Hillsboro Baseball torched Overton in the second game of a two-game series with their 11th season blowout on Tuesday. Pitching for Hillsboro, Briggs Oliver opened strong and finished strong in a run-ruled 15-5 finish after losing 8-0 the previous night at Overton. Overton Bobcats uncharacteristically suffered through errors and missed opportunities, setting up the Burros to tie the Bobcats for first place in District 11. The high-scoring effort was just what Hillsboro needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.
Briggs Oliver was a major factor to the Burros win contributing hits and pitching strikes. He pitched 4.5 innings giving up only 4 earned runs and one unearned run off four hits. Oliver was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. He was aided by Luke Lawson, Drake McDowell and Liam Kohler.
Lawson scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-3 at the plate. Drake McDowell had four hits, three runs and two stolen bases.
On Overton’s side, Ian Carie was cooking despite his team’s loss, going 1-for-2 with a home run that landed across the street in a neighbor’s yard. He also had 2 RBIs.
The Burros need to continue their winning streak as they finish the regular season against McGavock next week. They will need to win both their home and away game against the Raiders to earn the regular season District 11 championship. If Hillsboro beats McGavock on Monday and Tuesday, they will win the regular season championship because they win the tie – breaker that coaches agreed to at the beginning of the season.
Coach Martin describes the District 11 tie-breaker as: head to head wins v losses; then head to head fewest runs given up which, if Overton and Hillsboro remain tied, the Burros would win as they only gave 13 runs in the series vs the 15 the Bobcats gave up over the Monday and Tuesday games. TSSAA baseball district coaches determine the tie breakers in their pre-season meeting.
HHS has won ten of their last 13 matches, which has provided a nice bump to the team’s confidence and mindset. Head Coach Andrew Martin attributes the the 7-1 district record to senior leadership. Briggs Oliver, who earned the win Tuesday said the difference of this year versus last year was the change in the senior’s attitude. “Many of us on the team have been playing together since we were in middle school. After last year’s struggle to win, we made a commitment to each other, as seniors, that we were going to change the culture of losing to a culture of winning.” Four of the five starters went to JT Moore which is a feeder school to HHS. Closing a season with a district record of 0-8 was difficult for these players who played together for such a long time.
Liam Kohler who spoke to the Hillsboro Globe about the baseball team’s family culture agreed with Oliver that the significant win against Overton could be due to how the seniors have stepped up this year to be better role models for the younger players. “We all know each other and have for a long time. We, as seniors, have taken on the task of trying to teach the younger players that you can turn around a the loses to wins if you work on your mindset. We’ve worked on being more focused and more serious this year than in past years. Seniors are encouraging the younger players to do the same and they are starting see the results of their hard work”.
These changes are working for the Burros whose season record so far is 15-3 (D11 7-0) after their 24-2 run-ruled win against Maplewood this Thursday on Senior Night.
Coach Martin in the post game interview, as he was trying to keep a serious face said “this feels great!” and the Globe concurs that is should. While not school history historic it is still very significant the Martin has coached this team into position to be the first MNPS to be tied for first with the edge in the tie-breaker.
Overton has won 19 of the last 21 regular season and tournament district championships. Neither team has advanced to the semi-regional tournament since 2005 and the Burros mindset is “to win each game they are playing in the present,” said Briggs. Hillsboro has not won a regular season district championship since 1996, which is as far back as the Hillsboro Globe was able to research the regular season and district championships.
It is hard, though, not to look ahead if you are a Burros sports fan when your fave team is set to make contemporary history. It is exciting to watch this season play out.
