Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Friday night felt like a whole lot of deja vu for the Triton baseball team, as just one day after securing a five-inning victory over Oregon-Davis in which the Trojans gave up no hits, the blue and gold did so again on Friday, this time at home. Picking up a 14-0 win, the Trojans extended what has been a white-hot start to the season, improving to 7-1, 6-1 in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference.
The two halves of the first inning couldn’t have gone any differently. The top of the first went by in a flash, as Triton starter Levi McFarland wasted no time at all retiring the side in order. The hurler struck out the first two hitters he saw on three pitches each before getting a ground out to finish things off.
Then, in the bottom half, the Trojans sent all nine of their hitters to the plate in an inning that resulted in five runs coming across. Braxton Kaufman hit an RBI single in the inning, while Blake Ousley hit an RBI double. Oregon-Davis gave their opponents a bit of help as well, making three errors and throwing two wild pitches to allow the blue and gold to extend the lead some more.
With the rain starting to pick up in the top of the second, McFarland ran into some control issues. However, after putting two men on with free passes, he picked up another pair of strikeouts to keep it a 5-0 game and to give his bats another chance to extend it.
They were certainly able to do so. For the second straight inning, nine hitters and five runs came to the plate for Triton, as the home side took a 10-0 lead into the third inning. It started with a leadoff walk to Drew Bingamon, and before another pitch was thrown, he took second and third after an errant pickoff move. He was brought home on an RBI ground out by Max Johnson, but that just got things started.
Ousley hit his second RBI double in as many innings, eventually coming around to score himself.Maddux Dennie drove in a run on an extra-base hit himself. Jadyn Prater picked up his first hit of the night, a single that scored another. The Trojans were making a ton of great contact and forcing the Bobcat defense to make plays, a strategy that was paying off immensely.
McFarland ran into even more trouble in the top of the third, as a pair of walks and an error loaded the bases for Oregon-Davis with just one out. However, the pitcher was able to get a punch out for the second out, and a head’s up decision by Johnson behind the plate to throw over to third was a good one, as he picked off the runner and ended the inning. After five innings of no-hit ball on Thursday, Triton had added three more here.
The trends of the contest continued into the bottom
of the third, as this time 10 different hitters had a chance to make an impact, resulting in four more runs coming across. This included three players that had an RBI in the inning prior: Johnson, Dennie and Prater, with Dennie hitting his second double of the game before eventually scoring for a third time. Nine hitter Trey Tarlton, who had made the final out of the inning in each of the previous two did not do so here, drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run.
Senior Braxton Kaufman drives in Triton's first run with a base hit in the first inning...Nieter
After working around some trouble in each of the past two innings, McFarland did not have to do so in the top of the fourth. He did give up a two-out walk, but the frame came to an end a pitch later with a pop up behind the plate.
Already leading 14-0, the Trojans put the first two men on during their next trip to the dish. However, this time the Bobcats were able to buck up defensively and prevent the home side from adding on to their lead. Heading to the fifth, Triton was three outs away from yet another victory.
Prater came in to seal the deal after the seven-strikeout outing by McFarland, and after walking the leadoff man, he was able to do just that. He retired three of the next four hitters he faced to finish off the no-hitter and extend his team’s win streak to five.
