2) and Camden Vinup also forced walks.
The score was 1-1 following the conclusion of the first inning, with Merkle scoring the first run for Post 129, while tying the score. Merkle forced a walk and took second on a passed ball. He went to third on a ground out and then scored on a passed ball.
Hillsboro took the lead for good in the second with a three-run inning. Halley fouled to centerfield, followed with Merkle taking first on an infield error with one out. Taggert batted by both runners with a double to centerfield. Taggert eventually went to third on a passed ball and then scored the third run of the inning.
Post 129 added one run in the fourth with Taggert (who singled) scoring on an infield error for a 5-2 score, as Post 62 scored their final run in the top half of the fourth.
The final three runs for Hillsboro came in the bottom of the fifth, making it the final 8-2 score.
Docter, Vinup and Merkle all rounded the bases with Docter scoring on a passed ball, while the other runners scored on a two-out base hit to centerfield by Walker.
Griego was the winning pitcher, going the distance for Hillsboro. He pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks and two hit batters. Griego struck out five.
"Tyler was in complete control the whole game," Garman said. "His pitching set the tone for the second game."
Hillsboro will play again on Sunday as they will host Springfield in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.