JCHS falls to Vikings

The Patriots remain in search of their offense.
Two days after being blanked on four hits by Bluffton sophomore Danielle Brown, the Jay County High School softball team managed just two hits Friday against Huntington North freshman Erin Rethlake in an 8-0 loss to the Vikings.
“Credit to Huntington North,” said JCHS coach Doug Arbuckle. “That might be the best team we’ll see all year; maybe the best pitcher we’ll see all year also. That’s a good ball team.”
The Vikings proved as much Friday, with Rethlake leading the way in all aspects.
The freshman, who carries a 1.14 ERA, went the distance, allowing just two hits and striking out nine batters in the shutout. The left-hander was able to keep the Patriots off the scoreboard despite walking six batters, including the first two of the game.
“She did a real good job,” said Huntington North coach Paris Seibold, whose team improved to 12-3. “She’s a freshman, but she’s got a lot of experience. She plays a lot of summer ball. She’s a good pitcher.”
Rethlake also did her share of damage at the plate as she finished 4-for-5 with an RBI. She had singles in each of her first two at bats, and after a fly out to left field she added doubles in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Vikings, who got hits from 10 different players in the victory, got on the board after Alyssa Hiple walked to lead off the second inning. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on an error and scored on a passed ball.
Huntington North went up 2-0 when Jordie Close scored on Rethlake’s third-inning double, and then added two runs in the fourth when Courtney Carpenter, Peyton Pike, Kaylynn Rosen, Tara Stoffel and Close strung together five consecutive singles.
Alyssa Grabner hit her first home run of the season to lead off the fifth inning, and the Vikings tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh for the final margin.
Carpenter followed Rethlake by going 3-for-3 with a run. Close had two hits, two RBIs and a run, and Pike finished 2-for-3 with a run.
“She’s got quite a bit of power,” said Seibold of Grabner. “That’s a big lift when somebody launches one.
“We got hitting all through the lineup. Even some of the subs I put in hit the ball. That’s a good sign.”
Jay County, which had scored 29 runs in three games prior to Wednesday, had runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, but was unable to push a run across the plate.
After Tighe and Katie Aker drew back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the first inning, a double play helped end the threat. Kendra Younger walked in the second inning and Rachelle Jackson singled to right, but Carpenter, the right fielder, tracked down a fly ball by Betsy Huffman for the third out. And following a walk by Nikka Chaney and a single from Younger in the fourth inning, Rethlake recorded a strikeout to once again escape unscathed.
Rethlake then retired 10 of the final 11 batters she faced, with only a two-out walk to Aker in the fifth inning breaking the streak.
“The two games before we had hit the ball real well,” said Arbuckle in reference to his team’s recent offensive struggles. “It gets to be a mind thing, I think, at the plate. They’ve got to have the confidence.
“(In the first inning) we were first and second and we didn’t get a bunt down. We’ve got to get those runners to second and third. It’s just the little things like that. … We’ve got to get that stuff done.”
Nikka Chaney took the loss for the Patriots, giving up the eight runs on 16 hits and a walk.[[In-content Ad]]