Lady Indians dominate in FAC win over Miami Trace

EBER — After a cheer of “give me two claps and a Ric Flair,” the Hillsboro Lady Indians were “stylin’ and profilin’” their way to a big-time win on the road against the Miami Trace Panthers Friday night, defeating the hosts 12-0, all while earning their eighth win of the season.

Hillsboro (8-2) dominated every aspect of the game, as whether it be at the plate, in the circle or on defense, the Lady Indians did everything needed to stay in the top spot of the Frontier Athletic Conference.

“We played extremely well,” HHS head coach Gary Breeden said. “We always want to improve every day. There are always things we can work on to be better for the next game.

“The kids came out and were aggressive at the plate, and when we got on base we were extremely aggressive, and the defense behind Cam [Spruell] was really good. Nobody took their eye off the ball, and we played just flawless defense.”

Hillsboro scored three runs in the top of the first, then followed with consecutive four-run innings in the third and fourth, and added a final run in the top of the fifth for their 12-run shutout win. In all, HHS totaled nine hits and committed no errors, while Miami Trace had two hits and committed six errors.

The Lady Indians opened the game with a base hit to centerfield by Halle Reveal, and with an out, Kinsey Gilliland walked on five pitches, as she ended the game 1-for-2 with three runs, one RBI and two walks. Next was a single to left field by Camryn Spruell, scoring Reveal from second base for a one-run lead. Reveal ended the game 1-for-4 with two runs.

That lead increased to two runs when Gilliland stole third, Spruell stole second and Gilliland scored on a groundout to first base by Addie Huff for the RBI and 2-0 score.

Spruell scored for a 3-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Isabelle Brunck. Spruell finished 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI and a walk. Brunck was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Hillsboro’s lead went to five runs when Gilliland and Spruell rounded the bases following an infield error by Miami Trace, as Gilliland initially reached the bases on a different error, and Spruell drew a five-pitch walk in the third inning.

Two more runs crossed home in the fourth with Hannah Burton smashing a home run over the centerfield fence with Huff on the bases — she took first on an error — for the 7-0 advantage. Burton finished 1-for-3 with one run and two RBI, while Huff was 1-for-4 with a run and four RBI.

“Hannah came into practice (Thursday) with the intention of working on her swing and getting to the ball aggressively. She put a charge into that home run to straightaway centerfield. It was a beautiful hit ball, so it goes back to trusting the process,” Breeden said. “She’s one of our seniors and leads by example.”

The top of the fourth saw four more runs for Hillsboro with Reveal scoring on a passed ball, and in the same at-bat Spruell hit a line drive double to centerfield, scoring Gilliland and Eowyn Brown for a 10-run lead. The lead quickly went to 11 runs with a Huff single scoring Spruell.

In the top of the fifth, Hillsboro added one last run as Brown scored on a throwing error, after reached the bases earlier in the inning also on an error by Miami Trace, making it a 12-run lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the final out was recorded with a play at the plate.

“Intensity defensively doesn’t stop, no matter if the score was plus 10 or a one-run ball game,” Breeden said. “Defensive intensity is something we preach and I harp on every day, and it is due to the small things on the defensive side.”

In other final stats for HHS, Brown scored two runs in the win and walked once. Morgan Garman went 1-for-2 in the FAC win, and Chloe Roberts forced a walk. Gilliland (three), Spruell and Brown all collected at least one steal.

In the circle, Spruell was on point, pitching five innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Spruell totaled nine strikeouts, throwing 59 pitches, 45 for strikes, as she faced a total of 18 batters.

“Cam has worked hard,” Breeden said of Spruell. “She works hard in the offseason, she works on what she needs to do physically and mentally, and she reaps the benefits in the circle. The biggest part of this is, as long as she does her job, and we all do the job behind her and at the plate, the success will come.”

The win improves HHS to 8-2 overall. Their doubleheader on Saturday against Adena was canceled. Next for HHS is a home game at Alice Cassner Field on Monday against FAC and Highland County rival, the McClain Lady Tigers at 5 p.m.

“I’m very happy with the progress the girls make every day, and they continue to trust the process and to work to get better to have better results,” Breeden said.

BOX SCORE
HHS    304 41x x - 12 9 0
MTHS    000 00x x - 0 2 6