Last night (3/11/20), the campus at Hillgrove High School was buzzing with activity. The Hawks were hosting a tri-meet in track and field, a double-header in baseball, and a JV tennis match. And in between the raindrops and a threatening sky, they were able to get all of it in the books without needing to postpone. It was a rare event indeed during the mostly rain-soaked spring sports calendar 2020 has been offering so far.
On the diamond, the Hawks were hosting the Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs for back-to-back regional games. Strong offense and stingy defense gave the Hawks two wins, winning the first game 3-7 and the second 2-6.
In the first game, the Mustangs took an early lead, 2-0, but the Hawks battled back in the third inning, scoring four runs. Both teams scored a single run in the fifth inning, and the Hawks put the game out-of-reach by scoring two more runs in the sixth. Max DeJong got the win on the mound, with relief from David Kinsbrunner and Brady Hoffman.
In the second game, it was a bit of a defensive battle, with Hillgrove holding the lead through the first four innings, 0-2. The Mustangs got their bats working in the fifth, tying the game, 2-2. Another productive sixth inning at the plate for the Hawks put the Mustangs on their heels with a four-point deficit heading into the final inning, 2-6. A scoreless top of the seventh for the Mustangs ended the game. Sam Cherry pitched the entire game and took the win for the Hawks.
Over at the stadium, the 7A tri-meet was being held between Hillgrove, the McEachern Indians, and the Campbell Spartans. Over 15 events for the boys and 15 for the girls, the Hawks won both. For the boys, Hillgrove won with 295 points, while McEachern took second with 146.5, and Campbell third with 126. For the girls, Hillgrove won with 276.5 points, Campbell took second with 148, and McEachern third with 136.5.
The combined scores across all 30 events gave Hillgrove a commanding win overall with 572 points. McEachern took second with 283, and Campbell was very close behind in third with 274.
