Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Baseball purists believe the way to win a championship is good pitching coupled with a solid defense.
Triton received both elements Monday in a 5-3 win over Northern State Conference foe Culver.ÊÊ
Senior southpaw starting pitcher Kenny Miller proved to be an enigma in himself by striking out a Kerry Wood-like eight batters through the first three innings but then resembled Mitch Williams by walking four and uncorking two wild pitches the next two innings.
Had it not been for the spectacular play turned in by shortstop Jake Burnett, Miller may not have gotten out of the fifth inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs with the score knotted at 2-2, Culver's Chris Carlson hit a looping liner that seemingly was headed for left field, but a diving Burnett snared the ball and snuffed out the Cavalier rally.Ê
Buoyed by the Burnett catch, Triton rallied in its half of the fifth when Scott Shirey led off the inning with a walk and hustled his way from first to third on a sacrifice bunt by center fielder Tyson Blackford and later scored on a wild pitch. Triton added another run to take a 4-2 lead.Ê
"Burnett's catch was huge ," Triton coach Jim Shively said, "and Shirey's hustle on the sacrifice helped us relax and gave us the momentum."
Shively called on relief pitcher Tyler Hensley to close out the Cavaliers.
"We knew Kenny (Miller) was running out of gas," Shively said, "and we also knew Tyler (Hensley) has been throwing well for us with a couple of wins, so we felt confident."
Hensley proceded to shut the door on Culver by pitching the final two innings, which included three strikeouts, in saving the game for Miller.
The opening conference win improved Triton's overall record to 4-1.
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TRITON 5, CULVER COMMUNITY 3
R H E
Triton 5 4 2
Culver 3 6 0
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WP - Miller (Triton)
LP - Personette (Culver)
Save -ÊHensley (Triton)
2B -Ê(Culver) Brown, (Triton) Burnett, Holbrook (2)
