LOGAN — Circleville faced off against top-seeded Hillsboro in Friday’s Division IV Southeast District championship game and the Indians showed why they had earned the No. 1 seed by shutting out the Tigers 5-0.
A big reason for Friday’s outcome was Hillsboro senior hurler Camryn Spruell. The Ball State signee struck out 13 batters (passing 300 strikeouts for the season), did not issue a walk and allowed only three hits.
“At this point, you have to tip your cap to Cam Spruell, she’s just a dog out there on the mound. She’s going to come right at you, going to make you work,” Circleville coach Hayden Ellis said.
Each team managed only one hit through the first two innings, and the Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the top of the third.
A strikeout started the bottom of the third. Hillsboro then singled and an error gave the Indians a pair of baserunners. A passed ball allowed the runners to advance and then Spruell hit a grounder to third for a fielder’s choice that allowed the lead runner to score for a 1-0 Hillsboro lead.
Kaylee West had a one-out single for the Tigers in the fourth and moved around to third on a passed ball and wild pitch before Spruell recorded two more strikeouts to end the threat.
The Indians put the game away in the bottom of the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out. Chloe Roberts then doubled to the fence in right to bring in two runs. The throw to the plate resulted in an error allowing a third run to score and Roberts was able to score on the same error to make it 5-0 Indians.
The Tigers were only able to get one more baserunner in their final two at-bats as their season came to an end with an 11-15 record.
Ellis said her team came into the game with a good mindset, but a couple of mistakes didn’t help their cause.
“We faced tough pitching all year long, our season with the record we had and the teams we played – I think our strength of schedule was ranked No. 1 in the state for Division IV – we saw tough teams all year long,” she said. “We thew the ball away a couple of times – we had five errors – that doesn’t really help us out any.”
Kayla Fleck handled pitching duties for the Tigers. She struck out three, allowed eight hits and five runs (two earned).
West, Rylee Starner and Taylor Cowdery accounted for Circleville’s three hits.
With no seniors on Friday’s roster, the future looks bright for the Tigers. While not downplaying the accomplishment, Ellis said she’s tired of silver and is shooting for the gold medal of a district champion.
“In the three sports of volleyball, basketball and softball we now have six silver medals – making it to the district finals and getting silver medals,” Ellis said. “Especially for the seniors — next year we definitely want to change that.”
