Hammer strikes out 11, Hyden hits two HRs against Glenn
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
AKRON – First-year head coach Justin Branock didn’t have to wait long to see what his Tippecanoe Valley High School baseball team could do. Hosting the John Glenn Falcons in Monday’s season opener, the Vikings scored six runs in the first inning, led 11-0 after three and went on to win 14-4 in six innings. While junior southpaw Eric Hammer kept the Falcons in check, giving up just two hits and two runs while striking out 11 in five innings, Valley’s offense exploded for 18 hits, including a 3-run blast and a 2-run homer by senior Drake Hyden. While it was only the first game of a long season, there was certainly excitement for the Vikings on a windy but otherwise warm March evening. “One thing I think we’re gonna do this year is play an exciting style of offense,” said Branock. “We’re gonna be aggressive, we’re gonna run the bases hard, we’re gonna push the envelope a little bit and force the defense to make plays. “We’ve got a core group that came back from last year that we feel is pretty good,” added Branock. “We’ve got a good group of upperclassmen. Are we gonna score that many runs right out of the gate every game? Are we gonna score 14 runs every game? Absolutely not. But, we do have quality pitching and good defense to go along with an offense that I think can be pretty good this year.” That offense was on display early and often. After Hammer, who was being watched by Indiana University’s pitching coach, struck out two in the top of the first inning, junior Gavin Bussard opened Valley’s offensive outburst with a double. Junior Brandon Webster and Hammer then reached on singles, with Hammer’s hit scoring two runs, and senior Austin Perdieu drew a walk. Hyden followed by showing off his powerful left-handed swing, clearing the bases with a three-run blast to rightfield that gave the Vikings a 5-0 lead with no outs. Valley pushed its advantage to 6-0 on an RBI-single by junior Garrett Bell. Valley sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning, setting the tone for the game and getting the Vikings’ season off on the right foot. “It’s good,” said Branock when asked about his team getting after it early. “Obviously it gets the energy level up right away. It gets you confidence right away. And that’s a big thing, coming from inside (working out and practicing) to outside (playing games), is getting confidence that, hey, we can play a little bit. Their record last year before I got here wasn’t the greatest. This is a team that needed something positive. And to come out and get it going in the first inning was big.” The Vikings added three runs in the second inning and two more in the third. The Falcons, who pounded out just four hits in the six-inning loss, scored two runs in both the fourth and sixth innings. Valley forced the 10-run mercy rule after scoring three runs in the sixth inning with no outs. Perdieu led off the bottom of the inning for Valley by reaching second base on an error on a deep fly ball. Hyden then cleared the bases again with a two-run blast. Junior Jay Myers and sophomore Alec Craig both followed with singles, and senior Jarred Littlejohn was credited with a walkoff RBI after reaching on an error. Craig led Valley with four hits, all singles. Bussard, Littlejohn, Bell and junior Luke Helton all hit doubles for the Vikings. Ten different players got at least one hit for Valley. “With a big number of guys returning from last year, and the quality of players that we have, I definitely think excitement is in the air in terms of what this group can do,” said Branock. “The biggest thing that the coaching staff and I have tried to bring to this team this year is a winning atmosphere. Every day we talk about winning. Every day we try to create that environment. Obviously we have to keep working hard. It’s only March 30. This is only game 1. We got off to a great start, but we have a long way to go.” The Vikings won’t play again until a doubleheader at Elkhart Central on April 11. Gage Bennett, Louis Delinski, Kevin Auman and Luke Hayter each had a single for the Falcons. Auman was charged with the loss after giving up nine runs and 10 hits in just 1-1/3 innings of work.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 14, JOHN GLENN 4 (6 innings) JG 000 202 – 4 TV 632 003 – 14 Glenn – Kevin Auman (L, 1.1IP, 10H, 9R, 1K, 1BB); Robbie Berger (2.2IP, 8H, 5R, 2K, 0BB) Valley – Eric Hammer (W, 5IP, 2H, 2R, 11K, 3BB); Jay Myers (1IP, 2H, 2R, 0K, 2BB) 2B – Gavin Bussard (TV), Luke Helton (TV), Jarred Littlejohn (TV), Garrett Bell (TV) HR – Drake Hyden (TV, 2)
