Jay Co. tops Starfires

It was all or nothing for the Patriots Friday.

In the second, third, fourth and sixth innings, they had no hits. In the other two frames, they racked up 10.

Jay County used four-run first and fifth innings to send the visiting South Adams Starfires home with an 8-2 defeat.

"It was two big innings," said Selvey. "It's kind of weird ... I don't know how to account for it."

The Patriots, who have worked their way back to within a game of .500 with three straight wins, jumped on SAHS starter T.J. Burnfield in the first inning.

Trey Dunn opened the game with a single to right field against his pitching counterpart, and Nathan Brown followed with the first of three infield singles in the inning. Phil Powell brought them both home with a double down the left-field line.

Willie Mayfield and Colton Lombardo each added infield singles in the first inning, and Brown had another as part of the four-run fifth.

"He's young, and that's the second game he's started this year," said South Adams coach Brad Buckingham of Burnfield, a sophomore. "I was pleased with what he did.

"It's just a matter of making some plays when you have a chance. And even though maybe they're not errors in the book, if we do things a little bit different we might be able to get a couple outs out of it. Those things make a lot of difference."

Burnfield faced just one batter more than the minimum over the next three innings, giving up only a pair of walks and retiring seven straight batters during one stretch. But the Patriots got to him again in the fifth.

This time Dunn led off with a double to left-center field before Brown added his second infield hit. Clean-up hitter Billy Wellman cleared the bases and put the game firmly in JCHS control with a line drive three-run home run to over to left field.

A single by Willie Mayfield and an RBI double off the bottom of the fence in left-center from Colton Lombardo completed the scoring.

The pair of big innings supported an impressive effort from Dunn on the mound. He gave up just five hits, and only one Starfire runner made it past second base in the first five innings.

South Adams got its only two runs, both unearned, in the sixth inning.

"The biggest thing was I was having fun watching Trey pitch," said Selvey. "I thought he was pretty much in charge of the game.

"They shouldn't have scored."

Dunn and Brown each finished with two hits and two runs, and Mayfield had two hits and three stolen bases.

After not playing for nearly two weeks because of weather cancellations and then slipping to 4-8 with a double-header loss May 9 to Northrop, the Patriots have bounced back. They defeated Monroe Central Tuesday, and rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to edge Muncie Central 9-8 Thursday.

"We actually got to get some continuity going," said Selvey of the three-game streak. "We got to play."

John Striker was 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead South Adams. Caleb Sprunger and Caleb Armenta had a hit and a run.

Sprunger also pitched in relief, striking out two batters in 1 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings.

Junior varsity

PONETO - Jay County scored four or more runs in three innings, rolling to a 16-6 victory over the host Southern Wells Raiders.

The Patriots (4-6) left little doubt about the outcome as they posted seven runs in the top of the fourth inning. They added four runs each in the second and fifth innings.

Anthony Skeens led the offensive effort, finishing 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBIs. Andy Haffner added three hits, including a pair of doubles, four RBIs and three runs. Skylar Petty and Jordan McBride each scored three times.

Eric Beougher picked up the win. Dusty Rodgers and McBride combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.[[In-content Ad]]