ST. LOUIS
Hillsboro slugged its way to Springfield and the Class 3 final four with a 12-0 shutout in the quarterfinals at Notre Dame on a brilliant, windy Saturday afternoon.
Seniors Emily Mudd and Emma Nichols (District 2 final against De Soto) and Nichols and senior Reagan Short (sectionals against Perryville) homered in the last two playoff games for the Hawks and junior Julianna Johnson bashed a grand slam in the first inning against the Rebels in the five-inning game shortened by the mercy rule.
Johnson picked up the signs from the Rebels’ dugout to their catcher and knew what pitches were going to be thrown.
“I knew what a 4 was and I knew what a 2 was,” Johnson said of the signs for the type of pitch to be thrown. “Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the 4 sign flashed (to the Notre Dame catcher) and I knew it was coming down the middle. All three of my hits today came from 4s.”
Hillsboro head coach Kevin Lucas continues to insist the Hawks (21-9) aren’t a team that desires to hit the long ball.
“We don’t like to live and die by the home run,” said Lucas who’s guiding the Hawks to the semifinals for the first time in school history. “It didn’t help us much last year, especially in the postseason. But we get them at big times. Jules’ was huge. We always want to score first and see what happens and it worked great today. Jules’ (grand slam) got out of here in a hurry.”
Nichols pitched her third consecutive shutout and limited Notre Dame (12-12-1) to two hits. She hasn’t walked a batter in the last three games and has struck out 27. Nichols ended the quarterfinal with a called strike three on sophomore Rachel Schultes.
The Hawks scored nine runs in the first inning to take command. Leadoff batter Bailey Shuman walked and scored in her first at-bat of the inning and then reached on an error and scored again later in the first. Nichols doubled and scored on a bases-loaded walk to freshman Hailey Genge. Senior Kelsey Boyd walked and Mudd singled before Genge reached. Johnson wiped the bases clean with a grand slam to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead.
But the damage wasn’t done yet. Short and Nichols singled and scored around Shuman’s second run in the inning to make it 9-0.
The Hawks had already beaten De Soto and Perryville before they met them in the postseason, but the Rebels were sort of a mystery to them. Johnson said her team has done a good job of not being too overconfident despite their robust power.
“We didn’t expect anything,” Johnson said. “We didn’t know anything about this team except what their record was. We knew we had to step up.”
Hillsboro scored two more runs in the third when Johnson led off with a single and Short singled with one out. Both came home on a single by Nichols.
Notre Dame threatened to end Nichols’ shutout streak in the fourth when sophomore Allison Kaiser and senior Maeve McDonough led the inning off with singles. But Kaiser was thrown out at third base and Nichols left McDonough standing at third base when she struck out junior Kaitlyn Masidonski to end the inning.
In the Hillsboro fourth, Genge singled with one out and gave the Hawks a 12-0 lead when Johnson doubled for her third hit of the day.
Genge is the daughter of Mike Genge, who is the assistant football and head track and field coach at De Soto. The Dragons play Friday night on the gridiron in the first round of districts. Mike Genge said he’d be at both games on Friday.
“Coach (Lucas) has told us all year, ‘We’re not about home runs, I want line drives down the middle,’” Johnson said.
After the final out, Hillsboro’s players gathered in a tight circle but weren’t overly excited. There wasn’t a dog pile in the middle of the infield. Lucas wasn’t soaked with the typical bath from a water cooler.
“They are a different bunch. As coaches, we reacted more than they did,” Lucas said. “Maybe it’s because they’re still not satisfied. Maybe they’re saving the dog pile for state.”
That will start Friday at 10 a.m. at the Killian Sports Complex against Oak Grove (23-3). Mexico (25-4) and Sullivan (27-4) are playing in the other Class 3 semifinal on Friday. None of the final four teams in Class 3 in 2017 returned this season.
Of all the talented teams Lucas has coached the last three seasons, he became emotional when he talked about this year’s squad.
"They don’t give up and they have a lot of heart. The last three games is the most focused I’ve seen us all year,” he said.