Triton Central baseball chasing first regional title since 2003

The Indiana Crossroads Conference champion will face the Mid-Eastern Conference champion in a Class 2A regional championship game Saturday morning in Madison.

Triton Central (20-5) battles No. 7 Shenandoah (21-4) at 11 a.m.

The Tigers’ last regional title came in 2003 while Shenandoah has not earned a semistate trip since 1987. One of those droughts comes to an end Saturday.

GIANT fm (96.5 fm, 1520 am, 106.3 fm or at www.giant.fm) will broadcast the regional championship game from Madison. The pre-game show will air at 10:30 a.m.

The regional champion will face either No. 3 Evansville Mater Dei (20-7) or No. 4 Barr-Reeve (26-5) in a semistate semifinal game on June 14.

Triton Central has battled through injuries this season, including the loss of Vincennes recruit Hayden May (.421 batting average in 14 games; 2-1 on the mound with 20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings), and stayed resilient, which produced a 6-5 win over Heritage Christian in Monday’s sectional championship.

“This team, with what they’ve went through this year with the injuries, the guys being here and not being here … we played a lot of games without our shortstop this year. We played the month of May without (Hayden) May at first base. In my 10, 11, 12 years being here at Triton Central, we’ve never beaten Heritage Christian, so this is pretty special to me,” said Triton Central head coach Justin Bergman. “This means a lot.”

With May sidelined, Triton Central relied heavily on senior left-hander Bryce Haney (photo) to handle the big-game pitching duties. And he has been stellar.

Haney enters the regional with a 9-0 record and 1.08 earned run average. In 52 innings, he has allowed 31 hits and 17 walks while striking out 89.

“We are definitely missing Hayden right now,” admitted Haney after the sectional victory. “I think everybody is just trying to fit it together and making good pieces of it. We are trying our best without him, but everyone has really came together as a team. We are getting better day by day right now.”

Haney, also hitting .476 for the Tigers with 10 doubles, four home runs and a team-high 36 RBI, is committed to Wabash College to continue his baseball career.

“I am very excited. I love the school in general,” said Haney. “I think the baseball program will be great for me and I am ready to make an impact there.”

The Tigers average 9.5 runs per game with six guys in the starting lineup hitting at least .364.

Senior Nick Riggins is hitting. 427 with 21 runs scored and 26 RBI. He blasted a solo home run Monday that cleared the 365-foot fence at Heritage Christian with ease.

Also dangerous in the Triton Central lineup are juniors Bo West (.500, 16 RBI) and Eli Sego (.393, 7 doubles) and sophomores Weston Smith (.408, 21 RBI) and Brayden Hoover (.364, 23 RBI).

Shenandoah will counter with senior Collin Osenbaugh (photo), a Louisville recruit who is 7-1 with 1.10 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched.

Osenbaugh, who been selected to participate in the IHSBCA North-South Series later this month, is hitting .521 this season with six doubles, six triples, nine home runs and 44 RBI.

Other college signees on the Raiders’ roster include senior Ezra Byrd (.321, 21 runs, 24 RBI), a Prairie State College commit, and senior Cameron Frost (.333 average), a Northwestern Ohio recruit).

Junior Drew Fredenburg is hitting .438 with seven doubles, four home runs and 29 RBI.

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