Hillsboro Post 129 falls in season opener

    Hillsboro Post 129 made things interesting in the late innings Saturday afternoon at Shaffer Park. Though Hillsboro scored six runs late, it was Chillicothe Post 62 who were winners in the season opener, defeating Post 129, 9-6.

    At one point in the game, Hillsboro trailed 8-0.

    But the home team tallied three runs in the fourth and three more in the seventh inning for their six runs.

    After Chillicothe, scored one run in the first, three in the third and four in the fourth, things began to look bleak for Hillsboro, but as quickly as they trailed by eight, they just as fast turned things around by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth.

    With one out in the books, Airic Steagall (Hillsboro) forced a walk, followed by the second out of the inning. Brett Carrington (Eastern Brown) rushed to the bases and was called safe due to an infield error by Post 62. With two runners on base, Brandon Carrington (Eastern Brown) hit a double to the outfield, scoring both runners, cutting the Bats' lead to six runs. Nathaniel Miller (Fairfield) continued to bring in more runs as he smashed a double to the centerfield fence, scoring Brandon Carrington.

    Before the three-run fourth, Post 129 had just one hit, coming from an infield dribbler by Corey Walker (Hillsboro) in the bottom of the third.

    Trailing by five runs in the final half inning, Hillsboro made Chillicothe earn the win by gaining three hits and three runs in the seventh.

    The inning began with Matt Kibler (East Clinton) hitting a single and Cody Shaver (Wilmington) forcing a base on balls. Brandon Arehart (Wilmington) gained a base hit as he knocked the ball past the area of the shortstop.

    With no outs and the bases full, Steagall cleared them all with a hard-hit double to the centerfield fence, plating all three runners. Brett Carrington also reached the bases on an error, allowing Steagall to go from first to third. Both runners were left stranded.

    In the fifth and seventh innings combined, Hillsboro stranded five runners, including the bases loaded in the fifth. Reaching the bases in the fifth were Shaver, Arehart and Zach Uhl (McClain). Shaver was hit by a pitch, Arehart walked and Uhl hit a single to shallow left-centerfield.

    In the top of the fifth, Hillsboro ended the inning with a 5-4-3 double play.

    Chillicothe scored their final run in the top of the seventh.

     In the top of the third, Chillicothe's Justus hit a two-run home run over the left-centerfield fence to make the score 4-0.

    The loss was charged to Troy Cosler (Washington C.H.). He pitched 3 1-3 innings, allowing eight runs and nine hits. He walked three and had one strikeout.

    Tucker Hughes (Miami Trace) pitched 3 2-3 innings of relief for Hillsboro. He allowed one run (one earned) on four hits and one walk. He struck out two.

    The win was credited to Justus. Justus pitched four innings, allowing three runs (three unearned) on three hits and one walk. He finished with six strikeouts, gaining two strikeouts per inning for the first three innings. Justus forced five outs via ground out and had one fly ball out.

    The loss drops Hillsboro to 0-1 on the season.

    Hillsboro Post 129 is scheduled to face Gallipolis on Sunday in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Shaffer Park. Last Thursday, Hillsboro and Portsmouth Post 23 were unable to play due to soggy field conditions.

C62 —   103 400 1 — 9 13 2

H129 — 000 300 3 — 6  7  0