Bussard Lifts Vikings Over Zebras In TRC Baseball Action
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley High School senior Gavin Bussard had quite a day at the plate Monday evening. In a Three Rivers Conference clash with backyard rival Rochester, Bussard was 4 for 5, with his last at-bat producing the game-winning hit in the eighth inning of a 6-5 victory over the Zebras. Second-year Valley coach Justin Branock has coached Bussard since he was 13, and said he wasn’t surprised by his game-winning heroics. “Gavin came up huge twice,” said Branock. “He got the hit with two outs to spark everything, and then he got the game-winning hit. “I’ve been fortunate enough to watch him play since he was 13, and coach him since he was 13, and on multiple occasions that’s what I’ve seen out of him. “As a coach, seeing him stand in the box there, there’s probably nobody I’d rather see standing there in that situation.” With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Vikings trailing 5-4, Bussard hit a two-out single. Classmates Luke Helton and Jesse Floor then drew walks, with Helton’s being of the intentional variety, to load the bases. Valley scored the game-tying run when senior Brandon Webster was hit by a pitch. Rochester senior pitcher Alec Holland, who worked the final three innings and was charged with the loss, then got Valley senior Jay Myers to pop up for the third out. In the top of the eighth inning, Valley junior Alec Craig, who pitched one inning and was credited with the win on the mound, got junior Aaron Brooks to ground out and then struck out freshman Zane Young. Senior Clay Ballieul got a two-out single for the Zebras, but Craig retired senior Thomas Rensberger. Senior Eric Hammer, who attended Rochester High School as a freshman and sophomore, opened Valley’s half of the eighth inning with a walk. He was quickly joined on the bases when senior Garrett Bell was hit by a pitch, and junior Keegan Larimer reached on a fielder’s choice. A pop fly by Craig was caught for the first out, and then Bussard came through with his game-winning single. The win improved the Vikings to 14-6 overall on the season and 6-2 in the TRC, while Rochester fell to 4-13 and 1-7. “They competed, they did,” Branock said of the Zebras. “A team that’s been struggling for wins this year, and to get down early, to not just fold and go away, they battled. They’ve got talent over there, they’ve got good players over there, but for whatever reason they’ve had a hard time getting wins this year. “Anytime in a rivalry game like this, I’m sure that had something to do with it too. You never want to lose to your rival, and they competed.” Valley took a 4-0 lead, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings. Rochester scored one run in the third inning, one in the sixth and then tied the game with three runs in the seventh. Helton struck out Ballieul and Rensberger to start Rochester’s half of the seventh, but then walked Holland and freshman Brady Perez. Sophomore Carter Hooks, who started the game on the mound for Rochester, ripped an RBI single to cut Valley’s lead to 4-3, and senior Tanner Music reached base following a dropped third strike. Senior Brett Abbott put Rochester ahead 5-4 with a two-RBI single. Brooks was caught stealing, accounting for the third out. “I don’t know if we put it in cruise control, thinking the four-run lead was gonna be enough, or that Luke was on the mound and he’s always good for us ... I don’t know what it was, but we kind of got a little too relaxed there in the middle innings,” said Branock. “The pressure was put on us a little bit, but the good thing is I’ve got guys that have been around a while and played a lot of games and a lot of innings, a lot of innings at a high level.” Valley had nine hits in the win. To go with Bussard’s four-hit performance, the Vikings got two hits each from Helton and Larimer, while Myers had one hit. Rochester had seven hits in the loss. Helton pitched the first seven innings, giving up six hits, four earned runs and four walks, while striking out 11 Rochester batters. Craig worked the final inning for the win, giving up one hit and striking out one. The Vikings are in action again Wednesday when they host Peru in a battle of conference frontrunners. Peru is 7-1 in the TRC after Monday’s 3-2, eight-inning loss at Whitko. Whitko, Valley and Southwood are all 6-2 in the league standings.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 6, ROCHESTER 5 Roch 001 001 30 – 5 TV 220 000 11 – 6 WP – Alec Craig. LP – Alec Holland Valley hits – Gavin Bussard 4, Luke Helton 2, Keegan Larimer 2, Jay Myers 1 Records: Rochester 4-13 (1-7 TRC), Valley 14-6 (6-2 TRC)
