First-inning outburst helps Tri-Valley in district semifinal win

COSHOCTON — The bats came to life early for Indian Valley and Tri-Valley on Monday.

The eighth-seeded Braves plated three runs in the top of the first inning, but the second-seeded Scotties answered with seven in the home half.

That support allowed Tri-Valley ace Brady Kaufman to settle in, as Tri-Valley earned an 11-4 victory in the Division II district semifinal at Lake Park.

The Scotties (22-2-1) now face fourth seed Indian Creek, a 5-4 winner against Carrollton, for the district title at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye Trail.

Watching his team rebound from the rough start impressed Tri-Valley coach Marc Hadley.

"We missed some routine plays, but we came right back at them," he said. "Kade (Hindel) rebounded with a couple huge hits. We went from deer in headlights back to looking like a 22-win team."

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First-inning fireworks

Tri-Valley starter Brady Kaufman found himself in trouble from the first pitch. Tanyon McComb led off with a single, Deagan Beaber drew a one-out walk and Austin McCreery followed with a single to load the bases.

Kaufman then induced ground balls by Eric Golder and Maddex Caldwell, but Hindel made errors on both, leading to all three runs coming home.

However, Kaufman notched a pair of strikeouts to end the inning, and the Scotties responded, scoring all seven runs with two outs. Ethan McClellan led off with a walk and stole second, but it took a two-out single by Gavin Harrold to bring him home, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Kian Drummonds and Hindel drew walks to load the bases before Ryan Lamonica doubled to deep center, bringing all three home. After a Daniel Huffman single, Huffman got into a rundown trying to steal second, Lamonica took off and dove into home for another run, pushing the Tri-Valley lead to 5-3.

Kaufman also helped his cause with a two-run single, as the Scotties led 7-3 after one and never looked back.

"I was a little amped up and it took some time to find the zone," Kaufman said. "We knew it was a long game and kept our energy up. We experienced games like that before, and we've excelled in those moments.

"Getting the momentum back definitely helped, and it's easier to pitch with a cushion," he added. "I kept pounding the zone and stayed on the attack."

McCreery's fielder's choice brought in a run for the Braves in the top of the second, but Hindel's sac fly brought home Harrold for an 8-4 lead after two.

The Scotties put the game away with a three-run fourth. Drummonds' fielder's choice scored Ashton Sensibaugh, Hindel singled home Carter Dinan and Casen Baker scored on a wild pitch.

Kaufman went five innings and retired 11 of the final 13 Indian Valley batters he faced. He finished with nine strikeouts, three walks and four hits allowed in improving to 8-0 on the season.

Kyler Brennen also tossed two scoreless innings of relief for the Scotties.

Indian Valley coach Shannon McComb felt his team missed an opportunity to add on, as the Braves stranded runners at second and third in the first.

McCreery started but only retired two batters and took the loss after allowing seven runs on three hits and three walks. Beaber went the rest of the way, giving up four runs on seven hits and fanning five in 5 1/3 innings.

"We came out, put pressure on their defense and made (Kaufman work)," McComb said. "I was happy with three, but I would have felt better with five. They're a good hitting team. They showed that, and we couldn't get out of that inning."

Scotties battle through adversity

Despite the rough start, Hadley had praise for how his team responded. He also applauded Kaufman for not losing his focus on the mound.

"He started throwing more first pitch strikes (after the first inning)," Hadley said. "They were sitting fastball, and it's easy to do when the batter is ahead. Once Brady gets ahead, he's hard to deal with."

The offense was spread out as seven of the nine Scottie starters collected at least one hit. Harrold finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored and Hindel had two hits and two RBIs to highlight the effort.

"Baseball is a long game, and it's not over until you get that last out," Hadley remarked. "Bad things are going to happen in district games. The team that bounces back the best usually survives and moves on. That's how we need to approach every game moving forward."

McComb finished with a double and single, Golder also doubled and McCreery singled to round out the hits for the Braves.

bhannahs@gannett.com; X: @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Tri-Valley's big response leads to win over Indian Valley