Great numbers don’t add up to victory as Hawks fall to Ridgewood at River Greens
The Hawks took on powerful Ridgewood on the Generals home course, and despite posting a fantastic 156 score, still managed to lose, as Ridgewood fired a even better 150.
“We didn’t win, but I am perfectly happy with the way we played,” said Hiland coach Austin Kaufman. “The kids were focused and grinding out there. I was a little concerned with how our approach would be after we beat Garaway, but they were really focused. There was absolutely no let down.”
The Hawks were led by Caleb Schlabach’s superb one-under par 35, a score which shows exactly what the senior is capable of shooting. He was followed by Tyler Grate and Neil Gingerich who both shot 40, while B.J. Miller and Justin Yoder each carded 41. Kaufman said he was especially impressed with Gingerich’s round, which included five up-and-downs to save par.
Tanner Stouffer paced Ridgewood with a spectacular two-under 34, while Ty Davis fired a 36 and sixth man Andy Calahan fired a personal best 39.”
About the only downer on the night was the fact that the Hawks left River Greens without a win, something Kaufman and company can live with considering they shot a great score on a tough course.
“Wow, they are just so deep and talented,” said Kaufman of Ridgewood. “We would beat a lot of teams all over the state with those kinds of numbers, but it just wasn’t quite good enough tonight. Those are the kinds of numbers it is going to take for us to get where we want to be this season, and the nice thing is, I felt like we left some shots out there on the course tonight.”
Assistant coach Wayne Troyer said that Schlabach had been struggling with his driver the night before, so he went to the range to work on fixing his issues. He said all of a sudden he found something in his swing, made a correction and started lighting it up.
Suddenly, he could do no wrong.
“When you find something like that and start hitting it well, it tends to go all the way through your bag,” said Troyer.
It did, and even despite the stellar score, Schlabach could think only of one shot.
“It could have been better,” said Schlabach. “I missed a three-footer for birdie. Other than that, I am thrilled.”
Kaufman was also quite happy with the continued improvement of Grate, a sophomore who has worked hard this off-season to hone his skills and work his way into a key role for the Hawks this fall. He also said that Miller continues to carve strokes off after taking time off this summer to play a lot of baseball.
“I like what I am seeing,” said Kaufman. “And the exciting thing is that we are still getting better and better.”
Published: August 25, 2011
