By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

NEW MADISON — In a game that lasted almost three hours and was called in the sixth inning due to the sun setting, the Tri-Village baseball team won 23-21 over Seneca High School from Erie, PA.

Head coach Josh Davies said it was great to play in a game where the team encountered many different situations. They were up big, then fell behind, got back in the lead and had to fight to keep their lead late.

“We have a young team this year. Just putting them in different situations is important. We’re trying to set a baseline to work from and try to grow,” Davies said.

The Patriots scored 10 runs in the first inning. Sophomore Levi Farmer drove in two runs in the first. Sophomore Noah Finkbine had a sacrifice groundout to make it a 7-0 game. Junior Lane Bierly had a RBI and junior Kaeden Lipps drove in two runs all in the first inning.

Seneca responded with two runs in the top of the second inning. They made their early comeback attempt in the third inning. They scored 11 runs in the top of the third, capped off with a two-run double, to go up 13-10.

The Patriots responded with another big inning in the bottom of the third inning. They scored nine runs, including a RBI hit by Lipps, to go up 19-13.

Davies said the team was able to put themselves in scoring position and scored a lot of the runs with aggressive base running. The aggressiveness and the awareness on the base pads is encouraging for Davies to see with this young team.

“We were aggressive on the base pads. They’re starting to look for different signs, knowing what to do in baseball situations. I’m happy from that standpoint, this early with this young of a group,” Davies said.

Seneca fought back and made it a one-run game in the top of the fourth inning. They scored five more runs making the score, 19-18.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Patriots were able to score two more runs off wild pitches to go up 21-18. They then scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman Lucas Brown drove in a run and then scored on a wild pitch.

In what would be Seneca’s final inning at bat, they scored three runs. They scored all three runs with two outs in the inning.

With the offenses lighting up the scoreboard, both teams had multiple players take the mound.

For Tri-Village, they are trying to replace a majority of their pitching staff from last season. The seniors on last year’s team accounted for most of the team’s innings pitched.

Davies said they are trying to give many players many opportunities to show what they can do on the mound. They are not trying to over work anyone and are keeping a careful eye on everyone’s pitch count.

“We have a couple guys that battled some injuries last year and we’re trying to work them back in. Also, teach the basics to some of these pitchers. Keep their pitch count to a manageable level and continue to grow,” Davies said.

Sophomore Jaiden Beam ended the game for the Patriots on the mound. In at least two innings of work, he had four strikeouts.

The Patriots are 1-1 on the season. They will host Southeastern on March 29 with first pitch set for 5 p.m.

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