Hillsdale uses tournament opener as opportunity to continue developing
The Falcons scored at will in their tournament opener adding yet another sectional championship to the program's rich history.
JEROMESVILLE - Wednesday's tournament opener provided a bit of a reprieve from the Wayne County Athletic League gauntlet for Hillsdale. Coming off a one-run loss to Dalton the night before — one that dashed Hillsdale's hopes at sharing a conference title in the final game of the regular season — the Division VI sectional championship against No. 31 Medina Christian Academy gave the Falcons an opportunity to fine-tune aspects of their game in a live situation.
They won comfortably 19-0 over the Knights and ended each inning by stepping off the base early. MORE DIVISION VI ACTION: Wynford's bats come alive in sectional shellacking of Buckeye Central "Last night I thought the girls played a pretty good game," Hillsdale coach Nicole Smith said. "Dalton's pitcher ...
she's good, strong pitcher (and) she knew where to throw us. "We knew this game was going to be a little more relaxed, so we were working on getting good leadoffs, being disciplined at the plate, and working on some defensive strategies. My pitchers were working on throwing some different pitches depending on the count and working on sequencing so we could get ourselves warmed up for the next couple weeks.
" Even throwing new pitches, Macy Mager was unhittable for three innings in the circle striking out nine batters on 33 pitches before Emma Linder tossed the final two innings fanning five on 30 pitches. "It helped us work on our defense a bit, mostly pitchers and catchers," Smith said. "We have three talented pitchers on varsity right now, so it's nice we can work on something like if we have an 0-2 count, we'll work on a different pitch ...