Blasts bury Patriots

Joey Moynihan was a fan of the curveball.
The Delta senior launched a pair of curves from Jay County starter Andy Haffner for three-run home runs to lead his Eagles to an 8-2 victory over the host Patriots.
The door opened for Delta when Todd Fowler’s pop up on the infield to lead off the game fell untouched between pitcher Andy Haffner, third baseman Jason Houston and catcher Chance Fuller. Clay Clevenger followed with a single to center field, and a double steal put runners on second and third.
With one out, Moynihan blasted a curve ball from Haffner high over the fence in left field for a 3-0 lead.
Delta pushed the lead to 5-0 heading into the final inning, and Clevenger led off the seventh with a double to left field. Tanner Temple added a single to right field to set the stage for Moynihan again.
The senior first baseman hit a line drive over the scoreboard in left-center field for his second three-run shot of the game.
“He’s a good hitter,” said Delta coach Terry Summers of Moynihan, who finished 2-for-3 with six RBIs and two runs. “He’s been hitting well. I’d hate to say we expect (two homers), but we expect good things out of the middle of our lineup.”
It was the Eagles’ top two hitters who delivered against Jay County, as Fowler, Clevenger and Temple each scored twice. Temple and Clevenger had two hits apiece, and Joe Drago was 3-for-4 with an RBI, a double and a stolen base.
The Patriots (3-7) struggled to get much going at the plate as they were limited to four hits, including singles by Alex Dunn in each of the final two innings.
They were retired in order in the second, third and fifth innings.
And perhaps the biggest issue for JCHS was its 10 strikeouts, five of which came on called third strikes.
“That’s inexcusable,” said Jay County coach Lea Selvey. “You can’t look at called third strikes. If you have five strikeouts, you have five strikeouts, but … you’ve got to be aggressive.”
Austin Conway earned the victory as he allowed just three hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings before giving way to Michael Fitzwater for the final out.
“We had a great outing from Conway,” said Summers. “He got ahead a lot and spotted his fastball real well. He’s doing a great job for us.”
Dustin Selvey, who made a tremendous lunging catch on a ball in the gap in right-center field to save two runs in the third inning, was responsible for the Patriots’ first run. He smacked a one-out triple to right field in the first inning and came to the plate on a ground out by Andre Duke.
The other JCHS run came after Ryan Miskinis drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. He advanced to second base on a wild pitch, moved to third on an error and scored on another wild pitch.
Along with the Dunn singles and the Dustin Selvey triple, Duke hit a double to left-center field to lead off the fourth inning. His pinch runner, Keenan James, was stranded at second base.
Despite the loss and the pair of Moynihan homers, Selvey said he was impressed by Haffner’s effort on the hill. He walked just one batter while striking out five.
Most importantly, Selvey said, Haffner fought to stay in the game.
“I saw a lot of improvement out of Andy on the mound,” said Selvey. “If you take a couple of pitches away … it’s a (close) ball game.
“I went out to take him out (in the seventh) and he wanted the ball. I was … 100 percent that I was taking him out … but he wanted to keep it.
“That’s the difference with him. He realizes that he can do this. He has confidence in himself.”[[In-content Ad]]