Hillcrest had already won four in a row dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs), and they went ahead and made it five on Monday. They had just enough and edged Tournament Team out 5-3. That's two games straight that Hillcrest has won by exactly two runs.
Brayden Nickels was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Nickels was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with a triple and a run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Thomas Smith, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Hillcrest's victory bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Tournament Team, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.
Hillcrest will have a chance to go back-to-back against Tournament Team: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
