In that debut, the Trojans won Game 1, 14-4, by run rule in five innings. Consecutive singles in the first inning by Jacob Fish, Daniel Jost, Isaac Leihy and Ben Bebermeyer got the Trojans off to a 3-1 lead.
The Vikings tied the game in the top of the second against starter Jacob Edwards, but Hillsboro went up by one run in the third before breaking the game open with four runs in the fourth and six in the fifth.
Fish and Jost each finished with three hits to lead Hills?boro?s 13-hit assault. Fish drove in four runs.
Edwards (1-1), who had four pitched innings Tuesday, had reached his pitch limit by the end of five innings. He allowed only four hits and posted four strikeouts.
?That worked out really well,? coach Phil Oelke said of the run-rule. ?We were running out of arms coming in (to Friday?s games).?
In fact, Oelke asked first baseman Fish to start on the mound in Game 2. To Oelke?s pleasant surprise, the junior came through brilliantly, allowing one run through 42⁄3 innings, taking Hillsboro to a 2-1 lead.
?He?s a thrower, not a pitcher, but he came out and threw some great baseball,? Oelke said.
Bebermeyer came in from third base to secure the final out in the fifth, but when he gave up back-to-back doubles and the tying run to start the sixth, Oelke called in Jost from his shortstop position to put out the fire.
The senior saw the go-ahead run score on a fielder?s choice, but then struck out the next two hitters before retiring the side on a flyball to right. He finished the game in the seventh with a perfect one-two-three inning.
?He was ready to take the ball, and that?s the kind of mentality we?ve been lacking up until now?some guys who want to step up and make things happen,? Oelke said of Jost?s performance.
On the offense side, Aaron Bina contributed two hits to Hillsboro?s six-hit total.
?We hit the ball well in Game 1, but in Game 2 we struggled a little bit,? Oelke said. ?We?ve been hitting the ball really in every game.
?We played much better defensively and the pitching was solid.?
Marion?Hillsboro and Marion combined Thursday for 45 runs in two games, but the Trojans scored the majority of them in a 13-5, 20-7 sweep of the Warriors at Marion in a second attempt to make up an April 9 postponement.
In Game 1, the Trojans jumped to a 7-0 lead through two innings as Hillsboro roughed up starter Matt Sprowls for six hits, including first-inning back-to-back doubles by Daniel Jost and Isaac Leihy followed by a triple from Tyler Ediger.
After Marion scored in the third on a double by Wil Case and a single by Brian Fruech?ting, Hillsboro pushed the lead to 10-1 with three more runs in the top of the fifth.
Jost had four hits in the game, including the Trojans? first home run of the year, and Ben Bebermeyer chipped in three hits and drove in three runs to pace Hillsboro?s 13-hit attack.
Case and Fruechting each collected two hits among the six allowed by starter Leihy (1-1), who surrendered three runs over four innings. Sprowls, who threw all but the final out for Marion, absorbed the loss.
In Game 2, both teams started with bats blazing. Hillsboro led 7-6 after two innings. At that point freshman starter Luke Moore (1-0) settled down and shut out the Warriors in the final two innings of his four-inning stint.
Hillsboro, meanwhile, scored a least one run in every inning of the game, first against Fruechting and then against Marshall Ragland. A six-run burst in the top of the sixth ended the game by run-rule after Marion batted in the home half of the inning.
Jacob Fish finished with a team-high three hits, including a double, among the 14 hits Hills?boro generated.
Fruechting?s three-run home run in the first inning highlighted Marion?s 10-hit attack. He was the losing pitcher, allowing nine runs through 22⁄3 innings.
Hoisington?Hillsboro overcame eight fielding errors to claim a 13-10 win in Game 1 of its doubleheader at Hoisington last Tuesday, but five errors in the nightcap proved costly in an 11-7 defeat.
The games originally were scheduled to be played at Hills?boro, but wet grounds prompted the change of venue.
The Trojans turned out to be generous guests. Of the 21 runs Hoisington scored for the day, only four were credited as earned runs against the four Trojan pitchers employed by coach Phil Oelke.
Hillsboro out-hit the Cardi?nals in the two games, 25 to 14.
In Game 1, the Trojans turned a 2-1 deficit into a 9-2 lead with an eight-run third inning. Jacob Fish, Isaac Leihy, Ben Bebermeyer, Devin Funk, Dylan Delk and Daniel Jost all contributed hits to the uprising.
Bebermeyer, Funk and Jost were each credited with two runs batted in.
Hoisington chipped away at the lead until it had dwindled to 10-8 through the sixth. The Trojans added some insurance with a three-run seventh inning; Jacob Edwards and Fish contributing RBI hits.
Two walks and a pair of errors after two were out in the bottom of the inning resulted in two Cardinal runs before Jost shut the door with a game-ending strikeout.
Edwards (1-1) was awarded the win, throwing four full innings. Of the seven runs charged to him, only one was earned. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out five.
Jost?s stint as a relief pitcher was a three-for-all: three hits, three walks, three strikeouts and three runs allowed in three innings of work. None of the runs were earned.
In Game 2, Hillsboro grabbed a 7-4 lead with a four-run third inning. Jost and Chris Schafer each contributed a triple to the rally.
But Hoisington came right back with five runs in their next at-bat to chase Delk, the Trojan starter, from the mound after 22⁄3 innings and a 9-7 Cardinal lead.
The second half of the game turned into a pitching duel. Hillsboro?s Isaac Leihy limited the Cardinals to two runs on three hits. But the Trojans were stymied by the Cardinal combination of Higgins, Smith and Axman.
Delk (0-1) absorbed the loss even though only one of the nine runs he allowed was earned. The sophomore allowed four hits, walked four and struck out two.
?We did not play well at all?13 defensive errors,? Oelke said. ?Our pitching was OK, but we threw the ball around and did about everything we could to lose both games. We were fortunate to get out of there with a split.?
Coming?With no games scheduled for Tuesday, the Trojans can rest their arms in preparation for a double header at home against Lyons at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The following Tuesday, Nickerson comes to town for a pair.
