AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley High School baseball coach Scott Backus said he can't wait until James Hackworth is back to normal. The left-handed hurler didn't appear to be far from it Monday against the visiting Manchester Squires. Held to a pitch count because of tendonitis in his elbow, Hackworth gave up just three hits, struck out 10 and walked two in 4-2/3 innings of work as the Vikings beat their Three Rivers Conference rival 3-0. Valley improved to 12-7 overall and 3-3 in the TRC, while Manchester fell to 6-12 and 1-4. "I can't wait for him to get back to normal," Backus said of Hackworth, who was on a pitch-count of 75. "I mean normal as far as going six or seven innings. We had Wabash beat, and we had to pull him and we lost. We had Northfield beat, we had to pull him and we lost. He was pretty good again tonight, and Tanner Andrews came in and did a great job." Andrews, a freshman and also Valley's leadoff hitter, came on in relief with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. He inherited two baserunners and got out the Vikings out of the inning by striking out the first batter he faced, senior Austin Flack. In all, Andrews retired seven of the eight batters he faced in his 2-1/3 innings of work and earned the save. "That was the big thing for me tonight," said Backus. "Hackworth came out and did his thing, Brody Andrews hit a big home run, but Tanner Andrews coming in and shutting them down the last couple inning, that was huge." While Hackworth and Andrews were doing their thing on the mound, Brody Andrews provided all the offense the Vikings needed with one powerful swing of the bat. The husky junior took a pitch from Manchester junior Connor McLaughlin and sent it high into the strong winds and over the rightfield fence in the fourth inning. It served as the game-winning hit, and Valley added a pair of insurance rus in the fifth inning to account for the final score. "He got one up in the wind and put it out of here," Manchester skipper Jack Rupley said of Brody Andrews' towering blast. "Hackworth did a pretty good job on the mound for them, but if we could have put the bat on the ball it could have been different." The Squires had just three hits in the game – a double to start the game by Knecht, a single by senior Scott Baker in the fourth inning and a single by Knecht in the fifth. "We've shown flashes, but we just can't seem to get a big hit when we need it," said Rupley. "We didn't get it done today, but I'm confident these kids will get it done in the tournament." The Squires, who drew two walks and had Caleb Thomas reach when he was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, stranded six runners on base. Valley had five hits in the game and stranded five runners on base. The Vikings scored their first insurance run in the fifth inning when junior Chase Burnau, who was pinch running for sophomore Clayton Adamson (who drew a walk), crossed the plate on an RBI-single by Tanner Andrews. Junior Bret Cooper scored the game's final run when Brody Andrews drew a bases-loaded walk. "This was a good win for us," said Backus. "It gets us back to even in the TRC, and we're guaranteed to have at least a .500 record overall if things unravel." Valley was playing without seniors Cory Krider and Tyler Akers, who were suspended for violating team rules. McLauglin, who pitched a solid game in his own right, took the loss on the mound for Manchester. He gave up five hits, three runs and three walks while striking out six in five innings of work. Baker, who will play collegiately at Ball State University, pitched the sixth inning for the Squires and struck out all three batters he faced. The four pitchers – two for each team – who took the mound Monday combined for 20 strikeouts. The Vikings are in action again Wednesday when they host TRC foe Southwood, while Mancheter hosts conference rival Rochester Wednesday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 3, MANCHESTER 0 M 000 000 0 – 0 3 1 V 000120 X – 3 5 0 James Hackworth (W, 4-2/3 IP, 10 K, 3 H, 2 BB), Tanner Andrews (5th, Save, 2-1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K); to Jacob Ritchey Connor McLaughlin (L, 5 IP, 3 R, 6 K, 5 H, 3 BB), Scott Baker (6th, 1 IP, 3 K) to Devan Knecht 2B – Knecht HR - Brody Andrews Records: Manchester 6-12 (1-4 TRC), Valley 12-7 (3-3 TRC)
