Patriots targeting school record

The 2012 version of the Patriots more than doubled their win total from a year before. With much of the roster returning, they’ll have their sights set on breaking the school record for wins.
Jay County High School’s softball team will chase that 17-win mark with a team that has just two seniors, but isn’t short on experience.
The Patriots will have a four-year starter in senior Rachelle Jackson and four three-year starters with juniors Chelsea Tighe, Katie Aker, Katlin Petro and Betsy Huffman. And they return four of their top five hitters from a squad that finished 15-14 a year ago.
Tighe, the third baseman, led the team in most statistical categories last season as she hit .402 from the leadoff spot in the lineup. She also paced JCHS with 38 runs, 32 RBIs, eight triples, a .664 slugging percentage and 15 stolen bases.
“Chelsea has a lot of drive,” said JCHS coach Doug Arbuckle. “She’s looking to play at the next level. … She puts in a lot of extra work, a lot of extra time. …
“To be our leadoff hitter and to lead us with 32 RBIs last year, she came up with some big hits. …
“She has good speed. … She’s a good clutch hitter.”
Jay County’s middle infielders — Aker, the shortstop, and Jackson, the second baseman — were also among the team’s top hitters last season. Jackson hit .293 and was second on the squad with 10 stolen bases. And Aker was second on the team with 24 runs and had a .291 batting average.
Catherine Dunn, a sophomore who played at catcher last season, is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season after undergoing knee surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus suffered during the basketball season. She followed Tighe with a .391 average last season to go along with 27 RBIs, 21 runs and 12 doubles.
The rest of the infield lineup to start the season will include Petro at first base and freshman Gabby Hart at catcher. Sophomores Chloe Steigerwalt and Courtney Finnerty will join Huffman in the outfield.
Also in the mix for playing time will be senior Abbey Vance, who will share second base duties with Jackson, and juniors Cierra Nichols and Mikayla Gross.
“I think probably overall this will be the most athletic team we’ve ever had from top to bottom,” Arbuckle said. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of girls that can play different positions.
“I think this year our speed is going to be a big factor. We’ve got a lot more speed than what we’ve had. ... We can get into a lot more stolen base opportunities and maybe some hit-and-run opportunities to turn them loose and put the pressure on the defense.”
Jackson, who finished with a 5-5 record on the rubber last year, and Vance will also share pitching duties to start the season. But Arbuckle said he expects sophomore Larissa Boles to make a major impact when she returns to the team after serving a seven-game suspension for a violation of school rules.
“She’ll help us out tremendously,” said Arbuckle. “As soon as she comes into the mix she’s going to pick up a lot of the pitching duties. … She has the speed, and she has the movement pitches.”
The Patriots are once again hoping to be able to break through in the sectional tournament, where Homestead and Huntington North have dominated over the course of the last six seasons. JCHS has lost to Huntington North, which went to the state finals a year ago, in the sectional semifinal round in each of the last two years.
The team will also be chasing the school record for wins set by the 2008 squad that finished 17-8 and lost the sectional championship game to Homestead in extra innings.
“I really feel like we can (take the next step),” said Arbuckle. “I told the girls we won 15 last year, and we probably could have won 20. … That’s always a goal. … Twenty wins I think is a very good possibility if we come to play every night.”[[In-content Ad]]