'She is the heart of the team': Hogan sends Tigers to D4 title game

WORCESTER — Tyngsborough softball has been here before. They have have deep runs into the Division 4 state playoffs the previous two seasons, in fact. This time, behind the right arm of senior Kiley Hogan, the No. 3 Tigers intend to finish the job. 

Hogan’s two-hit, 12-strikeout performance against Hampshire made sure Tyngsborough will get that chance

“She is the heart of the team and she does a whole lot of work with everybody on the team, not just with the underclassmen,” said Tigers’ coach April Eringis, following her team’s 8-0 victory over second-seeded Hampshire (19-6) in a Division 4 state semifinal at Worcester State University. “She is able to pinpoint the little things that we can fix.”

It’s almost like she is another coach on the field. 

“We talk all the time, she’s the real deal, she knows what she is talking about,” Eringis said. “It’s always nice to be able to talk softball with somebody who is on the field, who understands the game at that level.”

After the Boston University commit allowed a first inning double to Raiders’ shortstop Lucy Trombley, Hogan made a key adjustment. She began pitching the Hampshire batters to the outside part of the plate after Trombley was able to pull an inside pitch for a double. After making that adjustment, she retired 14 of the next 15 batters – including 13 in a row – from the first to the fifth innings. 

“It was just me and (catcher) Dev (Amico),” Hogan said. “She is only in eighth grade, but we’ve been together for the past two years. I just really lock in and focus on me and her and if they put the ball in play, I know my defense will do the work.”

Hogan recorded the first seven outs herself. She struck out the side in the first and second innings (with the second inning going down in order) and then she caught a pop-up from Kalin Dubay.

“She’s able to make adjustments when she is up at bat in between pitches,” Eringis said. “She can see something whereas some of our younger players can’t do that mid at-bat. But Ky is going D1 to BU, you gotta know that she would be able to do that in between pitches and make those adjustments and she does it very well.”

Not only did Hogan spin a gem from the circle, she did her best Shohei Ohtani impression by reaching base four times, going 3 for 4, with a walk, a double, a RBI and two runs. She also started the third inning rally that got the ball rolling offensively for the third-seeded Tigers (21-3) with a lead off single.

“From the first inning on, we were putting bat on ball, we were getting barrels,” Hogan said. “It was just a matter of time until they were going to fall. You just have to hit the ball hard and put pressure on the defense.”

Tyngsborough scored three runs in the third and sent nine players to the plate in the frame to take a 3-0 lead. They added two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings and finished the scoring with a run in the sixth. Every batter in the Tigers’ lineup recorded a hit. 

‘I honestly believe that it’s the second time through the lineup, when we really start to get a move on it,” Eringis said. “The first time through, we watch it, we see what we can do and by the second time through, we have it figured out.” 

Tyngsborough fell, 7-6, to Case in last year’s Division 4 state final and the Tigers returned everyone for another run, hoping the third time is a charm, as Tyngsborough also lost to Case, 1-0, in the 2024 championship game. This time the Tigers will face a different opponent, but one just as tough, as top-seeded and undefeated AMSA awaits them in the final, which will be played at a time to be determined on Friday or Saturday back at Worcester State University.

“These kids have worked really hard the last two seasons where we have lost by one run in the state finals, they are gunning for it this year because they can feel it,” Eringis said. “We have worked so hard every single year, we want it so bad so I feel like they are preparing themselves more for it this year.”

Just like how Hogan’s 12th strikeout of the game was a fitting way to send her team to a third straight state title appearance, a state championship would be a fitting way to end Hogan’s stellar high school career. 

“It means everything,” Hogan said. “We compete and really that’s all it is. You just have to compete on each pitch and focus on the details.

“We haven’t been able to (win a state title) the last two years, so we really just have to focus.” Hogan added. “We have one week left to give it our all. I know I’m going to give it my everything and I know my team will too, so we just have to finish.” 

— Contact Ethan Winter at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formally known as Twitter, @EWints.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Hogan fans 12 as Tyngsborough cruises to 3rd straight state D4 title game