‘We just wanted to help out and do what’s right:’ Valley baseball helps Triton clean up after tornado

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Tippecanoe Valley baseball team was supposed to travel to Triton to play their season opener April 3.

The team did in fact travel to Triton but for a much more altruistic purpose, helping the community clean up after a tornado hit the area the previous day.

When Triton canceled school and it was clear that the game was going to be postponed, Valley coach Clayton Adamson said his brother and assistant coach Derek called him and suggested they travel to Triton anyway.

After two-and-a-half weeks of practice, Valley was wanting to play a game, especially with the Triton game being the only game on the schedule before spring break, which is this week.

“We talked about it first thing in the morning, and if we didn’t have a game, we were dying to play one game before spring break next week,” Adamson said. “It didn’t happen. We knew all what happened in Bourbon and just wanted to help out the community and stuff.”

Adamson said he then reached out to Triton coach Mark Elliott and the Bourbon fire chief.

“He said come to the park, and we loaded up the kids and went out there and helped out,” Adamson said of his talk with the fire chief. “Helped out the Triton baseball and softball team. Those two teams were out there pretty much all day. They were still out there after we left. It’s just something for our kids and others to recognize that we can improve ourselves in the gym in practice, but going to help the communities around that need it was really important for us as a team.”

Valley’s trip to Triton drew praise and attention on social media.

Adamson said they were at Triton for about an hour at the most. They said they removed debris and helped repair the fence at the Triton softball field.

“We cleaned up their soccer field park and around the Little League field and stuff like that,” Adamson said. “That’s about all we did. I wish we could have done a lot more, but just helping out, it means a lot.”

Adamson was asked about the damage he saw.

“Pretty big for some of the homes around that area and stuff like that,” Adamson said. “I think all the kids recognized how important it was to help out and see what was going on. I think there were people without power that whole day… some garages and houses. We just wanted to help out.”

Adamson described the Triton community’s treatment of his team as “really good.”

“We pulled up there, and we talked to coach Elliott and his team, and he gave us an OK to go help out, pick up some piles and do this and that,” Adamson said. “It was pretty nice. It was just nice to be out there with them.

“It’s kind of ironic. You’re planning to play each other, and in a matter of hours, you’re on the same team, just tackling a different job.”

The schools are located about 17 miles apart. Adamson was asked if any of his players knew any of the Triton players.

“I know that there’s a few of them,” Adamson said. “I know a couple of the Triton kids played American Legion ball, and there’s three Valley kids that played American Legion ball, so you know each other from there, and with our communities being 20 minutes apart, there’s always friends and families or something like that that are in that area and know each other.”

A former Valley player and assistant coach, Adamson is starting his first season as head coach.

“For sure,” Adamson said when asked if the team built some camaraderie. “We told all the kids about noon or 1 o’clock yesterday and sent them a message and said this is what we’re going to do, and I know they talked about it in school, and all the teachers were proud of them to go do it. It created a bond for all of our guys, and every single one of our guys went and helped out, and it’s the bus ride and talking about what we did and how we helped.”

Due to the weather and spring break, Valley will open their season at Manchester Monday.

“The hardest part for them is we worked so hard from the open gyms that we had and coming down to a couple weeks of practice that we planned to play, and something like this happens, and we just wanted to help out and do what’s right.”