Junior outfielder Mackenzie Sullivan went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead Hillsboro to an 11–6 victory over visiting Royall Monday night at Fireman’s Park.
The Tigers outhit the Panthers 11–6 in the victory with Sullivan leading the way.
“Kenzie continued to put on a clinic at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 on the night,” said Hillsboro head coach Mike Burch. “I would love to see an official stats for the league. If Kenzie isn’t leading the league in hitting, she has got to be in the top two or three.”
Sullivan is currently batting .491 (26-for-53) with a team-high 22 RBIs. Freshman second baseman Lexi Seeley is right behind her with an average of .435, with 20 hits in 46 at-bats.
Hillsboro (10-7, 7–6 SBC) scored five runs in the bottom of the second and four more in the second to build a commanding 9–2 lead.
“With an 11–2 lead going into the fifth inning, we were able to clear our bench which allowed several girls who don’t get to see much action a chance to get on the field,” said Burch. “There were a few errors, to be expected, but they all had at least one ball hit to them and for the most part they did a good job.”
Lexi Mathis (7–5) picked up her seventh win of the season, allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits and two walks. She struck out eight and walked two.
“Once again Lexi showed that she can be one of the elite pitchers in the conference,” said Burch. “We put together a complete game for once, offensively we hit the ball hard and defensively we didn’t make any mistakes that cost us.
“Lexi struck out five of the first 6 batters she faced, you don’t put a lot of pressure on your defense when all of your pitches are effective.”
Hillsboro will close out the regular season today at home against Bangor. The Tigers will open the WIAA Division 4 playoffs Tuesday at a yet to be determined site.
Hillsboro is in the seven-team regional with SBC foes Bangor, Brookwood, Cashton, New Lisbon, Royall and Wonewoc–Center. The WIAA was scheduled to announce the first-round pairings Thursday morning following Wednesday’s night’s seeding meeting.
Cashton will most likely receive the top seed and a first-round bye. Hillsboro, which finished in the middle of the conference, could be seeded anywhere between four and six.
Ithaca Tournament
The Tigers split a pair of games Saturday at the Ithaca Tournament.
Hillsboro lost a wild 14–13 decision to Richland Center in the semifinals, then bounced back to defeat the host Bulldogs 14–4 in the consolation game.
Freshman Sydney Johnson went 2-for-3 and homered in the win over Ithaca.
Wonewoc-Center 11, Hillsboro 1
Last Thursday, Wonewoc–Center scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to score an 11–1 five-inning victory over the visiting Tigers.
Eight walks and a number of wild pitches led to a number of the Wolves’ (6–5 SBC) runs.
Maddie Benson tossed a one-hit shutout for Wonewoc–Center.
