The Hillsboro Hiltoppers are taking a road trip to challenge the Gillespie Miners at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Hillsboro is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.1 runs per game this season.
Hillsboro lost 9-2 to Greenville on Tuesday. The Hiltoppers haven't had much luck with the Comets recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Hillsboro saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lainey Lessman, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Gillespie waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. Everything went their way against the Tigers as they made off with a 14-2 victory. The Miners might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 matches by six runs or more this season.
Paxton Reid made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, Gillespie got a massive performance out of Laci Schuckenbrock, who went 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those four hits gave Schuckenbrock a new career-high. Ava Parish was another key player, going 4-for-6 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Gillespie always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Greenfield/Northwestern only posted an OBP of .300.
Gillespie's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-5. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Hillsboro, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Hillsboro hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gillespie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Hillsboro might still be hurting after the 9-0 loss they got from Gillespie when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Hiltoppers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
