VALPARAISO | The scouts may have come Tuesday to see Chesterton's Jake Post, but they likely left just as impressed with Devin Bafia.
The Valparaiso junior left-hander struck out 13, allowing one hit, outdueling Post, a Ohio State recruit, in the Times No. 7 Vikings' 3-0 Duneland Athletic Conference victory against the No. 10 Trojans.
"I tried to stay as calm as I possibly can, knowing the scouts were here, just treat it like any other game," Bafia said. "I noticed a Michigan scout here an hour before the game. I was locked in. It feels great."
Bafia no-hit Chesterton (10-8, 5-5) into the fifth when Austin VanderZanden sliced a line drive to right center that barely eluded a diving Ethan Lehnen for a double. VanderZanden, one of just three Trojans to get as far as second base, advanced no further.
"Get ahead, stay ahead," Bafia said. "I kept them off balance. Everything was working for me, fastball, curve ball, changeup, slider, all four."
Bafia's two walks both came in the third inning.
"We've been very proud of Devin," Valpo coach Dave Coyle said. "He's a very meticulous worker. I think he's certainly earned respect around the Duneland Conference. He's got two losses and we didn't play well defensively in those games."
It spelled trouble for a Chesterton lineup that's struggled at the plate most of the season.
"We can't play big ball, so we tried to play small ball and we didn't execute," Trojans coach Jack Campbell said. "(Bafia) pitched great, but how many curve balls did he throw for strikes? Probabaly a handful. We took balls we had a chance to hit and swung at balls in the dirt that we had no chance to hit."
Bafia also had a hand in the first two runs for Valpo (15-8, 7-4). He dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt in the first, scoring one run, and another came around when the ball was thrown away.
"It was my first bunt of the year," Bafia said. "I saw the squeeze call and it was the first fastball I saw. As soon as (Lehnen) left, I put the bat down and just tried to get on top of the ball. Thank God I did. We always start slow, so after that, I was ready to go."
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