Hillsboro travels to Fairfield and beats Lions 13-0 in cross-county matchup

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Hillsboro’s boys baseball team made the short trip up U.S. 62 to Leesburg on Monday to take on the Fairfield Lions in a non-league cross county rivalry matchup. The Indians scored nine runs in the top of the fifth inning and Ethan Humphries wrapped up a stellar outing in the bottom of the inning to end it in five innings with the score 13-0.

Despite an early start to the game the Indians appeared fresh and ready to go early from the outset. Payton Bell reached first with a single to get things started for the Indians; Bell went on to steal second and reach third base on a strikeout by first baseman Kelton Anderson. Ethan Watson completed the sequence with an RBI single out of the five hole to score Bell and give Hillsboro a 1-0 lead.

Humphries and the Indians defense, led by Luke Magulac at shortstop and Mason Stanley at third, made short work of the Lion’s lineup over the course of the first three innings, as Ethan carried a no hitter into the fourth inning.

Hillsboro added three runs to their lead in the bottom of the second inning as Jared Thompson, Dylan Boone and Justin Scott scored to make it 4-0 after two.

Fairfield starting pitcher Austin Setty settled down in the third and fourth innings and the Lion defense made the necessary plays to keep the Indians within sight. Griffin Irving was especially stout at first base for Fairfield as he made key plays that ended the second and third innings and another for the second out in Hillsboro’s three-up-three-down fourth inning.

Fairfield head coach Jeremy McGraw told The Times-Gazette after the game, “Austin did a good job on the mound, we just didn’t make plays for him.”

In the bottom of the fourth inning Sam Buddelmeyer broke up Humphries’ no-hit bid with a two out double to right field that was narrowly missed by Haden Haines. The Indians quickly eliminated the next batter with a nice stop and throw by Magulac to end the inning and strand Buddelmeyer.

Hillsboro head coach Matt Garman talked about the pitching performance of Humphries and the performance of his defense overall after the shutout.

“He had a lot of guys making really nice plays for him to keep it going. Unfortunately the flare to right field is what ended it and Haines madea great attempt at a layout dive in right trying to save the no-no. But that is baseball. He knows he is the type of pitcher that throws a lot of strikes but doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts. He is going to have to credit the defense today because they hit the ball and they put it in play hard. We made plays all over the place,” Garman said.

In the top of the fifth inning the Indians offense started rolling as every batter in the lineup reached base and all went on to score but Stanley as he was put out at second base. Magulac scored twice in the inning, first on a single by Haines and then a double by Thompson that capped the scoring by Hillsboro.

The Lions refused to go without a fight and managed to put Tanner Collins into scoring position at second base but a grounder to Stanley at third by Ethan Grooms ended the threat and the game in five innings by a score of 13-0.

Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.

Hillsboro’s Justin Scott races down the first base line as Fairfield first baseman Griffin Irving tries to beat him there and Lions pitcher Austin Setty moves toward the bag in an attempt to cover. In the background Hillsboro coach Matt Garman, baserunner Dylan Boone and Lions third baseman Cody Gragg watch the play from the other side of the diamond.
http://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2018/04/web1_Hillsboro-at-Fairfield-Baseball.jpgHillsboro’s Justin Scott races down the first base line as Fairfield first baseman Griffin Irving tries to beat him there and Lions pitcher Austin Setty moves toward the bag in an attempt to cover. In the background Hillsboro coach Matt Garman, baserunner Dylan Boone and Lions third baseman Cody Gragg watch the play from the other side of the diamond. Ryan Applegate | The Times-Gazette

By Ryan Applegate

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