Triton Baseball Team Wins Sectional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Growing up, playing in the backyard by himself or with friends, maybe he had been in the situation before.[[In-content Ad]]But Saturday, in the championship game of the South Central Sectional, with his team knotted at 10 with the host Satellites in the bottom of the seventh inning, Edel made it a reality.
His walkoff solo home run that soared over the leftfield fence gave the Trojans a thrilling 11-10 victory and their first sectional championship since 2001, advancing them to Tuesday's regional against Fort Wayne Blackhawk. Triton will host the Braves at 5:30 p.m., with the winner playing in Saturday's four-team regional at Highland Park in Kokomo.
"For a sophomore, he has a good approach at the plate," Triton coach Ted Doty said of Edel, who led off the home half of the seventh inning for the Trojans. "He doesn't swing at bad pitches. When he does get a pitch he likes, he puts something on it. He has a lot of maturity about him."
And so after walking in his three previous at-bats, Edel got to jog the bases as the hero while his teammates gathered around home plate in jubilant celebration.
The win improved Triton to 13-15 on the season.
While parents and fans of the Trojans took photos and congratulated the team, on the other side of the field South Central coach Kevin Hannon tried to keep things positive for his 10 seniors that just played their final high school game, a game in which the Satellites trailed 9-3 before a seven-run sixth inning gave them a one-run lead.
"I told them this is one people are going to talk about for the next 50 years," said Hannon. "It was a great game by both teams. We don't have anything to hang our heads abouts, that's all I can say."
With the loss, the Satellites finished the season at 10-18.
"I kept things positive," Hannon said of what he said to his team after the emotional loss. "I feel for the 10 seniors that just played their last game. I hope the young kids learn something from this."
Maybe they learned that the game isn't over until the final out, or in Saturday's case, Edel's walkoff homer.
Triton scored five runs in the fifth inning, as Brett Houlihan ripped a two-run homer and Wes Kowal blasted a three-run homer, but South Central fought back and scored seven runs in the sixth inning with two outs on the board, taking a 10-9 lead.
Triton pitcher Brandon Anthony struck out Duke Eaton and Cody Williams to start the top of the sixth inning, but Kurtis Iseminger's two-out walk got things rolling for the Satellites.
Anthony was replaced on the mound by Houlihan, who faced just four batters, walking three and giving up a single to Neal Busse.
Houlihan was then replaced by Dustin Kreft, who gave up a three-run double to Eaton, the first batter he faced, and then a single to Williams before he struck out Iseminger for the third out.
Triton knotted the game at 10 in the sixth inning when Houlihan grounded into a double play but was credited with an RBI when Zach Moriarty, who led off the home half of the inning with a walk, was able to score.
Kreft returned to the mound in the seventh inning and hit the leadoff hitter, Justin Tannehill, with a pitch. Steve Ames then stepped to the plate and attempted a bunt.
In a weird turn of events, Ames got in a rundown situation, running toward first and then backstepping toward home plate before being tagged out.
All the while, Tannehill was trying to make his way to third base, where he found himself in a rundown that ended in a rather odd double play.
Blake Salisbury struck out to end South Central's half of the seventh inning.
"I tried to hold him up," Hannon said of Tannehill. "Everyone in the dugout was yelling for him to go."
As if the game hadn't already featured enough drama, Edel capped it off with a heroic performance for Triton, powering his home run over the leftfield fence for the win.
"It was a fastball and I got a hold of it," said Edel.
TRITON 11, S. CENTRAL 10
SC 200 107 0 - 10 9 3
T 300 151 1 - 11 9 3
Sean Maneaa, Ryan Youngreen (5), Brian Colburn (5), Jason Intagliata (5, L) and Neal Busse; Brandon Anthony, Brett Houlihan (6), Dustin Kreft (6, W) and Aaron Fleagle.
