Central softball team takea little time to avenge season-ending loss to Hillsboro

~ CENTRAL OPENED its season with a 13-2 victory

Senior Maggie Groshong could not have picked a better way to begin her final year as a Central Tiger.

The Tigers' right-hander struck out a career-high 10 batters as the Tigers routed Hillsboro 13-2 on Monday at Central High School.

The win was extra sweet for Groshong and the Tigers, who have been plotting out revenge for some time for last year's season-ending loss to the Hawks.

"I didn't even know I had that many until after the game," Groshong said about her strikeout total. "It feels good that I did my part to help this team win, but even better to get the win over them."

Central catcher Sarah Kitchen celebrates with pitcher Maggie Groshong after winning the game in five innings against Hillsboro on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

The Tigers season ended on a disappointing note last year after losing to Hillsboro in the Class 4 District 1 championship. Central was three outs away from the crown but saw the title slip away in a span of three batters.

Former Central pitcher Kadie Orenstein had two strikes on Hillsboro's Leslie McKeever, who fouled off six pitches to stay alive before hitting a three-run home run over the left-field fence to give the Hawks a 6-5 lead.

The Tigers had a chance to come back in the seventh after Orenstein doubled to lead off the inning, but relief pitcher Kaycee Gills struck out the next three batters to give Hillsboro the district title.

"Our kids remember the feeling they had, and they didn't want to feel that again," Central coach Amy Blattel said about last year's district championship game. "They were just really ready to beat them, and they've worked hard all offseason to get to this point."

Groshong is one of five returning seniors on the Tigers' roster. Blattel said she's becoming a leader for the Tigers, but Groshong attributes her leadership style to the seniors before her.

Central starter Maggie Groshong pitches to a Hillsboro batter during the first inning Monday.

"When I go to lead this team, I think of the leaders before me like Kadie Orenstein and Bailey Kratochvil," Groshong said. "Before I do or say something to help motivate the team, I think to myself, 'What have they said that's motivated me in the past.'"

Blattel said she Groshong also leads with her actions on the field, which was evident Monday.

"She stepped up today and did an absolutely fantastic job," Blattel said. "She really mixed up the speed on her pitches, got the ball to move a little bit and kept hitters off balance all night long. I'm very proud of that effort."

Blattel said most catchers would have trouble keeping an eye on her pitches, but that's not the case for Sarah Kitchen, who has been catching Groshong since sixth grade.

"She hits her spots, and it's easier on my part," Kitchen said. "She really came through for us. Her change-up, her fastball were all looking nice."

Groshong said it's easy for her to hit those spots with Kitchen behind the plate.

"I'll know what it's going to be before she calls it. I really think we read each other's mind sometimes," Groshong said.

Groshong surrendered her only run in the first inning and allowed six hits in five innings. The lead didn't last long for the Hawks, who yielded two runs in the bottom of the first.

Megan Smith and Kitchen both reached on errors with one out in the inning. Kaylie George followed with a single to score Smith and tie the game. Ally Vaughn singled to score Kitchen for a 2-1 Tigers lead, which was never relinquished.

Central scored nine runs on eight hits in the third inning.

Kitchen got things going with a one out single. George was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. During the next at-bat, two consecutive passed balls allowed Kylie Lane, who pinch ran for Kitchen, to score and George to advance to third.

Central's Kylie Lane steals third base before the tag by Hillsboro's Carley Sanders during the third inning Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Vaughn followed with a walk before Brooke Anderson drove in both runners with a single to make it 5-1. Anderson tried to extend her hit into a double, but was thrown out at second.

Amanda Webb and Janay McKnight kept things going for the Tigers with back-to-back singles, and Sydney Tollison drove in Webb with a single for a 6-1 advantage.

Maddie Daum singled and a bases-loaded walk to Smith forced McKnight home. One batter later Kitchen belted her second hit of the inning, a bases-loaded single to right field, to extend the lead to 9-1.

"She's really matured as a hitter," Blattel said about Kitchen, who went 2 for 2. "We always knew she could catch, but now I think she understands more than anything that when she gets up she's going to hit the pitch that she wants to begin with, and she's not up there hacking at any ball that comes across the plate. I think the work that she's put in during the past few offseasons has really led to her becoming a hitter that you can depend on."

The Tigers added two more runs in the inning on a base hit by George.

Central scored two more runs in the fourth to make it 13-1. Hillsboro tacked on a run in the fifth, but it was not enough to catch the Tigers.

Blattel isn't ready to crown the Tigers the 2014 district champs just yet, but she did call them one of the more cohesive teams she's coached in her 10 years at Central.

"It's all them; it's not really me," Blattel said. "I tell them what needs to be done and how to do it, but I think they've really decided as a team that they want to prove themselves, and they want to get out of districts and do well. That definitely has to do with the success we've had over the last two years"

Hillsboro 100 01 -- 2 6 3

Central 209 2x -- 13 12 1

WP -- Maggie Groshong. LP -- Kaycee Gills. Multiple hitters -- Hillsboro: Evans 2-3. Central: Sarah Kitchen 2-2, Kaylie George 2-2. Records Hillsboro 0-1, Central 1-0.