Post 129 winners of 4 straight
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Pitching from Derek Peters and hitting from the rest of the Hillsboro Post 129 baseball club was more than enough Friday night for the home team. Hillsboro scattered runs in various innings to defeated the visiting Chillicothe Post 757 Colts, 12-5.
The win at Shaffer Park gives Post 129 four consecutive victories, as Friday was supposed to be a scheduled doubleheader, but Post 757 forfeited one of the games, as the teams played just one nine-inning game at Shaffer Park. Earlier this week, Hillsboro swept a twin bill with Portsmouth Post 23.
The eight-run win puts Hillsboro at 12-15 overall and 5-3 in the summer South Central Ohio League.
Post 129's big hit of the game came off the bat of Tyler Williams in the fifth inning, sending the baseball over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run home run and a 7-3 lead with two outs at the time.
Hillsboro finished with 16 hits and five walks.
"When we hit like this, not many teams can beat us," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We've just had key hits lately. (Friday) wasn't just one person, but the whole lineup contributing.
"Tyler's home run was big, but when we play like this, as a team, we are hard to beat."
Chillicothe was first to score with a two-run first inning (a two-run home run by Stockhom), then they later scored one run in the fourth and two final runs in the ninth for the five total.
Hillsboro tied the score in the bottom of the third with Austin Merkle (2-for-6, two runs) and Brent Shannon rounding the bases on a one-out double by Corey Walker.
From there, Post 129 tied the score again in the fourth at 4-4 with Williams (3-for-5, two runs), who singled, scoring on a fielder's choice hit into by Shannon.
In the fifth, Walker (2-for-3, three walks, three runs, three RBIs) reached base with a one-out single, followed with a base hit by Tyler Griego, who went 3-for-6 with two runs. Joey Wilson doubled with two outs, plating Walker for a 4-3 advantage. The bases were cleared in the ensuing at-bat when Williams hit his aforementioned home run for a four-run advantage.[[In-content Ad]]
The lead of Post 129 went to seven runs at 10-3 when they added three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth, Merkle led off with an infield single, and one out later, Walker drew a walk. Griego then reached on an error, and with two outs, Wilson also took to the bases on an error. Merkle eventually scored on one of the errors, while Walker took home on a passed ball. Griego scored on the second infield error.
Latrell Haithcock and Walker crossed home plate in the seventh, scoring on base hits by Griego and Jared Halley.
Kyle Carson was 2-for-4 with a walk for Post 129, while Camden Vinup, Halley and Wilson each had one hit.
In between all the scoring was the pitching of Peters, as he continued to pitch well on the mound for Post 129. Peters pitched 8.1 innings to earn the win, with Halley pitching the final 0.2 innings in relief.
Peters finished with nine strikeouts. He pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth, with the first three batters of the inning reaching the bases. With no outs, Peters struck out the next two batters, followed by forcing a ground out to first base.
"Derek pitched a heck of a game," Morgan said. "We didn't have any errors defensively, and like I said before, when we do that, we are hard to beat. Kyle Carson (the Post 129 catcher) also did a nice job around the plate.
"He (Peters) had a tough first inning, but after that, he kept the ball down at their knees and around the plate. He mixed his pitches well. Derek has pitched well for us all year."
Morgan spoke about his team's recent play.
"This is how we want to be playing this time of the season," he said. "We are coming together as a team, and I think we've found the lineup that utilizes our strengths."
Hillsboro has two doubleheaders this weekend, as they will travel to play the Columbus Braves on Saturday and Circleville Post 134 on Sunday, also on the road.
The win at Shaffer Park gives Post 129 four consecutive victories, as Friday was supposed to be a scheduled doubleheader, but Post 757 forfeited one of the games, as the teams played just one nine-inning game at Shaffer Park. Earlier this week, Hillsboro swept a twin bill with Portsmouth Post 23.
The eight-run win puts Hillsboro at 12-15 overall and 5-3 in the summer South Central Ohio League.
Post 129's big hit of the game came off the bat of Tyler Williams in the fifth inning, sending the baseball over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run home run and a 7-3 lead with two outs at the time.
Hillsboro finished with 16 hits and five walks.
"When we hit like this, not many teams can beat us," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We've just had key hits lately. (Friday) wasn't just one person, but the whole lineup contributing.
"Tyler's home run was big, but when we play like this, as a team, we are hard to beat."
Chillicothe was first to score with a two-run first inning (a two-run home run by Stockhom), then they later scored one run in the fourth and two final runs in the ninth for the five total.
Hillsboro tied the score in the bottom of the third with Austin Merkle (2-for-6, two runs) and Brent Shannon rounding the bases on a one-out double by Corey Walker.
From there, Post 129 tied the score again in the fourth at 4-4 with Williams (3-for-5, two runs), who singled, scoring on a fielder's choice hit into by Shannon.
In the fifth, Walker (2-for-3, three walks, three runs, three RBIs) reached base with a one-out single, followed with a base hit by Tyler Griego, who went 3-for-6 with two runs. Joey Wilson doubled with two outs, plating Walker for a 4-3 advantage. The bases were cleared in the ensuing at-bat when Williams hit his aforementioned home run for a four-run advantage.[[In-content Ad]]
The lead of Post 129 went to seven runs at 10-3 when they added three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth, Merkle led off with an infield single, and one out later, Walker drew a walk. Griego then reached on an error, and with two outs, Wilson also took to the bases on an error. Merkle eventually scored on one of the errors, while Walker took home on a passed ball. Griego scored on the second infield error.
Latrell Haithcock and Walker crossed home plate in the seventh, scoring on base hits by Griego and Jared Halley.
Kyle Carson was 2-for-4 with a walk for Post 129, while Camden Vinup, Halley and Wilson each had one hit.
In between all the scoring was the pitching of Peters, as he continued to pitch well on the mound for Post 129. Peters pitched 8.1 innings to earn the win, with Halley pitching the final 0.2 innings in relief.
Peters finished with nine strikeouts. He pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth, with the first three batters of the inning reaching the bases. With no outs, Peters struck out the next two batters, followed by forcing a ground out to first base.
"Derek pitched a heck of a game," Morgan said. "We didn't have any errors defensively, and like I said before, when we do that, we are hard to beat. Kyle Carson (the Post 129 catcher) also did a nice job around the plate.
"He (Peters) had a tough first inning, but after that, he kept the ball down at their knees and around the plate. He mixed his pitches well. Derek has pitched well for us all year."
Morgan spoke about his team's recent play.
"This is how we want to be playing this time of the season," he said. "We are coming together as a team, and I think we've found the lineup that utilizes our strengths."
Hillsboro has two doubleheaders this weekend, as they will travel to play the Columbus Braves on Saturday and Circleville Post 134 on Sunday, also on the road.