Daniel Jost brings the heat out of the bullpen. Jost threw six innings in relief, and allowed only one run in a 7-6 extra-innings win on Friday. Don Ratzlaff / Free Press. Click image to enlarge.
Hillsboro High claimed a pair of dramatic one-run wins over Lyons Friday at Memorial Field.
The Trojans (6-6) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with a 5-4 victory in Game 1, then scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-6 decision in Game 2.
In the opener, Trojan ace Travis Riesen was cruising along with a 2-0 lead on three innings of no-hit baseball when the Lions erupted for three runs in the top of the fourth. The visitors reached Riesen for four hits, including a triple, to take a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Trojans regained the lead with a pair of runs. Aaron Stepanek led off with a double and Daniel Jost walked. Stepanek scored on a single by Alex Nuss. Nuss was thrown out at second but Isaac Leihy delivered a two-out single later in the inning to score Jost with the go-ahead run.
Lyons tied the score in the top of the seventh on a hit batter, a sacrifice, a walk and a base hit.
Lucas Hamm led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. After Nuss sacrificed him to second, Hamm advanced to third on a passed ball, then scored the game-ending run on a base hit by Riesen.
On the mound, Riesen (2-0) went the distance for Hillsboro, striking out five Lions while giving up seven hits and two walks.
Stepanek, batting lead off, had two hits in three at-bats and scored three runs for the Trojans. Nuss went 3-for-3 at the plate and Riesen 2-for-2 with a pair of runs batted in.
Game 2 had the makings of a run-fest in the early going as Lyons scored three times in the opening inning and twice in the next inning against Stepanek.
Hillsboro responded with three runs in the first and another run in the second to trail 5-4.
Jost proved to be the stopper for Hillsboro. The sophomore relieved Stepanek with two outs in the second inning, then pitched six innings of two-hit, one-run baseball for the Trojans.
After Hillsboro tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the third, Lyons scored its last run in the sixth when Jost surrendered a lead-off walk followed by a run-scoring double by Brennan Clark.
Trailing 6-5 with last at-bats in the bottom of the seventh, Hillsboro rallied to tie the score. Nuss and Riesen walked to start the inning. After a sacrifice by Troy Frick, a ground out by Isaac Leihy brought home Chris Couts, who was pinch-running for Nuss.
In the bottom of the eighth, Hillsboro started the game-wining rally with walks to Dustin Strunk and Stepanek. Jost then reached on an error to load the bases.
A ground ball by Hamm forced Strunk at the plate. But pitcher Clark uncorked a wild pitch, enabling Stepanek to score the winning run.
Jost (2-0) earned the victory with 61⁄3 quality innings of relief work. The right-hander walked three hitters but struck out seven.
In three at-bats, Riesen accounted for two of Hillsboro’s seven hits and drove in a run to spark the offense.
Wichita Collegiate—Hillsboro dropped a pair of makeup games at Wichita on Monday, April 23, 12-8 and 7-4.
In Game 1, Collegiate won the game with a grand-slam home run in the bottom of the seventh against pitcher Jacob Fish.
In Game 2, Hillsboro led as late as 4-2 after 41⁄2 innings, but the home team scored three times in the bottom of the fifth and twice more in the bottom of the sixth to take control.
Troy Frick absorbed the loss for the Trojans; battery mate Travis Riesen contributed a home run to the cause.
Coming—Hillsboro was scheduled to play a makeup doubleheader with Marion on Monday at Memorial Field.The two teams will tangle again in Thursday, this time in Marion. Games begin at 4:30 p.m.
Next Tuesday, the Trojans are scheduled to play Haven at Memorial Field. The doubleheader is set to begin at 4:30 p.m.
