By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

PLEASANT HILL — The Tri-Village Patriots baseball team suffered their first WOAC loss of the season at Newton, 2-0, on the road.

Head coach Josh Davies said while the team started to swing at some bad pitches at the end, it was an overall good game.

“We got in scoring position, played a really solid game. They’re a really ball club. Their pitcher pitched a nice, strong game. Both teams, good defense and it was just a good, quality game,” Davies said.

The Patriots put the pressure on the Indians early. In the top of the first inning, they had runners on first and second with no outs. In the second, sophomore Cameron Kimmel led off with a double. Senior CJ Osborne got on base with his second hit of the day in the third to get a runner on.

However, they couldn’t get the one hit to drive them in. The defense shined while the Patriots struggled to drive in some runs. Davies said they had some strong outfield play during the game.

In the first, senior Justin Finkbine made a diving catch for one out and got the runner out at second base to end the first inning. Osborne in center and sophomore Lane Bierly in left field also made some running catches to keep Newton off the base pads.

Eventually, Newton was able to drive in enough runs to win the game in the bottom of the fourth. With bases loaded and one out, freshman Austin Tippie drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout. Then with two outs, junior Brady Downing drove a run in to make it a 2-0 game.

Tri-Village did their best to get on the scoreboard, but couldn’t get the timely hits. In the fifth inning, they started a two-out rally and got runners on first and second. They just couldn’t get a break against the Newton pitching.

The Patriots had some momentum going into the seventh inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Newton had a hit to center field. After pitching for five innings, senior Jace Lipps moved to center field and quickly got the ball in to Osborne, playing short stop at the time. With a Newton runner heading for home, Osborne gunned it to sophomore Kaeden Lipps playing catcher and got the runner out at home plate.

The team was fired up heading into the dugout, getting ready to make a comeback. However, Newton stayed composed and ended the game.

Davies said the team doesn’t have anything to be ashamed about. The ball just didn’t drop in their favor, that’s just the game of baseball.

“I told the guys, don’t hang your head. This was a good ball club. Some days, the ball drops and sometimes it doesn’t,” Davies said.

Lipps pitched five innings and struck out three batters while allowing five hits. Senior Logan Call pitched one inning and held Newton scoreless.

Tri-Village is now 9-3 and 6-1 in conference play. They have a tough slate ahead with a road game at Twin Valley South on April 24 and they host Bradford on April 25. Both games are slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Davies said he wants to continue to see the consistency from this team as they enter a tough stretch of games.

“I want to continue to see the consistency and the team continuing to work together. They get along really well and we enjoy playing the game the right way. We’re excited for the next couple of weeks and(we’re) ready to go,” Davies said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]