Senior Dillan Plush reaches out to get the out against Lincoln High School.
Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
By Drew Terhall
DailyAdvocate.com
UNION CITY, IN — The Tri-Village baseball team split both games at the Dylan Williams Forever an All Star Foundation tournament on April 29. The team lost to Lincoln High School, 13-3, and then bounced back with a 5-0 win over Southern Wells.
The Patriots took advantage of playing in a special event and played more guys than they usually do with some at different positions.
Head coach Josh Davies said in the first game, they were just a little flat. Up to that point, they were on a four game losing streak and haven’t been playing their best baseball.
“Just in a spot right now where we’re trying to get a lot of guys some playing time. This is a special event for a good cause,” Davies said. “It was just a little bit flat. We’re just in a slump right now. We just got to find our rhythm so we can go into the tournament looking a little more sharp.”
In the first game, three different pitchers took the mound for the Patriots and combined for nine strikeouts. Sophomore Cameron Kimmel had two RBI in the game.
In the second game, senior Jace Lipps went seven innings on the mound and allowed two hits with eight strikeouts. Senior Logan Call had three hits. Senior Justin Finkbine and sophomore Kaeden Lipps each had two RBI.
The Patriots are 10-6 with a 6-3 conference record. They have five games left scheduled and then it will be tournament time. Davies said during this slump, strikeouts at the plate have been their main kryptonite. They haven’t been able to move base runners when they get someone on and haven’t been able to be aggressive on the base pads since the team doesn’t know when they will have another baserunner on.
Davies believes it’s a mental block in the hitters head that’s causing the team to strikeout often. The Patriots hitters struck out 14 times in the two games.
“I just think it’s in their head right now. Sometimes, it feels like the baseball is the size of basketball and the next time it’s a size of golf ball. Once we get rolling, we’ll be fine,” Davies said.
The Patriots will head to the Athletes in Action Complex on May 1 to take on Legacy Christian starting at 5 p.m. They will then host Preble Shawnee on May 2 for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]
