AKRON - Facing Tippecanoe Valley freshman pitcher James Hackworth, the Whitko Wildcats' hacks at the ball weren't worth much.
In the first Three Rivers Conference game for both squads Wednesday at Valley, Hackworth struck out 14 of 19 Whitko batters in a six-inning, no-hitter, which resulted in a 10-0 win for the Vikings."He's got a really good attitude, and he goes at batters," Valley coach Scott Backus said of the left-hander. "He pitches smart, and he's a really good competitor. Right now, when he's on, he's on."
And he was definitely on during a dreary day, giving up a perfect game with two outs in the fifth inning, walking Whitko's Kurt Boggs.
"He threw well," Whitko coach Erik Hisner said of Hackworth. "He threw strikes, worked around the plate. We didn't make the adjustments we needed to make."
Outside of the walk, the only two Wildcat batters to put the ball in play were senior James Stoddard and junior Trevor Sleighter, who each grounded and flew out.
"He's a lefty, and that's what he's got going for him to begin with," Backus said of the pitcher, who struck out 13 of those batters swinging. "He's also got some velocity, so when he throws the ball, it's moving around a lot."
While Hackworth was mowing down the Wildcat batters, the Vikings were finding offense much easier to find, finishing the game with 13 hits.
"We just didn't throw strikes early," Hisner said. "We didn't work down, and they're a good hitting team. If you leave balls up, they're going to make you pay."
Scoring three runs in the opening frame, Valley got things started early when sophomore leadoff hitter Cory Kider reached second base on an errant throw following an apparent ground out.
Freshman Brody Andrews followed Krider with an RBI-triple and senior Keith Koser then came up with an RBI-double.
Valley then built its lead to three when senior Dan Kitch drove Koser home on an RBI-single, signaling the start of a long night for the Wildcats.
"We didn't come ready to play," Hisner said. "The leadoff error kind of set the tone."
Up 4-0 to open the third inning, Kitch launched a solo home run on the first pitch he saw, igniting a four-run inning, which all but put Whitko away.
"Kitch had himself a good ballgame," Backus said of the senior, who finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs and three stolen bases.
"Robert Bauters also hit one off the fence, going 2 for 2," Backus added. "Koser had a couple hits and Andrews had three, with a double and a triple. When the guys are disciplined at the plate, and are making the pitcher throw strikes, we can hit the ball hard. We showed that tonight."
The win leaves Valley at 10-6 overall and 1-0 in the TRC, and they'll only look to build on that record with another home game Friday against Manchester at 5 p.m.
"We're glad to go 1-0," Backus said. "We've had a little trouble with Whitko in the past during the TRC, so it was nice to get a win against these guys. We want to be able to roll Friday against Manchester to get some momentum."
Whitko will also be in TRC action Friday, hosting Northfield at 5 p.m.
