GRANVILLE — The Hinton softball team edged out a 9-8 win over Gehlen Catholic in War Eagle Conference action Wednesday.
The Blackhawks led 7-0 after two innings, but saw the Jays charge back by the end of the game as they had to withstand a five-run fifth inning and two runs in the bottom of the seventh to escape with the win.
“We battled a much-improved Gehlen team down to the final inning to pick up the conference win,” Hinton softball coach Jennifer Jacobs-List said. “Offensively we came out hot, but were not able to finish the game quickly. To their credit, they did battle back strong and make a great game out of it.”
The game featured plenty of offense as Hinton knocked out 17 hits while Gehlen added 15 of their own.
Three Hinton players hit home runs in the game. Ashlyn Kramer finished 3-for-5 at the plate as she ended a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. The home run was her first of the season.
Ashlyn Kovarna hit her sixth home run of the season as part of a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Becca Lahrs added a home run, her first of the season, as she finished 2-for-4 at the plate. All three of those players ended with two runs batted in.
Natalie Nelson added two runs batted in while Kayla Sypersma finished with three hits and drove in a run.
Gehlen was led by Larissa Pohlen as she drove in four runs and finished 4-for-5 at the plate. Kennedy Paulson went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in while Nevaeh Hodgson and Aspen Mosher also finished 3-for-4 at the plate.
It was the fourth straight game for Gehlen against a team which had been ranked at any point during the season. The last three of those games, the Jays were just a few plays away from getting the win, losing 2-0 to Remsen St. Mary’s, 5-4 to Akron-Westfield and finally their one-run loss to the Blackhawks.
Gehlen fell to 10-9 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Hinton finishes their conference season with a record of 8-2. They improved to 14-8 overall.
“Our team did a great job of doing their jobs and focusing strong to make the plays we had to,” Jacobs-List said. “It was a great test as we move towards the end of the season.”
Hinton baseball beats Gehlen in extras
Tied 4-4 after seven innings, the Hinton baseball team outscored Gehlen 5-1 in the eighth inning to pick up a 9-5 extra inning win at Vosburg Field.
Hinton jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an inning, helped by a home run from Logan Kempema. It was the third home run of the season for Kempema.
The Jays had a three-run inning of their own in the fourth as Ashton Budden drove in a run and Jake Bogen knocked in two. Gehlen took a lead in the fifth as Alex Peters drove in a run with a double.
Hinton tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth with an RBI hit from Dawson Spies. The Blackhawks had a chance to score the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, pushing a runner to third, but left him stranded there.
The team broke through with five runs in the eighth, started by the go-ahead RBI from Spies and capped off by a pair of RBIs from Kyle Leary.
Bogen drove in his third run of the game in the bottom of the eighth, but Hinton was able to close out the game for the win.
Kempema took a no-decision as he went six innings for the Blackhawks. He gave up four runs on seven hits, a walk and two hit batters while striking out seven. Kaden Barrett threw 1 2/3 innings and gave up one run on two walks and a hit batter while striking out two as he earned the win. Karver DeGroot recorded the other out for the team.
Dane Lehmann gave up six runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter in three innings. He struck out three and ended with the loss. Brayden Horkey went five innings in his start and gave up three runs on five hits, four walks and a hit batter. He finished with seven strikeouts.
The win put Hinton back on the winning side of the series for the first time since 2022. Gehlen had won the previous four meetings in the series, including 7-4 on May 29 of this year.
Hinton improved to 8-7 overall and 7-2 in War Eagle Conference games. Gehlen fell to 9-12 overall and 6-3 in the conference.
