Herzet?s homer sparks Trojans past Marion

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN STAFF
Angela Herzet?s three-run homer in the top of the seventh broke open

an air-tight game and gave Hillsboro an 8-3 road victory over Marion

in the first game of a doubleheader Friday.



The Trojans won the second game 21-1 in a game that was decided early.

The sweep raised Hillsboro?s record to 12-2.



In the opener, Josie Loewen and then Holly Lindsay of Hillsboro

battled Megan Moore of Marion through six innings to a 3-3 tie.



Sara Janzen led off the fateful seventh with a walk. After Dionne Jost

struck out, Robyn Penner was safe on an error by Moore, scoring

Janzen.



After Penner scored, Herzet?s inside-the-park homer also drove in Jill

Hein and Loewen, who had both walked.



Loewen went five innings on the mound for Hillsboro, giving three runs

on eight hits and four walks. Lindsay came on in relief and shut out

the Warriors on two hits to earn the win.



?This was one of the more competitive games we?ve played this year,?

said HHS coach Carolyn Long. ?Defensively, both teams played the field

well and hit the ball.?



Lindsay took the mound again in game two and throttled Marion on three

hits through five innings to raise her record to 6-2.



This game was decided in the first inning, when Hillsboro led off with

an 11-run eruption that was fueled by four walks and four hit batters.



Lindsay, Herzet and Hein had the only hits in the inning, driving in

five runs between them.



As if they needed them, Hillsboro added seven more runs in the second

to take an 18-1 lead. This time they took advantage of more five walks

and only one hit. Marion pitchers issued 15 walks and hit four batters

during the game.



?Game 2 left a little to be desired as spectator,? Long said.

?Defensively, we turned in a solid performance with three errors on

the day.?



Abilene?First inning jitters resulted in five Trojan errors and hole

they couldn?t quite dig themselves out of as Abilene ended

Hillsboro?s nine-game winning streak, 6-3, at the Sports Complex

Tuesday.



The mistakes resulted in only two runs for the Cowboys, but it a set a

tone for the game.



?That?s what killed us,? coach Carolyn Long said about the shaky

start. ?It doesn?t matter who you?re playing. When you make eight

errors (for the game) it?s hard to get a W.?



Hillsboro got on the board with a run in the third?thanks to an

Abilene error. Robyn Penner opened the inning with a single, then

eventually scored when the Abilene shortstop mishandled a ground ball

from Sara Janzen.



Abilene took a 3-1 lead in the fifth?aided again by a Trojan error.

But the Cowboys didn?t break the Trojans? back until a controversial

play led to a three-run seventh.



Abilene led off with three singles, ending pitcher Holly Lindsay?s

string of hitless innings at 16 and one-third.



Two outs later, the Abilene batter laid down a bunt, which stayed

fair because the discarded bat kept it from rolling foul. The Trojans,

thinking the ball was dead, didn?t field the bunt until it was too

late.



But the umpire had ruled the bat was in the way unintentionally and so

became part of the field of play.



One more Trojan error with the next batter left Hillsboro facing a 6-1

deficit heading into the final inning.



Hillsboro made one last comeback. Penner led off with her third single

of the game, followed in suit by Melissa Deckert and Emily Donahue.



Penner scored when Janzen hit into a fielder?s choice. Deckert scored

on Dionne Jost?s ground ball. But Josie Loewen struck out to end the

rally.



?Beating Abilene was one of our team goals this year because we?ve

never beaten them before,? said coach Carolyn Long. ?But I think we

were a little intimidated by them.?



Hesston?The Trojans tuned up for the Abilene game with a 10-0 win over

Hesston earlier in the afternoon.



Josie Loewen, after struggling last week from the mound, was back in

form, scattering five hits and striking out six for the shutout.



Leading only 3-0 after three and a half innings, the Trojans broke the

game open in the fourth with a five-run burst.



Amber Hefley reached on error to start the inning. Robyn Penner

followed with a single and Melissa Deckert was safe on another error,

scoring Hefley. Emily Donahue, Sara Janzen and Josie Loewen stroked

RBI singles to complete the scoring.



Long said her team was a little sluggish against the Swathers, who are

in the first year of their softball program. But her team accomplished

some good things defensively.



?We made a couple of double plays during the game,? she said. ?Even if

you?re playing a first-year program, that?s not easy to do.?



The girls, who hosted Wichita Collegiate yesterday, will close their

regular season next Tuesday with a doubl

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