LOGANSPORT – One pitch changed the entire complexion of the high school baseball Class 1A Logansport Regional on Saturday afternoon.

Leading 2-1 with two outs and one on in the top of the sixth inning, Triton starting pitcher Drew Bingamon threw a fastball to Fort Wayne Canterbury senior catcher Reed Hayes.

Hayes hit the offering well, and it kept carrying and carrying to left field, eventually leaving the ballpark for a home run.

It gave the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead and much needed life to an offense that had scattered just four singles up until that point.

Needless to say, it’s a pitch Bingamon would love to have back and so, too, would Trojan head coach Mark Elliott. The pitch selection was called from the dugout.

“I blame myself. I called a fastball to their best hitter, on an 0-2 count,” said Elliott, whose team went on to lose to Canterbury 6-4 at Jim Turner Field at Logansport High School. “The whole day I was thinking don’t let him (Hayes) beat you. Drew executed what I asked him to do and they took advantage of it. That turned the tide of the game and they had the momentum in the seventh.”

Bingamon was solid in the first five innings as the Cavaliers managed just one unearned run.

The Trojans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Bingamon led off with a walk and following back-to-back strikeouts, Bingamon scored on catcher Max Johnson’s infield single.

With the game tied at 1, Triton retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth when right fielder Maddox Dennie singled and was sacrificed to second by shortstop Levi McFarland. Third baseman Blake Ousley delivered a big two-out single to center to score Dennie and give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.

Between the third inning and one batter in the sixth, Bingamon retired eight batters in a row. Elliott said he started relying more on his off-speed stuff and not so much on the fastball. Triton held the lead until Hayes’ two-run bomb.

Trailing 3-2, the Trojans rallied in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 3 when the first three batters reached. Dennie walked and McFarland singled. Left fielder Ryder Goodman then crushed a ball to the gap in left center, scoring Dennie to tie the score.

Triton might have done more damage in the sixth had it not been for a botched squeeze play that saw Dennie get caught off third and he was tagged out in a rundown.

The top of the seventh started out harmlessly for the Trojans as two of the first three batters were retired. But with two out Canterbury sophomore pitcher JP Rohwer hit a ball to left-center. Trojan centerfielder Isaiah Vaca made a terrific diving effort, but the liner just glanced off his glove. Rohwer’s hit rolled all the way to the wall on the FieldTurf and with his terrific speed he circled the bases for an inside the park home run. The homer gave Canterbury a 5-3 lead. It would add another run before the side was retired.

Down three in its last at bat, Bingamon led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple that sailed over the centerfielder’s head. He scored when Dennie singled to left with two outs. McFarland followed with a single, putting the tying runs on base. However, Goodman flied to left to end the game.

“We didn’t quit and left it all out there,” said Elliott about his team’s effort. “It’s tough. I hate to see it end this way.”

In the loss, Bingamon threw 106 pitches, struck out eight and walked just one.

His counterpart, Rohwer, struck out seven and walked a pair.

One of the hitting stars for the Trojans was Dennie, who reached base all four plate appearances. He was 3-for-3 (three singles) with a walk and a pair of RBI.

Although the season ended earlier than Triton would’ve liked it to, the Trojans have a lot to look forward to when you consider practically the entire roster returns.

Triton will lose just one senior – Vaca – and should have one of the best teams in all of 1A next year when you consider Bingamon will be back along with five freshmen starters that won 20 games this spring.

• FW CANTERBURY 6, TRITON 3

FW Canterbury 010 002 3 – 6  9 1

Triton        100 101 1 – 4 10 1

WP: JP Rohwer (catcher Reed Hayes)

LP: Drew Bingamon (catcher Max Johnson)

2B: Noah Hayes (C), Ryder Goodman (T)

HR: Reed Hayes (C), JP Rohwer (C)

Records: FW Canterbury 13-8, Triton 20-10 (final)