BOURBON — The Triton High School baseball team put together a late rally, then held off Tippecanoe Valley for a 5-4 win at home Monday evening. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Triton seniors Pete Kauffman and Seth Glingle coaxed back-to-back walks from Valley senior pitcher Nick Kindig, who had just entered the game for junior Tanner Andrews. Kauffman went on to tie the game on an errant throw to third base, which was followed by a three-run shot over the right-field fence by junior Jayden Mosier, giving the Trojans a 5-2 lead. “Last year, he was coming off a shoulder injury, so he’s actually had a full year of being in the weight room,” first-year Triton coach Rodney Younis said about Mosier. “It’s really helped him. Before the season, he was really swinging the bat well, and we thought, ‘If he sees some good pitching, he’s going to be able to get around on them.’” Triton showed it needed all three of the runs from Mosier’s bat, as Andrews opened the top of the seventh with a triple, then scored on a groundout by sophomore Jarred Littlejohn. Following a one-out single by senior Dan Miller, senior Clayton Adamson drove him in on an RBI-double, but while trying to extend it to a triple, he was caught at third base. Instead of having a runner at second base with one out and a 5-4 deficit, Valley had two outs and no one on base. “It’s tough coming off Spring Break,” first-year Valley coach Brandon Cody said. “They haven’t seen a whole lot of live pitching and those live situations. We’ve only had four practices outside.” Valley actually outhit Triton 8-3, including three doubles and a triple, but struggled to get the timely hit against Kauffman, who went all seven innings. “Pete just had a great outing,” Younis said. “Unfortunately, there were a few mistakes we made, that wouldn’t have put us in the (tight-game) situation. Bottom line is, Pete was throwing strikes and out pitches, which is what we need.” In the complete game effort, Kauffman struck out five, while not giving up an earned run. “He threw a lot more off speed pitches than I think we had anticipated,” Cody said. “His fastball wasn’t overpowering, but he stuck with the curveball and his changeup was really effective tonight.” Kauffman’s effort helped even Triton’s season record at 1-1 going into today’s 5 p.m. home game against Caston. “The thing I was most proud of with our kids was that they battled and kept the game close,” Younis said. “We’re a team, that typically, we aren’t going to be playing long ball. When we get a hit like that from Jayden, that’s a bonus for us.” The loss dropped Valley to 0-3, as the Vikings look for their first win of the season Wednesday at home against Warsaw.
TRITON 5, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 4 TV 000 200 2 – 4 8 2 Tri 001 004 x – 5 3 4 Pete Kauffman (W, 7IP, 2R, 0ER, 8H, 5K, 1BB, 1HB) and Grant Stichter; Tanner Andrews (ND, 5IP, 1R, 1ER, 2H, 3K, 5BB), Nick Kindig (6, L, 1IP, 4R, 3ER, 1H, 1K, 2BB) and Wes Beck 2B – Jarred Littlejohn (TV), Dan Miller (TV), Clayton Adamson (TV), Kindig (TV) 3B – Andrews (TV) HR – Jayden Mosier (Tri) Records: Triton 1-1, TV 0-3