2B - Ben Montalbano (T)
3B - Fleagle (T)
HR - Houlihan (T), Wes Kowal (T), Ellis Edel (T)
Records: Triton 13-15, S. Central 10-18
Growing up, playing in the backyard by himself or with friends, maybe he had been in the situation before.[[In-content Ad]]But Saturday, in the championship game of the South Central Sectional, with his team knotted at 10 with the host Satellites in the bottom of the seventh inning, Edel made it a reality.
His walkoff solo home run that soared over the leftfield fence gave the Trojans a thrilling 11-10 victory and their first sectional championship since 2001, advancing them to Tuesday's regional against Fort Wayne Blackhawk. Triton will host the Braves at 5:30 p.m., with the winner playing in Saturday's four-team regional at Highland Park in Kokomo.
"For a sophomore, he has a good approach at the plate," Triton coach Ted Doty said of Edel, who led off the home half of the seventh inning for the Trojans. "He doesn't swing at bad pitches. When he does get a pitch he likes, he puts something on it. He has a lot of maturity about him."
And so after walking in his three previous at-bats, Edel got to jog the bases as the hero while his teammates gathered around home plate in jubilant celebration.
The win improved Triton to 13-15 on the season.
While parents and fans of the Trojans took photos and congratulated the team, on the other side of the field South Central coach Kevin Hannon tried to keep things positive for his 10 seniors that just played their final high school game, a game in which the Satellites trailed 9-3 before a seven-run sixth inning gave them a one-run lead.
"I told them this is one people are going to talk about for the next 50 years," said Hannon. "It was a great game by both teams. We don't have anything to hang our heads abouts, that's all I can say."
With the loss, the Satellites finished the season at 10-18.
"I kept things positive," Hannon said of what he said to his team after the emotional loss. "I feel for the 10 seniors that just played their last game. I hope the young kids learn something from this."
Maybe they learned that the game isn't over until the final out, or in Saturday's case, Edel's walkoff homer.
Triton scored five runs in the fifth inning, as Brett Houlihan ripped a two-run homer and Wes Kowal blasted a three-run homer, but South Central fought back and scored seven runs in the sixth inning with two outs on the board, taking a 10-9 lead.
Triton pitcher Brandon Anthony struck out Duke Eaton and Cody Williams to start the top of the sixth inning, but Kurtis Iseminger's two-out walk got things rolling for the Satellites.
Anthony was replaced on the mound by Houlihan, who faced just four batters, walking three and giving up a single to Neal Busse.
Houlihan was then replaced by Dustin Kreft, who gave up a three-run double to Eaton, the first batter he faced, and then a single to Williams before he struck out Iseminger for the third out.
Triton knotted the game at 10 in the sixth inning when Houlihan grounded into a double play but was credited with an RBI when Zach Moriarty, who led off the home half of the inning with a walk, was able to score.
Kreft returned to the mound in the seventh inning and hit the leadoff hitter, Justin Tannehill, with a pitch. Steve Ames then stepped to the plate and attempted a bunt.
In a weird turn of events, Ames got in a rundown situation, running toward first and then backstepping toward home plate before being tagged out.
All the while, Tannehill was trying to make his way to third base, where he found himself in a rundown that ended in a rather odd double play.
Blake Salisbury struck out to end South Central's half of the seventh inning.
"I tried to hold him up," Hannon said of Tannehill. "Everyone in the dugout was yelling for him to go."
As if the game hadn't already featured enough drama, Edel capped it off with a heroic performance for Triton, powering his home run over the leftfield fence for the win.
"It was a fastball and I got a hold of it," said Edel.
TRITON 11, S. CENTRAL 10
SC 200 107 0 - 10 9 3
T 300 151 1 - 11 9 3
Sean Maneaa, Ryan Youngreen (5), Brian Colburn (5), Jason Intagliata (5, L) and Neal Busse; Brandon Anthony, Brett Houlihan (6), Dustin Kreft (6, W) and Aaron Fleagle.
2B - Ben Montalbano (T)
3B - Fleagle (T)
HR - Houlihan (T), Wes Kowal (T), Ellis Edel (T)
Records: Triton 13-15, S. Central 10-18
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