HILLSBORO: Baseball team sweeps Canton-Galva
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
With a huge lead, it's as easy as pie for a team to have a drop in its intensity level.
The bad news for the Trojans is they played their final game they could afford a letdown April 11 in Hillsboro against the Canton-Galva Eagles.
The biggest ruckus the overmatched Eagles caused was taking a 2-0 lead in Friday's opening first inning off a sacrifice fly with the aid of a Trojan error.
A 14-run eruption in the bottom of the third inning broke open a 3-2 game and Hillsboro run-ruled the Eagles after five, 20-2.
The first inning was all it took for the Trojans to run-rule Canton again in the nightcap, rallying for six runs to eventually roll 14-3.
With the sweep, Hillsboro improves to 4-0 on the season with defending Class 4A state champion Nickerson visiting Tuesday.
Opening the season April 4 against Marion, Trojan coach Phil Oelke expected struggling defensively while his team put on a hitting display in it first game.
Oelke was a week behind.
"Last week the outcome was the opposite of what I thought," he said. "This week was more true to form. We obviously didn't play very good defense, and to be honest, we didn't even hit the ball real well.
"Other than the basic hitting and fundamental defense, we're still not communicating well. We've got to get the finer points ironed out."
Hammering a combined eight round trippers in both games along with outscoring their opponent 34-5, it might be scary to see the outcome if the Trojans do put on a hitting display.
The first of eight came in the bottom of the second inning with the Eagles in front 2-1 against Steve Chisholm, after Shawn Hughbanks' RBI to close out the first.
Kris Jones started what would be a long two innings for Eagle pitcher Chris Anderson, taking an 0-1 pitch deep for a two-run shot.
James Bina sent another two-run blast over the fence in the bottom of the third to start the 14-run outburst.
Normally doing his damage on the pitcher's mound, Jerod Metcalf ripped a one-out solo home run to stretch the Trojans' lead to 6-2.
Racking up a game-high five RBIs in the opener's third inning, Graham Ratzlaff drove in a pair of runs with a double.
With run scoring singles from Andy Brubacher, Hughbanks and Metcalf, Hillsboro's lead swelled to 13-2.
Finishing two for three, Ratzlaff had more destruction to inflict on Canton, popping a two-out three-run home run to cap off the Trojans' nine-hit 14-run third.
Luckily for the Trojans, a 17-2 bulge was enough that the two errors in the top of the fourth only managed to get Oelke bothered.
The reserves even got in on the blowout with Tyler Goldsby singling in the 19th run and Brandon Moss getting beaned for the final run.
Chisholm fired a three-hitter for his first win of the season.
Thin on pitching, the Eagles had the walls come crashing down in the finale with Dustin Jost leading off the bottom of the first with a solo home run.
Hughbanks tripled to drive in a run, Bina singled and Ratzlaff scored two with a two-sacker.
Ben Walker grounded out for the Trojans' sixth run off a six-hit first inning with Hughbanks on the mound.
Bina added his name to the list of home run hitters, taking a solo shot over Memorial Drive to push Hillsboro's lead to 7-0 in the second.
Ratzlaff duplicated his five RBI performance in the finale with another three-run blast as part of Hillsboro's four-run second.
Brubacher and Bina singled to push the lead to 12-0 before the Trojans' defense dropped its intensity level with Hughbanks surrendering a run.
Jost saw to it the Eagles would need four runs to prolong the game after five innings, taking the first pitch deep for two runs.
The Eagles' two-run double came too little, too late in the fifth inning with the Trojans easily winning 14-3.
Hughbanks threw a six hitter while fanning five Eagles and walking one.
"Our pitchers threw real well tonight," said Oelke. "Chisholm struggled with the strike zone a little bit early then fell into form.
"Brubacher came in and finished things up and Hughbanks looked really good tonight. I thought he threw better than expected."
