 |
|
Hillsboro?s Nicholas Mueller (center) runs in the 3,200- meter race Tuesday (April 7) at Halstead, and places fourth with a time of 12:28. Mueller also ran one leg of a winning 4×800 boys relay. |
Hillsboro?s young Trojans started their season with a bang, sweeping a pair of games at Sterling in explosive fashion last Tuesday.
The Trojans, with six freshmen in the starting lineup, won the first game 15-2 and the second game 17-5. By the end of the day, Hillsboro had accumulated 29 hits, which may be a record for the program, according to coach Stephanie Sinclair.
?We played well for a first game with a young team, especially batting,? Sinclair said.
Game 1 started with a defensive tone. But with the Trojans nursing a 2-1 lead through three innings, the bats began to kick in. Hillsboro scored twice in the third and then three times in the fourth when Taylor Nikkel stroked an inside-the-park home run with two runners aboard.
An eight-run explosion in the top of the seventh cemented the victory, as HHS combined four hits with four Sterling errors. Sammy Koons and Steph Sanders each contributed triples to the assault and Franny Gottsch added a double.
Sanders and Koons combined for three triples. With Nikkel?s homer and Gottsch?s double, five of Hillsboro?s 12 hits went for extra bases.
Freshman Courtney Weber (1-0) allowed only one earned run while scattering eight hits in her varsity pitching debut. She recorded eight strikeouts and only two walks.
?Courtney pitched out of some tight situations,? Sinclair said.
In Game 2, Hillsboro blew the game open in the middle innings, scoring six times in the third and seven times in the fourth. The game ended by run rule after five innings.
Gottsch (1-0) went the distance for Hillsboro, using her off-speed pitches to keep the Black Bears off balance until the bottom of the fifth, when Sterling scored four of its five runs. Gottsch, who scattered six hits, struck out five but also walked six.
Leading Hillsboro?s 17-hit attack were Bri Loewen with a pair of doubles and Sanders and Krista Reimer with one double.
Coming?Hillsboro?s doubleheader at Wichita Collegiate last Thursday was halted in the first inning of Game 1 because of weather. It has been rescheduled for 4 p.m. this Thursday.
The Trojans were scheduled to play host to Hoisington for a doubleheader Tuesday, then will welcome Smoky Valley to the Sports Complex for two games Friday beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Hillsboro then travels to Hesston Tuesday, April 21, for a pair of 4:30 p.m. games.
