The Hinton baseball team picked up a big senior night win at home on Tuesday night defeating Gehlen Catholic 9-1 to conclude their regular season.
Everybody in the Hinton order had a hand in the win with everybody either getting on base or driving in a run at some point in the contest. That has been the theme for the Blackhawks lately, and head coach Cale Kramer says it is due to his team’s focus at the plate.
Logan Kempema was the starter for Hinton, and he kept the Jays grounded all night. He allowed just one hit and no runs through six strong innings on the bump. Coach Kramer says he has quite the arsenal and uses it well.
Gehlen Catholic could only put across the one run in the contest after finally getting things going their way in the seventh inning. Gehlen Catholic head coach Loi Kraft says the guys did not execute what they wanted to do at the plate.
The Jays were not helped out by the Blackhawk defense during the game either. Hinton committed no errors in the field leading to a defense that Hinton pitchers could lean on all night. Coach Kramer says his pitchers have been leaning on them all season leading to a lot of confidence.
The struggles for Gehlen offensively turned into defensive struggles and overall frustration throughout the game. Gehlen committed four errors in the loss. Coach Kraft says his guys have to regain their composure when tough things happen to get back on the right track.
Gehlen drops to 13-13 on the season with the loss and 7-2 in the War Eagle Conference. Gehlen has one more left to play before the district tournament starts Saturday. Coach Kraft says this will be a good test for his guys to show that they can play the right brand of baseball during a crucial portion of the season.
Hinton honored their three seniors in the win. Coach Kramer says Brogan Lake, Kyle Leary, and Kaden Barrett all brought something to the table, and they are great people to have on the team.
The Blackhawks finish the regular season with a record of 21-4 overall and 8-2 in the War Eagle Conference. The win guarantees them a second-place finish in the league. Hinton will turn its attention to the postseason which begins for them on Tuesday, July 8 against either West Sioux or Central Lyon. The Blackhawks have been flying under the radar all year and have a chance to do that in the postseason. Coach Kramer says his guys have to stay focused on one game at a time to make a deep run.
Gehlen Catholic finishes the regular season tonight with a home matchup against Akron-Westfield. They start the postseason Saturday in Akron against South O’Brien.
