Hillsboro baseball coach Doug Dick waves junior Braden Vogt toward home plate to complete an inside-the-park home run in the first game of their season-opening doubleheader against Smoky Valley at Memorial Field. The two teams combined to score 76 runs in the twinbill. Hillsboro came back from a three-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 16-15 win in the opener on a game-winning triple by Jorge Hanschu, then came up just short of another last-inning comeback in a 23-22 loss in the nightcap. Dick said the eight pitchers he used in the two games combined for 355 pitches over 14 innings. ?It was a cool night and it seemed to bother the pitchers more than the hitters,? Dick said afterward. ?But for the most part (Smoky Valley) probably did a better job throwing strikes than we did. We issued a lot of walks and hit some batters.? On the bright side, Dick praised his team?s tenacity in the late innings, and was pleased with their overall offensive performance. ?We had way more hits than they did, and we ran the bases extremely well,? he said. ?We had a lot of stolen bases.? Hillsboro was scheduled to compete at Hoisington Tuesday, then will host a tough Lyons team on Friday at Memorial Field. The doubleheader will begin at 4 p.m.
Hillsboro baseball splits with Vikings in doubleheader run-fest
