The Hillsboro Hawks were busy this week with four games on the docket, and wouldn’t you know it, they won all four. The four-game win streak avenged last Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Patriots and upped their record to 7-2.
The rejuvenated Hawks travelled to Fredericktown and blasted the Blackcats 13-6 on Monday before coming home to dispatch Northwest 6-5 on Tuesday, and then walk it off on Thursday with a nine-inning 5-4 thriller over DeSoto. The cherry on top was Friday’s game in DeSoto where they handed the Dragons yet another loss in a 15-13 slugfest.
The Fredericktown game was eventually a blowout, but it was pretty deadlocked through the fifth inning. The Hawks jumped out early with a pair of runs in the first, but the Blackcats answered back with one of their own in the bottom half. They then went up 4-2 with a three-spot in the second inning. Hillsboro got one back in the third and then added three more in the fourth, and with Fredericktown plating one in the fifth it was all tied up at six apiece.
Then the sixth inning happened. The Hawks exploded for seven runs, and they were manufactured the old fashioned way, by taking their lumps. Hillsboro used a pair of singles, three walks and five HBP to plate those runs. So the Blackcat hurlers were either incredibly wild, or the Hawks were doing their best Roger Dorn impression. Either way it worked.
They held on for the 13-6 victory. Jaxin Patterson paced the offense with a 3-hit day that included an RBI and a pair of singles. Gunner Sutton went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and Cohen Linderer drove in two while scoring three times.
Dominic Sutton got the win with three innings of relief work. He allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out four.
The game against Northwest was a wild one early on. The Lions erupted for five runs in the top of the first, but Hillsboro didn’t panic. They got one back in the bottom of the inning and then tied it up with a big four-spot in the second.
The Hawks then broke the tie in the fourth after singles by D. Sutton and Paterson got a man in scoring position. An RBI groundout by Gavin Hite brought Sutton home and the Hawks had their first lead of the game.
It was all zeros after that as Keynen Drury combined with a pair of relievers to close it out. Drury got the win with five innings of three-hit ball while fanning five. All five of his runs allowed came in the first inning and they were all unearned. Dane Dickemann was perfect in relief and got a four-out save.
Linderer was the offensive star as the only player with multiple hits and multiple RBI. He went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, drove in two, scored twice and stole three bases.
Next up was the first game of a home-and-home series with the DeSoto Dragons. This one went down to the wire and then some. It was a back and forth affair throughout with Hillsboro taking a 2-0 lead in the second and DeSoto answering right back with two of their own in the third.
The Hawks went down 3-2 in the seventh, but still had a chance to answer. They managed four singles in the inning but could only scratch out one run, coming on a bunt single by Jaxon Day. Still, it was enough to tie the game and send it to extras.
The Dragons struck first in the extended innings with a run in the top of the ninth, but Hillsboro wasn’t done yet. In the bottom of the ninth they led off with back-to-back singles and then used an intentional walk to load the bases. It looked like the rally might fall apart with a ground ball that led to an out at home, but the Hawks kept slashing. Drury smoked a ball to short for an infield hit that scored a run and tied the game while keeping the bases loaded.
Then another runner was thrown out at home, this time on a suicide squeeze bunt, but Hillsboro still had one more chance. Linderer came up and took three straight balls. Then took two consecutive strikes. He held off on the next pitch though and the Dragons had just walked in the winning run. The Hawks mobbed the field as teams are won’t to do after a walk-off winner, and the streak was at three in row.
Hite got the start and fired six strong innings of two-run ball, while D. Sutton picked up the win with two innings of relief, allowing one run and fanning three. Drury had three hits and drove in three, while Zach Reynolds went 2-for-4 in the contest. The Hawks totaled 11 hits, all singles.
The final game of the week was round two against DeSoto, and it was bananas. The Dragons jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but the Hawks used a six-run third to take over 8-7. Both teams then scored a pair in the fourth, and the Hawks took over after that.
They added a run in the fifth to extend their lead before plating four more in the seventh to go up 15-11. DeSoto tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the inning, but they fell short with only half of the runs they needed to tie it. Hillsboro held on to win 15-13 and push the streak to four straight.
Drury had another big game with two hits and three RBI in four trips, and Linderer kept up his strong play with a 2-for-4 effort. D. Sutton drove in two and scored three times, while G. Sutton had two hits and plated three. Aidan Roland got the win in relief despite allowing four runs over 4.2 innings. He did fan six though.
The Hawks are soaring right now and should be in a prime position to keep churning out victories. They will host North County next Tuesday to try and extend their streak.
