SOUTH WHITLEY – Camouflage is primarily used in battle to hide from an enemy. On Monday night the Whitko baseball team donned its digital camouflage jerseys for its Three Rivers Conference battle against its biggest rival, Tippecanoe Valley.

The uniforms seemed almost too fitting for the Wildcats, a team trying to hide the memory of its most recent performances against the Vikings. Just like a branch of the military, Whitko was disciplined and efficient. The stout performance in the field and at the plate led the Wildcats to a 2-0 victory over Valley, Whitko’s first over the Vikings since 2008.

Wildcat sophomore Tanner Gaff pitched seven scoreless innings for Whitko against Tippecanoe Valley. Gaff is now 5-3 on the season. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

The game was a chess match between two of the TRC’s top pitching talents, Tanner Andrews of Valley and Tanner Gaff of Whitko. It was a battle between a senior and a sophomore, a tale of two Tanners, and Whitko’s Tanner got the last pitch and the last laugh.

“Tanner Gaff threw a heck of a game for us,” said Whitko head coach Erik Hisner.  “He’s been throwing well all year. He has had some bad luck with some errors behind him, but his ERA was under 1.00 coming in. He has really stepped up this year to fill a hole as we lost three of our top four pitchers last year.

“The kid competes. I don’t think he throws a pitch where he isn’t 100-percent in competitive attitude.”

Gaff was outstanding, pitching all seven innings for the Wildcats.. The sophomore played beyond his years in his eighth start and ninth appearance on the mound this season. Gaff threw 87 pitches, struck out seven, gave up three hits, two walks and shut out his team’s rival.

Whitko’s Austin Sturgess chases down Valley’s Tanner Andrews in the fourth inning on Monday’s game.

Gaff even produced at the plate at a critical point for his team. Gaff picked up a single in the bottom of the sixth inning, moving Ethan Nicodemus to third base. Garrett Smiley brought Nicodemus in the final 90-feet with a one-out single to give the Wildcats a solid insurance run to go up 2-0.

Gaff was 1-3 at the plate on Monday night. Smiley was 2-3 with the RBI and Nicodemus was 1-2 with a walk and the run in the sixth. Avery Robbins was 2-3 at the plate for Whitko and broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second with a RBI single, scoring Austin Sturgess.

The shutout was no fluke either as Gaff was backed by solid defensive play through all seven innings. The Wildcats made it clear that they were tired of losing to the Vikings. Whether it was scooping a low throw at first, backing up bases, running down base runners attempting to steal, the Wildcats were playing smart baseball. Players, like Alex Bechtold, were selling out for the win, even if it meant some physical pain along the way.

Whitko senior Avery Robbins stands his ground at third base for the Wildcats.

Bechtold nearly had the catch of the day in the fourth inning. The left fielder dove for a ball only to have it land in his glove, pop out and hit him square in the mouth. The effort was just one example of the inspired play that the Wildcats put on display against Valley. Though the play went as a hit for Valley, Whitko got out of the inning and Bechtold, bloodied smile and all, received a warm welcome in his return to the dugout.

Needless to say, Hisner was proud of his team, which has now won three consecutive games.

“This was a good win for us,” said the Wildcats skipper. “This was a game that I thought early on we would need just one or two runs and that might do it.  We didn’t get a lot of hits, (Tanner) Andrews was tough, but we got timely hits and that was big.”

Andrews was definitely tough on the mound for Valley. The future Purdue Boilermaker pitched all six innings for the Vikings, striking out six, walking three and giving up the two earned runs.

But, as stout as Andrews was on the mound, the senior and his teammates were not as effective at the plate.

“”We had plenty of opportunities, I thought,” said Vikings head coach Brandon Cody. “Against a team like this you have to take advantage of all of those opportunities. We just couldn’t execute on the back end after getting some guys on base.”

Cody hit the nail on the head. The Vikings left five runners on base, two in scoring position, on Monday night.

Andrews could not duplicate his pitching success at the plate, going 1-3 with a double. Gavin Bussard led the Vikings offensively, going 2-3 at the plate.

The Vikings (9-7, 0-2) will hope to right the ship on Tuesday night when they travel to Waterford Mills to take on Bethany Christian. Whitko (12-6, 1-1) will travel to Fort Wayne to play at Parkview Field against TRC foe, Manchester on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Despite taking the loss, Valley’s Tanner Andrews pitched a gem on Monday evening.