JCHS tops two

MUNCIE — Adam Alfont had found it difficult to keep his drives in the fairway. So, he left his driver in the bag.
Alfont decided to sacrifice distance for direction Thursday and came through with the score that pushed Jay County to victory.
His 42 from the No. 5 spot gave the Patriots a 178, lifting them to win over host the Muncie Southside Rebels (184) and the Daleville Broncos (185).
“It was big for him,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray. “It’s a confidence builder because his dauber has been down a little bit. For him to be able to come in and shoot a good number will help him psychologically.”
Jay County posted its best nine-hole score since shooting 173 on May 8 as it finished 11-2 in dual matches. The Patriots will be grouped with host Norwell and South Adams for the sectional tournament, which begins at 8 a.m. Saturday at Timber Ridge Golf Course North of Bluffton.
“It was nice to get back in the 170s again going into the sectional,” said Gray. “I think it was important mentally for them. … We’ve had a couple weeks in here where we have not performed the way we thought we should be performing.”
JCHS trailed Southside by two strokes Tuesday with the first four scores counted, but Alfont came through with a steady round to lift his team to victory.
He recorded pars on the 460-yard, par-5 second and 301-yard, par-4 fourth holes and bogeyed the rest on the way to a 42. His score was four strokes better than his counterpart from the Rebels and lowered the Patriots’ total by 11 strokes.
“I didn’t hit my driver as much,” said Alfont, noting that he was much more accurate using his hybrid club. “I just can’t seem to ever hit (the driver) straight. I always slice it.”
Alfont’s round paired with another medalist effort from Evan Mathias, who closed strong to hold off Daleville’s Austin Creamer (39).
Mathias came up big after hitting his second shot into the front- right bunker on the eighth hole, chipping from the sand to within five feet. He rolled in his birdie putt and then parred the 213-yard, par-3 ninth hole to finish with a 2-over-par 37.
“That’s really good, just coming out of the bunker,” said Mathias, who said his effort on No. 8 was his best bunker shot of the year. “I mean, any time you can get out of the bunker and get it in the hole in one it’s just a great feeling.”
Alfont had the third-best score of the evening while Elisha North paced the Rebels with a 44.
Mitchell Rigby had one par in his round of 46 for Jay County, and Austin Wendel and Zach Fullenkamp each finished at 53.[[In-content Ad]]