AKRON – Of the four teams in Saturday’s Class 3A baseball regional at Bellmont High School, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings have the fewest wins. First-year Valley coach Ryan Moore, however, doesn’t believe his team is the underdog in the 11 a.m. semifinal game against the Hamilton Heights Huskies. “I don’t think we’re the underdog, I know we’re not,” said Moore, whose team beat NorthWood 7-2 Monday evening to win the program’s third sectional title in four years. “I know (Hamilton Heights) is worried about us.” Valley enters the game with a record of 16-9, while Hamilton Heights is 19-9. Third-ranked Leo (25-3) will play the host Braves (22-8) in the second semifinal at approximately 1 p.m. The winners will play for the regional championship at 8 p.m. Moore is confident his team can win the first game and put itself in position to win the program’s first regional championship because, among other reasons, James Hackworth will be on the mound. “You have to win the first game to win the second game,” said Moore. “We’re gonna throw James in Game 1, and then figure things out if we get to play again. James is our guy, I like our odds when he’s out there.” The hard-throwing Indiana State-bound senior southpaw takes a 6-0 record into Saturday’s game. He also has two saves. In 45 innings of work this season, Hackworth has given up just six total runs and five earned runs. He has an ERA of 0.78 and has fanned 83 batters, including a 15-strikeout performance in the sectional final. “James will have had four days rest,” said Moore. “I know he’ll be ready to go. He wants the ball. He’s the kind of kid that wants to pitch in the big game.” Hackworth, who threw a no-hitter against Whitko as a freshman and against Manchester last month, owns a career record of 23-8 and has struck out 406 batters. While the Huskies are trying to figure out how to hit Valley’s talented lefty, the Vikings will likely face Hamilton Heights senior southpaw Tyler Anderson. “Hamilton Heights will throw their big 6-foot-6 lefty,” said Moore. “It’ll be a pitchers’ dual. James has a tenacity about him, he wants the ball in the big game. He’s not going to back down, whether he’s pitching against another Division I pitcher or whoever.” The last time Hackworth squared off with another Division I recruit, he threw a no-hitter against conference rival Manchester, striking out 17 and missing a perfect game by walking one batter. Manchester’s Conner McLaughlin, an IPFW recruit, threw a three-hitter that day and struck out 12. A towering three-run homer by Valley senior Brody Andrews was the difference. According to a story in the Muncie Star Press, Anderson’s fastball has been clocked at 90 miles per hour. In the Huskies’ 3-0 win over Muncie Central in the sectional final, Anderson worked all seven innings, striking out seven and giving up just two hits. He still had a no-hitter going with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. “We talked about hitting early in the count,” Moore said when asked about his batters facing Anderson. “He’s gonna throw hard and throw a lot of fast balls. We’ve got to have quick hands.” Hackworth leads the Vikings with a .489 batting average. He has hit three home runs, two triples and six doubles this season. Brody Andrews is batting .400, with two home runs and three doubles, while sophomore Tanner Andrews is batting .365. Senior Kameron Larimer and juniors Mason Teel and Clayton Adamson are all batting above .300 this season. “It’s gonna come down to execution,” said Moore. “We’ve got to get on the scoreboard somehow – with a sacrifice, with a bunt, something. We can’t leave runners on base, and we can’t have any fielding errors.”
