AKRON - The game was postponed Wednesday because of heavy rain. When it was played under beautiful blue and sunny skies Friday afternoon, the storm the Whitko Wildcats couldn't weather was Tippecanoe Valley's offense. In the Three Rivers Conference opener for both high school baseball teams, the Valley Vikings pounded out 16 hits, including nine extra-base hits, as they hosted and defeated Whitko 11-3. Valley improved to 7-3 overall, while Whitko fell to 7-7 after stranding 14 runners. "We've got a good contact hitting lineup," said Valley coach Scott Backus. "If we take good pitches, we can put the ball in play. It was nice to see the guys focus at the plate. We got production from a lot of guys, and that was nice to see." Eight different Valley players record a hit in the game, including junior Brody Andrews, who hit a pair of towering home runs over the 350-foot sign in center field and a pair of doubles. Sophomore Mason Teel had three hits for the Vikings, including a pair of doubles, while freshman Tanner Andrews also had three hits, including a double. "Mason has been working hard," said Backus. "He's been doing some good things lately. We knew he could play the field, the big question was how productive he'd be at the plate. And he was very productive today." Senior Cory Krider hit a triple for the Vikings, while classmate Bret Cooper ripped a double for the hosts. "They're a good team," Whitko coach Erik Hisner said of the Vikings. "They've got a lot of talent. We knew we had to execute to stay in the game. We did an OK job, but we didn't do a great job. Their first four hitters are really solid, and when they get big hits from the bottom of their lineup, they're hard to beat." Valley had a chance to score several runs in the first inning, but a base-running blunder got the Vikings in an odd double-play situation and left them with just one run. They made up for it, however, in the second inning by plating six runs. Valley also scored one run in the fourth inning, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Whitko scored its three runs on six hits. The Wilcats plated one run in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings. While the Vikings got production from nearly everyone in uniform, Whitko just didn't produce the big hit and left at least two runners stranded on base in every inning. "We had the chance to get back into it and just didn't get the big hit," said Hisner. "We left the bases loaded a couple times. We had our chances." Senior Nathan Sherrard had Whitko's only extra-base hit, a double in the fourth inning. Senior Josh Smith hit two singles for the Wildcats, while senior Alex Winger, junior Colin Nicodemus and freshman Ethan Nicodemus hit one single each. Tanner Andrews started the game on the mound and was credited with the win for Valley after he pitched three innings, giving up three hits and one run, while striking out five and walking two. Junior Chase Burnau came on in relief in the fourth and worked two innings. He gave up three hits, two runs and four walks to go with a strikeout. Senior Cory Krider worked the final two innings for Valley. He gave up one walk, and of the six outs he was responsible for, five came via strikeouts. For Whitko, sophomore Alex Stoddard took the loss after pitching four innings. He gave up 10 hits, eight runs, three walks and struck out one. Winger, sophomore Ryan Wiegold and junior Wes Gensch all came on in relief for the Wildcats. Whitko and Valley could meet again in the state tournament in about three weeks, as they play in the same Class 3A sectional. "Two big things we'd have to do differently are make the routine play, and cash in on our opportunities," said Hisner. "We can't leave guys on base like that." Whitko is in an action again today in a 10 a.m. doubleheader at Bellmont, while Valley hosts a four-team tournament. The Vikings will play Columbia City at 10 a.m.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 11, WHITKO 3 W 001 110 0 – 3 6 2 V 160 112 X – 11 16 2 Tanner Andrews (W, 3 IP, 1 R, 5 K, 3 H, 2 BB), Chase Burnau (4th, 2 IP, 2 R, 1 K, 3 H, 4 BB), Cory Krider (6th, 2 Ip, 0 R, 5 K, 0 H, 1 BB) to Jacob Ritchey Alex Stoddard (L, 4 IP, 8 R, 10 H, 1 K, 2 BB), Alex Winger (5th, 1-2/3 IP, 3 R, 1 K, 6 H), Wes Gensch (6th, 1/3 IP 0 R, 1 K, 0 H) to Riley Cokl 2B - Brody Andrews (TV) 2, Tanner Andrews (TV), Mason Teel (TV), Bret Cooper (TV), Nathan Sherrard (W) 3B – Cory Krider (TV) HR – B. Andrews (TV) 2 Records: Whitko 7-7, 0-1 TRC, Valley 7-3, 1-0 TRC
