Hillsboro defeats Sterling

The Hillsboro High School softball team punched their ticket to the state tournament Tuesday with a 9-6 win over Sterling Tuesday in Hillsboro.

The Trojans started fast with two runs in the first inning. Taylor Nikkel hit a triple into the left center field gap and Tena Loewen drove in the Trojan lead-off hitter with a single. Loewen scored from third when Sammy Koons was thrown out at second on a steal attempt.

“We play better if we can get that little bit of a cushion,” coach Stephanie Sinclair said.

Nikkel, Loewen, and Stephanie Sanders accounted for six of Hillsboro’s nine runs. The trio of hitters set the table well for the Trojan attack at the top of the order, going 9-10 from the plate with five RBIs.

Courtney Weber got the win for the Trojans with a seven-inning, three-hit, and six-strikeout effort. Weber also stayed strong through the third inning of the game when Sterling scored two unearned runs and Hillsboro made four errors; she ended the inning with a strikeout. Weber also overcame the sixth inning when the Black Bears scored two runs on three Hillsboro errors.

“She just hung in there great,” Loewen said of Weber, “even when some of the calls didn’t go her way.”

The Trojans are set to play Friday in Manhattan in the first round of the state tournament.