Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs defeat Hillsboro on Opening Day

HILLSBORO —  The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs gained a non-conference victory to begin the 2026 season Saturday afternoon by defeating the Hillsboro Lady Indians, 3-1 at Hillsboro High School on Opening Day. 

The new-look Lady Indians have just two full-time starters returning from last season’s Division IV State Runner-up team, but they and the Lady Mustangs had a scoreless battle for the first three-and-a-half innings. The bottom of the fourth was where the offense turned into runs, starting with Hillsboro taking a 1-0 lead.

Hillsboro's lone run crossing the plate began with sophomore Rilynn Swisshelm drawing a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning. From there, two outs were recorded on a line drive to second base and a groundout back to the pitcher. 

In a two-out situation, HHS freshman Peyton Spurlock hit a line drive single to centerfield, just into the outfield, to score Swisshelm from second base for the 1-0 lead, as Spurlock and Swisshelm were the first two base runners of the game for the Lady Indians. 

Lynchburg-Clay answered with one run scored in each of the final three innings, starting by tying the score in the top of the fifth as Sadie Kuipers doubled to left field and reached third on an error in the same sequence. Next was a double hit by Kendra Doss to left field, scoring Kuipers for the 1-1 score. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the defense for the Lady Mustangs stood out with a catch by LC first baseman Aubrey Roberts, diving for the ball from first base to make the catch for the final out of the inning. 

The top of the sixth saw LCHS take a 2-1 lead with Jazmine Brown leading off with a bunt single. Next, she went to second on a groundout back to the pitcher, and then Brown rounded the bases for a run following an RBI single off the bat of Michael. 

Lynchburg-Clay’s top of the seventh inning began with a double by Kuipers, hitting the ball to left-centerfield, and after an out, Baylee McClain bunted, moving Kuipers to third base and McClain went to second on an error. 

With Kuipers at third, Barry grounded out to second base for an RBI as Kuipers scored a run for the final 3-1 lead. 

“I’m very happy with how we have started the season,” LCHS head coach Brad Griffith said. “In four years here, this is the first time we’ve been able to beat Hillsboro, so we are very happy about that. We have a tough defense. They do their job very well, and the hits Hillsboro got were just hits we couldn’t get to. When the ball was hit to us, we took care of business, and I’m happy about that.”

Hillsboro made the game interesting in the bottom of the seventh as Addley Miller singled to centerfield to lead off the inning, followed by a line drive base hit by Spurlock to right field, moving Miller to third base. 

Next, an out was recorded for the first out of the bottom half of the inning, and then came the game-ending play as HHS hit into a double play, with Roberts leaping into the air and making an off-balanced catch for the out, and then out three was called on the runner advancing to second to complete the double play and the game. 

“The double play to end the game was phenomenal,” Griffith said. “My corners today (Roberts and Barry) were moving constantly, and we can’t ask much more out of them. We put them in harm's way when we ask them to cover bunt, and they get the job done. Aubrey had the diving catch by the plate? and to turn around and grab that hit at the end, you can’t ask for more than that.”

Hillsboro totaled three hits in the game with one error, while LCHS had eight hits and no errors. 

Spurlock in her varsity debut led HHS with a 2-for-3 game at the plate with one RBI. Miller was 1-for-3. Swisshelm drew a walk for the Lady Indians. 

Spurlock had the loss in the circle with a strong effort in her first varsity game, pitching all seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts. She threw 115 pitches, 72 for strikes. 

Noel Barnhill — an All-Ohio selection last season — was the winning pitcher, as she also pitched a complete game in seven innings. She allowed one run (earned) on three hits and one walk with 14 strikeouts. Barnhill threw 85 pitches, 64 for strikes. 

“Noel is looking a little stronger than she was last year. She’s focused, wants it and pitched well,” Griffith said. 

Kuipers finished 2-for-3 for the Lady Mustangs with two runs, and teammate Doss was also 2-for-3 with one RBI and a steal. Brown finished 1-for-4 with a run and a steal, while Michael was 1-for-3 with an RBI. LCHS also had Barnhill end the game at 1-for-3, and McClain was 1-for-1. 

“Our hitters started a little slow, but we finally got around and got the bat on the ball, put the ball where they weren’t and finally got baserunners on,” Griffith said. “We have a tough schedule this year, we really do. We have some big schools coming up, but I think we can compete and we’ll hold our own this year. I have five seniors who want to play ball. This is their last year, and they are pushing hard, and I think we’ll be all right this year.”

BOX SCORE        
LCHS    000 011 1 — 3 8 0 
HHS      000 100 0 — 1 3 1