Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON - Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian and Triton meet in Saturday's South Central A Baseball Regional. The routes they took to advance there are as different as can be.
Fort Wayne Blackhawk, ranked No. 4 in class A with a 22-3 record, has won games all season by demolishing opponents, including a 16-0 win over Lakewood Park Christian in the sectional championship.
Triton has played countless close games, including a 6-5 come-from-behind win over LaCrosse in the sectional championship.
Triton coach Jim Shively hopes playing all the close games will pay off.
"We've had quite a few one-run games," Shively said. "You usually have close games in the tournament, and [Fort Wayne Blackhawk] hasn't been in a lot of close games."
The challenge for Triton will be to find a way to quiet Fort Wayne Blackhawk's explosive lineup.
Fort Wayne Blackhawk outscored its opponents 264-61 this season, an average of 11-2 per game. The Braves won games by scores of 20-5, 19-0, 17-0, 16-3, 14-3, 19-2 and 16-0.
The majority of its hitters carry averages above .400. Kyle Wright hits .519 and has 30 RBIs. Zach Kubly hits .443 and has 16 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Tadd Petersen hits .424 and has six homers and 24 RBIs. Josh Doust hits .432. Josh Zehr hits .400. Luke Stoll hits .369 and leads the team with 39 RBIs.
"They won almost half of their games by the 10-run rule," Shively said. "The key will be to shut them down early and keep the game tight. If we let them score runs early and get confidence, we could be in for a battle."
Shively believes he has the pitcher to limit the Braves and keep the Trojans (20-10) in the game.
Senior Tyler Hensley enters 10-4 with an ERA of 1.67. He throws three pitches, a fastball that reaches 85 mph, a sharp-breaking curve and a cut fastball. While he doesn't throw it often, he also has a changeup.
"Our advantage will be on the mound," Shively said. "I haven't seen a better pitcher than Tyler this year. His control is a lot better this year. He's getting ahead in the count, and this allows him to throw all of his pitches.
"They will probably score some runs, but they will not get a ton off of him."
Triton's offense may not be as explosive, but the Trojans carry a solid .295 team average. Landon Grubbs (.363) paces Triton's batters and is followed by Hensley (.330), Hager Holbrook (.329), Joe Potter (.329), Jake Burnett (.315) and Todd Blackford (.309). Fort Wayne Blackhawk's pitchers are Brett Reilley (8-1, 1.63), Rick Gonser (7-0, 3.11) and Josh Zehr (7-2, 1.46).
"[Fort Wayne Blackhawk's] pitching is OK but nothing dominant," Shively said. "If we're disciplined at the plate and lay off the high pitch and not chase the curve in the dirt, we'll put the ball in play."
Shively hopes it's a low-scoring game that will allow pitching and defense to decide the outcome, not Fort Wayne Blackhawk's offense.
"Last year we never went more than one game without an error," he said. "This year, we have had five or six games without an error, and several games we've had only one error.
"We're a lot better defensively than we have been in the past, and pitching and defense is what wins games."
The Trojans are in their second consecutive regional. Last year Tri-County broke a 3-all tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Triton 5-3 in the regional semifinals. Tri-County went on to lose in the state championship game.
"Our advantage going in is we were there last year," Shively said, "while this is [Fort Wayne Blackhawk's] first time with this group of kids and first time in a while for their program.
"[Fort Wayne Blackhawk] hits well, but they don't play strong competition. Over half of their games were against 1A schools, while 75 percent of our games were against 2A and 3A schools."
Even if Triton wins its regional opener, eighth-year Triton coach Shively refuses to call it his best team.
"No, it probably would be my 1997 team that was 21-6 and 13-1 in the NSC," he said. "If that team had been in single A, it would have had a real good shot in the tournament."
Regardless of which team wins between Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian and Triton, that team won't be favored to win the regional. The favored team is Washington Township, the No. 1 team in class A. Washington Township (29-1) meets No. 8 Frontier (22-7) in the first round at 1 p.m., following Triton's game at 10:30 a.m.
"I feel pretty good about our team going into the first game," Shively said, "but you never know. They are a team used to winning a lot of games. If we can get to the next game, in 1A baseball, most schools don't have two dominant pitchers. Teams will have their stud pitcher going in the first game."
SOUTH CENTRAL A REGIONAL
Saturday
10:30 a.m. - Triton (20-10) vs. No. 4 Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (22-3)
1 p.m. - No. 8 Frontier (22-7) vs. No. 1 Washington Township (29-1)
4:30 p.m. - championship
TRITON TROJANS
Batting
Player Average RBIs SB HR R
RF Landon Grubbs .363 17 9 2 24
SS/P Tyler Hensley .330 15 10 1 19
1B Hager Holbrook .329 20 4 2 15
C Joe Potter .329 3 10 0 18
SS/P Jake Burnett .315 24 9 5 24
LF Todd Blackford .309 10 1 0 7
2B Matt Norman .288 9 8 0 10
3B Bryan Watkins .260 8 3 0 12
CF Tyson Blackford .214 8 15 0 20
Team .295 117 70 10 156
Pitcher Record ERA IP H BB SO
Tyler Hensley 10-4 1.67 75 2/3 48 26 113
Brent Savill 4-3 2.84 37 37 19 28
Jake Burnett 3-2 2.30 42 2/3 39 13 40
Team 20-10 2.15 182 2/3 142 82 212
No. 4 FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
Batting
Player Average RBIs SB HR
2B/SS Kyle Wright .519 30 7 2
OF Zach Kubly .443 16 14 1
OF/P Josh Doust .432 6 5 0
3B/P Tadd Petersen .424 24 12 6
1B/P Josh Zehr .400 23 0 3
OF/P Luke Stoll .369 39 10 5
1B/3B Matt Harmon .347 16 0 3
C Brandon Reilley .313 18 3 1
SS/P Brett Reilley .309 17 3 1
OF/P Rick Gonser .280 6 2 1
Team NA
Pitcher Record ERA
Brett Reilley 8-1 1.63
Rick Gonser 7-0 3.11
Josh Zehr 7-2 1.46
Team N/A
