Isaac Hiler's hot hand powers Buckeye Central past Crestline in sectional semifinal
NEW WASHINGTON — Whenever Isaac Hiler is on the mound, Buckeye Central has a chance.
It should come as no surprise that coach Chad Jensen sent his ace out in the postseason opener against Crestline and watched yet another gem as the Bucks won 6-3 and advances to Thursday's Division IV sectional championship against South Central.
"Isaac pitched really well, he was spot on throughout the game," Jensen said. "Got in a little bit of trouble in the seventh, but that happens. I liked how he got his composure back and threw strikes when he had to. He's a gamer, he's a four-year letterwinner for us, he's been with us forever and he knows how to pitch."
Hiler struck out 13, gave up three hits, walked three and allowed two earned runs — the latter coming in the final inning with the Bucks leading 6-0. He sat down the Bulldogs in order the first three innings and again in the sixth.
"He only had like 70 pitches through six, so he was very efficient," Jensen said. "He pounded the zone; didn't walk anybody until the seventh."
Crestline coach Mitch Sellers was familiar with his team's opponent on the mound, too.
"We knew Isaac was going to throw strikes, that's what he does," Sellers said. "Every time we play Buckeye Central, Isaac Hiler is on the mound. He's wonky, he's weird, but he's effective and he throws strikes. We had to make those adjustments and we didn't."
Crestline's Quinten Kapp was stellar on the mound in his own right, fanning nine and giving up three hits. Hiler just happened to also lead the Bucks offensively with two of the team's five hits — one against Kapp — driving in a pair of runs, scoring one himself and drawing a walk.
"That kid pitched really well," Jensen said of Kapp. "He threw a lot of strikes, he mixed in the off-speed stuff. I was impressed. He really kept us off balance, we didn't really know what to expect.
"Hunter Caudill gets a double for us and he's able to score. Then we put the ball in play and a few other times we were able to score some runs because of being able to steal some bases and we took advantage of that. We knew that we were going to get their best. Fortunately, it worked out for us."
The No. 6 Bucks, now on a two-game win streak having snapped a nine-game skid last weekend, will take a trip to Greenwich on Thursday to face No. 2 South Central with a spot in the district tournament on the line.
Crestline, on the other hand, saw its season come to a close. Brayden Winemiller had the team's lone RBI on the day, grounding out to second scoring Finn Belcik after Auston Henson scored on a bases-loaded walk and Hunter Farrell capitalized on a wild pitch — all in the seventh inning.
"The guys wanted it," Sellers said of his team's resiliency. "They've been gritty, they've been tough. We call ourselves the junkyard dogs for a reason. We're a tough group, we're a group that wants to get better and today it was just a little too late."
The program saw tremendous growth over the course of the spring, and with Farrell as the only senior, the future is very bright in Crestline.
"We gotta buy in," Sellers said. "People want to circle us on their calendars, but we have that core group and a pitching staff that's going to keep us in games like they have all year. It's them showing up, it's them being consistent and taking everything we do seriously whether it be practice, off-season, weights, open cages, whatever it is.
"When you're at baseball, give it 100% of your effort."
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Buckeye Central topped Crestline in a baseball sectional semifinal
