Bryan mows down Patriots

Every time Mackenzie Bryan got in a little bit of trouble, she struck her way out of it.
On each of the four occasions that the Jay County High School softball team got a runner on base Friday, its threat ended with consecutive strikeouts as Bryan took care of 17 outs herself in the Patriots’ 2-0 loss to the visiting Class 2A No. 8 Elwood Panthers.
Bryan struck out at least two batters in every inning, sitting down the side in the second, sixth and seventh.
“The girls just never got comfortable on her,” said JCHS coach Doug Arbuckle, whose team fell to 1-3. “She was inside-outside and then she’d throw in that little change-up … All game long I didn’t see any comfortable swings really. The one double Catherine (Dunn) hit was really about it. We didn’t hit anything else really on the nose.
“Hats off to her. She pitched a real good game.”
Bryan was behind JCHS starter Larissa Boles in the K battle after the first inning — 3-2 — but then struck out the side in the second after Dunn led off the second with a double.
She walked Kai-Li Baughman to open the third inning before responding with back-to-back strikeouts to start a stretch in which she retired nine straight Patriot hitters.
McKayla Norris notched Jay County’s second hit in the sixth inning and Dunn reached base on an error in the seventh, but Bryan posted back-to-back strikeouts both times.
The Patriots were caught looking on the consecutive Ks to end the game.
“That’s what you’ve got to do,” said Elwood coach Chris Noone, whose team is 2-0 after opening its season with a 1-0 win over Class 3A No. 7 Yorktown. “You’ve got to keep people off balance. If it’s in their mind that … ‘She’s got a great change-up, that might be coming,’ then it’s hard to adjust back to that speed. And then if their guessing speed and she throws change-up, it makes you look silly.”
Both teams got leadoff hitters on base twice in the first four innings and failed to score. But when Bryan blasted a double to the base of the fence in right-center field to open the fifth, her team was able to break through.
After a pop-out by Bailey Blackford, courtesy runner Holly Sallee advanced to third base on a ground ball from No. 8 hitter Maddie Dailey. That left the scoring threat in the hands of Jillian Reese, and the diminutive, left-handed freshman came through.
Reese slapped a soft grounder at Baughman, the third baseman, and dashed to first base, beating the throw and allowing Sallee to snap the scoreless tie.
“I put her down at the nine spot because I’ve always believed that the nine hitter is basically your second leadoff hitter,” said Noone. “You get some speed, and then if she gets on base you’ve got the top of the order rolling over … She came through again today.”
Reese also had a key bunt in the Panthers’ victory over Yorktown and recorded a fielder’s choice as Elwood plated its second run in the seventh inning Friday. She finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base.
Bryan was 2-for-3 with a double, Gabby Leavell had a hit and an RBI and Blackford finished with a bunt single and a run.
Boles took the loss for the Patriots, giving up two runs on seven hits. She struck out seven batters, with five of those coming in the first two innings.
It’s been a difficult start for JCHS, which won a school-record 20-games last season. The team will get right back to the field today when it hosts Bishop Luers for a doubleheader.
“I’d much rather be playing good ball at the end of the season than right now, but I’d like to be playing better ball than we are right now also,” said Arbuckle. “It’s a learning thing. We’ve got to progress each game, and even each individual game inning to inning to inning you look for progression.”