AKRON – An early deficit proved to be too much for the Tippecanoe Valley baseball team to overcome Wednesday.

The Vikings rallied but fell short in dropping a 9-5 decision to North Miami.

The guests, ranked No. 1 in Class 1-A, took a 6-0 lead after the first two innings and went on to win the Three Rivers Conference contest.

The trio of Gavin Bussard, Tanner Andrews and Luke Helton each had two hits to lead the way for Valley.

Drake Hyden took the pitching loss for the Vikings.

Valley, now 10-8 overall and 0-3 in the TRC, will host Argos on Friday.