April 7, 2015 at 5:30 p.m.
Spring sports have begun
Rays of Insight
It has begun.
The spring sports season for Jay County High School got underway Saturday with the softball team’s visit to Wapahani. And the rest of the squads will get their campaigns started this week, weather permitting.
Though I could only stay for about 15 minutes at Monday night’s softball game, the trip to the diamond was a welcome change of pace.
It was a rough winter.
I have no problem with snow. It’s the single-digit and sub-zero temperature nonsense that makes me cringe, and the last two years have been especially cold.
So I’m more than ready for spring — rain and all — and to look at a few of the interesting story lines for JCHS athletics this year.
••••••••••
Freshman duo
Unless I’m planning on taking a photo of the pitcher or catcher, or there’s a runner on base, I start each softball play with the camera focused on the third baseman.
Why?
Because, as long as the batter is right handed, the ball gets there faster than any position on the field. There’s virtually no time to react at the hot corner.
So it was intriguing when the Jay County softball team’s opening-day lineup had freshman Chloe Trissel at third base and her classmate Kady Finnerty next to her at short. Those positions anchor the infield, and coach Doug Arbuckle showed a lot of confidence in the young duo by putting them at those positions to start the year. (It’s far from unprecedented, as Trissel replaces four-year starter Chelsea Tighe at third base.)
Senior pitcher Larissa Boles tends to limit the number of outs her defense has to make behind her, but there’s no doubt the development of the freshman left side will be key for the Patriots as they seek to reach the 20-win mark for the second straight season.
Tribe thrillers
While Indiana schools are just getting their seasons started, the teams in Fort Recovery already have a week under their belts.
And the start wasn’t a calming one for Tribe baseball coach Jerry Kaup.
The Indians fell behind in each of their first two games before coming back for wins. And then on Saturday they picked up a pair of victories over the Crestview Knights in walk-off fashion.
Surely the Tribe would rather have games well in hand instead of needing to rally or come up with late-game heroics. Then again, any 4-0 first week with wins over a Division II school (Celina) and a team that went to the 2014 state final four (Crestview) is a good thing.
Fort Recovery struggled to a series of two-win seasons in 2010 and ’11, but the program has been on a steady climb since then. It won nine games in 2012, 14 in 2013 and a school-record 20 in 2014.
The Indians lost some key parts, but at 5-0 after Monday’s 17-2 thumping of Franklin-Monroe, that record could be in jeopardy.
Streak continues?
For consistent success, no Jay County spring squad has been better than the girls track team.
After coming frustratingly close for a couple of seasons, the Patriots broke through for the sectional title in 2010 and have won every crown since. The first three of those titles were in dominant fashion, but the Yorktown Tigers closed that gap a year ago.
And with the graduation of Ciera Barcus, Tasya Smith, Abbi Dunlavy, Abigail Johnson and Amber Huelskamp and transfers of Emi Minnich and Sydney Mathias, coach Brian McEvoy and his team have a big challenge in front of them in their effort to retain the title.
They’ll lean heavily on senior hurdler and jumper Malarie Houck and junior sprinter Emma Laux. And they’ll hope to fill some of the gaps left by the aforementioned departures with the addition of junior Ava Kunkler as well as several freshmen.
Fighting off the Tigers again won’t be easy, but if the Patriots can do it, they’ll have more sectional championships in the last six seasons than in the first 35 years of JCHS history.
••••••••••
Unfortunately, we may not get to see those story lines begin to play out this week because the forecast calls for rain every day.
But with a little luck we’ll be able to sneak in a track meet or a tennis match even if the fields and courses are too sloppy for baseball, softball and golf.
Either way, we should be done with arctic temperatures for a while. And an evening in the sun watching the local teams play is better than one cooped up inside any day.
The spring sports season for Jay County High School got underway Saturday with the softball team’s visit to Wapahani. And the rest of the squads will get their campaigns started this week, weather permitting.
Though I could only stay for about 15 minutes at Monday night’s softball game, the trip to the diamond was a welcome change of pace.
It was a rough winter.
I have no problem with snow. It’s the single-digit and sub-zero temperature nonsense that makes me cringe, and the last two years have been especially cold.
So I’m more than ready for spring — rain and all — and to look at a few of the interesting story lines for JCHS athletics this year.
••••••••••
Freshman duo
Unless I’m planning on taking a photo of the pitcher or catcher, or there’s a runner on base, I start each softball play with the camera focused on the third baseman.
Why?
Because, as long as the batter is right handed, the ball gets there faster than any position on the field. There’s virtually no time to react at the hot corner.
So it was intriguing when the Jay County softball team’s opening-day lineup had freshman Chloe Trissel at third base and her classmate Kady Finnerty next to her at short. Those positions anchor the infield, and coach Doug Arbuckle showed a lot of confidence in the young duo by putting them at those positions to start the year. (It’s far from unprecedented, as Trissel replaces four-year starter Chelsea Tighe at third base.)
Senior pitcher Larissa Boles tends to limit the number of outs her defense has to make behind her, but there’s no doubt the development of the freshman left side will be key for the Patriots as they seek to reach the 20-win mark for the second straight season.
Tribe thrillers
While Indiana schools are just getting their seasons started, the teams in Fort Recovery already have a week under their belts.
And the start wasn’t a calming one for Tribe baseball coach Jerry Kaup.
The Indians fell behind in each of their first two games before coming back for wins. And then on Saturday they picked up a pair of victories over the Crestview Knights in walk-off fashion.
Surely the Tribe would rather have games well in hand instead of needing to rally or come up with late-game heroics. Then again, any 4-0 first week with wins over a Division II school (Celina) and a team that went to the 2014 state final four (Crestview) is a good thing.
Fort Recovery struggled to a series of two-win seasons in 2010 and ’11, but the program has been on a steady climb since then. It won nine games in 2012, 14 in 2013 and a school-record 20 in 2014.
The Indians lost some key parts, but at 5-0 after Monday’s 17-2 thumping of Franklin-Monroe, that record could be in jeopardy.
Streak continues?
For consistent success, no Jay County spring squad has been better than the girls track team.
After coming frustratingly close for a couple of seasons, the Patriots broke through for the sectional title in 2010 and have won every crown since. The first three of those titles were in dominant fashion, but the Yorktown Tigers closed that gap a year ago.
And with the graduation of Ciera Barcus, Tasya Smith, Abbi Dunlavy, Abigail Johnson and Amber Huelskamp and transfers of Emi Minnich and Sydney Mathias, coach Brian McEvoy and his team have a big challenge in front of them in their effort to retain the title.
They’ll lean heavily on senior hurdler and jumper Malarie Houck and junior sprinter Emma Laux. And they’ll hope to fill some of the gaps left by the aforementioned departures with the addition of junior Ava Kunkler as well as several freshmen.
Fighting off the Tigers again won’t be easy, but if the Patriots can do it, they’ll have more sectional championships in the last six seasons than in the first 35 years of JCHS history.
••••••••••
Unfortunately, we may not get to see those story lines begin to play out this week because the forecast calls for rain every day.
But with a little luck we’ll be able to sneak in a track meet or a tennis match even if the fields and courses are too sloppy for baseball, softball and golf.
Either way, we should be done with arctic temperatures for a while. And an evening in the sun watching the local teams play is better than one cooped up inside any day.
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