By CRAIG ADKINS
TIPTON – In a battle in the Hoosier Conference where two teams seem to be headed in opposite direction in this young season, the Hamilton Heights Huskies were able to put up crooked numbers in two separate innings en route to taking down the host Blue Devils in five innings, 11-1
The Blue Devils were able to get on the board first, but it was sandwiched in the middle of a great first inning on the mound by Heights’ right-handed starting pitcher Guy Griffey. The senior pitcher was able to technically strike out four in the first, the third of them reaching on a dropped third strike.
Jack Nasser got Tipton’s first hit on a single to left, followed by Vince Hoover walking. Nasser scored the Blue Devils’ lone run on that dropped third strike that allowed Dylan Nelson to reach base.
Heights got their offense going in the top of the third on six consecutive hits off of junior Eli Shook.
Colin Kuhn got it started singling up the middle and he advanced to third on a double by Logan Hickman. Kuhn was driven in by leadoff hitter Dean Mason on an opposite field single to left. A bunt single from Nate Hulen loaded the bases with no outs.
Drew VanOeveren then found the right center gap for a bases clearing triple and just like that, Hamilton Heights jumped into a lead of 4-1 that they would only build on.
Alex Eubanks’ RBI single scored VanOeveren and then a Landon Hurley single to left plated Isaac Tuma to give Heights a comfortable 6-1 lead.
“I think the first time through the lineup, Shook had us off balance,” said Hamilton Heights head coach Ryan VanOeveren on the way his team adjusted offensively.
“The second time through the lineup, we started putting the ball in play more and getting guys on base. Swinging at strikes has been a message we’ve been trying to push really hard on offense and I think today, for a large part we swung at the ball in the strike zone and the results were that we scored a bunch of runs,” continued VanOeveren on Heights’ patience at the plate that paid off at Tipton.
The best way to describe Griffey’s night on the mound in his five innings was comfortable. Griffey struck out nine Blue Devils and gave up just four hits with one walk.
“He commanded two pitches today and when any pitcher can do that, it’s difficult at the high school level to hit the baseball,” stated VanOeveren on his starting pitcher’s solid night.
“He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and I think he was ahead in the count on almost every batter tonight. He was in a good rhythm. We made some good plays behind him and helped him out,” said VanOeveren, further complimenting Griffey.
Drew VanOeveren got the top of the fifth started by drilling a single up the middle for his second hit and he would be balked over to second. Isaac Tuma drove in VanOeveren on a one-out single of his own as Heights continued to add to its lead.
Landon Hurley got his second hit, doubling to left center, scoring Tuma to make it 8-1. Braulio Pena lined a single down the line in left that scored Hurley for 9-1. Kuhn and Hickman were hit by a pitch and singled, respectively. They would both soon be driven in by Dean Mason to account for an 11-1 score that would hold up with the Huskies winning in five innings.
The 10-run win in this second game of the series for Hamilton Heights sealed the series two games to none. The Huskies outscored Tipton 19-1 in those games, taking Tuesday’s game 8-0 in Arcadia.
Tipton drops to 0-8 (0-4 Hoosier Conference) on the season and Hamilton Heights, at 5-3 (2-2 Hoosier Conference), has now won three games in a row. The Huskies head to Elwood on Saturday for a doubleheader.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 11, TIPTON 1
(5 innings)
Heights AB R H RBI
Dean Mason 4 1 2 3
Nick Hulen 4 1 1 0
Drew VanOeveren 3 1 2 3
Alex Rickey 0 1 0 0
Alex Eubanks 3 0 1 1
Isaac Tuma 3 2 1 1
Landon Hurley 1 0 0 0
Kaleb Murray 2 1 2 2
Braulio Pena 3 0 1 1
Colin Kuhn 2 2 1 0
Logan Hickman 3 1 2 0
Cooper Vondersaar 0 1 0 0
Totals 28 11 13 11
Score by Innings
Heights 006 05 – 11 13 0
Tipton 100 00 – 1 4 2
3B: VanOeveren. 2B: Mason, Murray, Hickman. SB: Tuma. HBP: Kuhn.
Heights pitching IP R ER H
Guy Griffey 5 1 0 4
Strikeouts: Griffey 9. Walks: Griffey 1.