Timely hitting sends Post 129 over Colts
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Post 129 baseball club had not only good timely hitting, but had excellent defense and their pitching was pretty good too, as they defeated the visiting Chillicothe Post 757 Colts, 6-3 Wednesday at Richard Shaffer Park.
The victory was a summer South Central Ohio League win, putting the American Legion Post 129 club at 4-2 in the league standings, as all four of the Post 129 wins this season have been within their conference.
Overall this season, Post 129 stands at 4-12.
"We are playing much better baseball, and that rolled over to (Wednesday)," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We didn't make the mistakes we've made in the past, hit the ball when we needed to and got those timely hits."
For Post 129, the hit that put the game away for good came off the bat of No. 9 hitter Ty Crum. Crum hit a two-run double past the infield to put Hillsboro ahead 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs, as Nick Bush and Taylor Greene crossed home plate.
Crum finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
The game was tied at 1-1 following the completion of the first inning with Hillsboro tying the score at 1-1 off a bloop single to centerfield by Joey Wilson, scoring Blake Hildebrant, who walked with one out.
Chillicothe took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth, but Hillsboro rallied back with a three-run bottom half of the fourth as Zach Cox, Isaiah Liggins and Greene all crossed home plate.
Crum helped tie the game with an infield single that took a high hop on the shortstop to score Cox. Wyatt Crothers followed, with the bases loaded, by knocking in Liggins and Greene with a single past the third baseman and to the outfield, putting Hillsboro ahead 4-2.
One negative for Hillsboro was they left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Tyler Williams and Tyler Muncy walked and Ryan Inman was hit by a pitch, all with one out.
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But on the plus side again, Hillsboro is figuring out where they want their players, as they have a lot of different athletes to choose from.
"We have a lot of middle infielders, so we are working them out on the corners to see what they can do," Morgan said. "We are trying to get them all in the lineup at some point, and everyone will get their opportunity to prove themselves."
The winning pitcher for Hillsboro was Cox, who pitched 2.1 innings of relief. This was his first career win for Post 129. Wilson came in the seventh inning and struck out three straight batters for the save.
Cox allowed one run (unearned) on two hits and two walks. He struck out one.
Starting the game for Hillsboro was Scottie Mullis, who pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, three walks and three hit batters. Mullis also struck out five, including the side in the top of the second inning.
"Our pitchers did well, and Joe came in and closed the door for us," Morgan said. "Everything is finally coming together. We have kids pitching well, getting the key at-bats and doing their job."
Hillsboro will play again on Friday, June 20 in their annual Wooden Bat Tournament. This year, the tournament will consist of six teams, with Hillsboro playing at noon on Friday and at 9 a.m. (against Washington C.H. Post 25) and 11:30 a.m. (Troy) on Saturday. On Sunday, they are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. against Findlay.
"We have Waverly on Friday and they are one of the strongest teams, maybe the strongest team in the tournament," Morgan said.
The victory was a summer South Central Ohio League win, putting the American Legion Post 129 club at 4-2 in the league standings, as all four of the Post 129 wins this season have been within their conference.
Overall this season, Post 129 stands at 4-12.
"We are playing much better baseball, and that rolled over to (Wednesday)," Post 129 head coach Scott Morgan said. "We didn't make the mistakes we've made in the past, hit the ball when we needed to and got those timely hits."
For Post 129, the hit that put the game away for good came off the bat of No. 9 hitter Ty Crum. Crum hit a two-run double past the infield to put Hillsboro ahead 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs, as Nick Bush and Taylor Greene crossed home plate.
Crum finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
The game was tied at 1-1 following the completion of the first inning with Hillsboro tying the score at 1-1 off a bloop single to centerfield by Joey Wilson, scoring Blake Hildebrant, who walked with one out.
Chillicothe took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth, but Hillsboro rallied back with a three-run bottom half of the fourth as Zach Cox, Isaiah Liggins and Greene all crossed home plate.
Crum helped tie the game with an infield single that took a high hop on the shortstop to score Cox. Wyatt Crothers followed, with the bases loaded, by knocking in Liggins and Greene with a single past the third baseman and to the outfield, putting Hillsboro ahead 4-2.
One negative for Hillsboro was they left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Tyler Williams and Tyler Muncy walked and Ryan Inman was hit by a pitch, all with one out.
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But on the plus side again, Hillsboro is figuring out where they want their players, as they have a lot of different athletes to choose from.
"We have a lot of middle infielders, so we are working them out on the corners to see what they can do," Morgan said. "We are trying to get them all in the lineup at some point, and everyone will get their opportunity to prove themselves."
The winning pitcher for Hillsboro was Cox, who pitched 2.1 innings of relief. This was his first career win for Post 129. Wilson came in the seventh inning and struck out three straight batters for the save.
Cox allowed one run (unearned) on two hits and two walks. He struck out one.
Starting the game for Hillsboro was Scottie Mullis, who pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, three walks and three hit batters. Mullis also struck out five, including the side in the top of the second inning.
"Our pitchers did well, and Joe came in and closed the door for us," Morgan said. "Everything is finally coming together. We have kids pitching well, getting the key at-bats and doing their job."
Hillsboro will play again on Friday, June 20 in their annual Wooden Bat Tournament. This year, the tournament will consist of six teams, with Hillsboro playing at noon on Friday and at 9 a.m. (against Washington C.H. Post 25) and 11:30 a.m. (Troy) on Saturday. On Sunday, they are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. against Findlay.
"We have Waverly on Friday and they are one of the strongest teams, maybe the strongest team in the tournament," Morgan said.