Monday night’s game between Triton and Tippecanoe Valley was a pitcher’s duel for the first three innings before the offenses got it going in the latter half of the game. Both teams led multiple times but it was the Vikings coming away with a 6-5 win after scoring two in the bottom of the sixth.
The game began with some early drama, as the Trojans were able to put their first two hitters on base with a walk and a single up the middle by Drew Bingamon. Valley starter Cameron Maunel was able to get out of the jam by retiring the next three batters he saw, two of them via strikeout. Triton hurler Jacob Pitney had no such problems getting through his first inning of work, striking out the side extremely efficiently in the bottom half of the first inning.
Manuel got himself into some trouble in the top of the second inning once again, issuing a two-out walk to Pitney to load the bases up, his third walk of the game and second of the frame. For the second straight inning though, Manuel was able to battle through it and keep the game scoreless, striking out Bingamon for his fifth punch out of the game to end the threat.
The Vikings would put their first hitter on base in the bottom of the second, as Manuel drew a four-pitch walk to begin the frame. He would get into scoring position a few pitches later, stealing second, but it would not matter much. Pitney would get back into a rhythm afterwards, striking out the next three hitters to give him six Ks through two.
Manuel seemed to settle down in the top of the third, fielding two ground balls himself as well as getting a sharp grounder to short to retire the side in order for his first clean frame of the outing.

    Tippecanoe Valley senior pitcher Cameron Manuel prepares to deliver a pitch during Monday evening's home game against Triton. Photo by Gary Nieter

The Triton defense would get into some trouble in the bottom half of the inning, as Valley’s Gage Hileman became the first Viking player to put the ball in play and was able to reach on an error. He would get to second base on a throwing error by Pitney and to third on a wild pitch. Issiac Ramsey would later record Tippy Valley’s first hit of the evening by beating out a grounder to third to put runners on the corner with just one out. Pitney would get out of the jam though, first by picking off Hileman at third base for out number two and then following it up with a punchout for the third out of the inning. After three, the game remained scoreless.
It looked as if the fourth was going to be smooth sailing for Manuel once again, as he struck out the first hitter he faced before Zak Greer hit a screamer down the third base line for the game’s third hit. He’d be gunned down by Valley left fielder William Mellott at second base trying to stretch it into a double for the second out of the inning. But the Trojans were able to put together a two-out rally, loading the bases for Bingamon, who came up in a huge spot in the game. Triton was able to score the first run of the game on a balk by Manuel, and was able to add to it not long after as Bingamon went opposite field to bring home two more runs. That would mark the end of the evening for the Viking starter, and Valley was able to get out of the inning without any more damage.
Valley was able to get on the board themselves in the bottom half of the inning, putting their first two runners on the corners with a walk and an error. Pitney was able to pick off his second base runner of the night to delete the man on first, but was unable to keep the shutout alive, as Landon Durkes was able to score Hunter Paxton from third on a groundout to short.
The Trojans were held scoreless in the top of the fifth as new Valley pitcher Luke Tucker was able to retire three straight batters after issuing a leadoff walk to Lucas Kaufman.
Tucker would begin the bottom half by drawing a leadoff walk of his own, to begin what would end up being a very fruitful inning for the Vikings. Tucker would steal second base and would then be driven home on a single by Ramsey. Ramsey himself would score a batter later as Jameson Phillips laced a ball into right field for a triple. As Phillips was sliding into third, the throw would get away from the Trojan third baseman, allowing the Valley two-hitter to finish circling the bases for a little-league home run that gave the home side the lead for the first time in the ball game. The Vikings wouldn’t add any more runs here, but were suddenly just six outs away from victory.
The first two of those outs came easily, as Tucker struck out the first two hitters he saw in the top of the sixth. But as they were able to do in the fourth, Triton put together a two-out rally that began with a single by Pitney. With the Triton pitcher on second base, a ball was dropped in foul territory by the Valley third baseman that would have ended the inning. The visitors would make them pay, as Bingamon hit a single into center field just one pitch later to tie up the game for his third RBI of the night. A batter later, Braxton Kaufman was able to drive a ball into left field to bring home Bingamon and put Triton in front once again.
They would not lead for long, as Landon Durkes was able to lead off the inning with a single, reaching third with just one out thanks to a ground ball and a wild pitch. Tucker would drive him in from there and get into scoring position himself with a double off of Pitney to tie up the game. It would be the last batter the Triton hurler would face. Then, with two strikes and two outs, Braxton Alderfer came up with the biggest hit of the game so far, a flare into left field that just barely landed to score Tucker and give Valley the lead again, the third lead change in as many innings.
Now needing a run with three outs remaining, the Trojans geared up for the top of the seventh. Greer was able to get on base as the tying run with a one-out single, and was moved into scoring position by a ground out a batter later. He’d advance to third on a wild pitch, but Paxton was able to get a looking strikeout for the final out of the night to send Valley fans home happy.
Triton plays its next game Tuesday night at Elkhart Christian, while Valley is at Warsaw on Wednesday evening.