Hillsboro American Legion Post 129 defeated the Lancaster American Legion Post on Tuesday at Shaffer Park by a score of 3-0. First baseman Kelton Anderson was key for the home team making the right decisions in the field and bringing the juice at the plate as well.
The first four innings of the night were a pitchers duel between Timmy Crone and his counterpart for Lancaster. Through the first four innings both pitchers were pitching to contact and letting their defense take care of business or striking batters out. Crone and his Lancaster counterpart allowed a combined total of eight base-runners through the first four innings of the night as both teams struggled to get the bats going.
The visiting Lancaster team led off the top of the fifth inning with a single from the eight-hole hitter who advanced all the way to third base. The next three batters were retired in order to end the Lancaster threat and leave a runner in scoring position; it also marked the closest that Lancaster came to scoring a run in the seven inning game.
Post 129 was able to muster some energy at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Avery Wilson, the second batter in the inning, drew a walk and stole second base during the ensuing at bat to place a runner in scoring position for Post 129. Austin Setty reached base on an error by the visiting short stop that also allowed Wilson to score on the play.
Crone continued his dominant pitching performance in the top of the sixth inning. Despite allowing a lead-off double Crone was able to regroup and retire the next three batters in order.
The bottom of the sixth inning began with a bang as David Poynter was hit by a pitch to place a runner on first as Caleb West Stepped to the plate. West hit a blooper on the infield grass that was quickly corralled by the visiting short stop but no play was made as the defending second baseman failed to cover second base resulting in a single for West and putting Poynter into scoring position. Anderson was next to the plate wasting little time drilling a pitch to deep left field for an RBI double that scored Poynter. West attempted to score as well but was thrown out at the plate; the move by West provided enough of a distraction for Anderson to advance to third base. Cayse Cameron joined in on the fun with an RBI single of his own which scored Anderson from third and put the game out of reach for the visiting team from Lancaster.
Coach Scott Morgan singled out Crone as a key to the game saying, “Timmy had a great game on the mound for us tonight. He was working down in the zone and getting ahead of the hitters for the most part.” Morgan also indicated that he thinks his team can get things rolling heading into the division tournament next week saying, “We tend to do well in the districts when we win a couple of games in a row at the end of the year. Hopefully we can do that this year.”
Post 129 is scheduled to compete in a double header on Wednesday in Springfield before returning to Shaffer Park on Thursday for a game against Waverly.
Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.
