With the heart of the season just around the corner, the Hillsboro Varsity Baseball team picked a poor time to start slumping. With only two wins under their belt, the Hawks needed to get at least one win last week to try and get some momentum going. Unfortunately, they got it going the wrong direction and have now lost four in a row, including all three last week.
In the first game of the week, on Monday, April 4th, Hillsboro traveled to St. Louis to take on Parkway South. The Hawks were outpaced by the Patriots who put a run up in each of the first three innings, while Hillsboro only managed to score one in the bottom of the second. For good measure, South racked up three more in the bottom of the fifth to seal the victory, dealing Hillsboro a 6-1 loss.
There weren’t many positives for the offense of the Hawks, who managed only three hits in the game. Kobe Stacy had one hit and the lone RBI, while Keynen Drury and Kyle Turman each had one hit apiece. Turman took the loss on the mound giving up two runs and three hits in two innings.
The second game was against DeSoto on Thursday, April 7th, and was a much more even match-up. The Dragons had a one-run lead through the first three, but Hillsboro finally was able to put up a crooked number, scoring two runs in the fourth. However, DeSoto retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, countering with two runs of their own. That would be enough to get the job done, as the Dragons would hold on to defeat the Hawks 3-2.
Six Hawks got in on the action with hits, including two singles from Jaxon Day. The big hit of the day came from Stacy who singled to drive in the two Hawk runs. Turman again got the loss, going five, allowing three runs, zero earned, and only one hit, but also gave up four base-on-balls.
Unfortunately for Hillsboro, they had to turn right around and face DeSoto again the next day, and this time, the Dragons dominated. DeSoto scored two in the third, fourth, and seventh innings, while only allowing one Hillsboro run the entire game. The Dragons handed the Hawks a 6-1 loss.
The one bright spot for the Hawks came off the stick of Zach Reynolds who drove in the lone run for the team. Gavin Hite took the loss in this one, pitching three innings, giving up three runs, one earned, and walking three. However, he did manage to strike out five.
With the three losses, Hillsboro finds themselves four games below .500 with a 2-6 record. The Hawks need to find a way to manufacture runs, or this will be a very long season. However, it’s still early with a lot of baseball to be played, and Hillsboro has time to turn it around.
