May 7, 2018 at 5:24 p.m.
'Squeeze' salvages split
Patriots get break in game two of doubleheader
'Squeeze' salvages split
The Patriots gave away any chance they had at a game-one win.
In game two, they were just a team in search of a break. They got it, on a play that started as a fake.
Payton Heniser scored the game-tying run thanks to a passed ball on a fake squeeze play and the Jay County High School baseball team added two more tallies in the fourth inning Saturday en route to taking game two of a doubleheader 6-3 over the Hagerstown Tigers.
The victory came after the Patriots struggled to put the ball over the plate in an 8-2 loss in the opener.
Jay County (9-5) found itself trailing 3-2 and in danger of a sweep midway through game two when Heniser drew a leadoff walk. Mitchel Frasher reached base on an infield single followed by an error that allowed Heniser to go all the way to third.
That’s when coach Lea Selvey called for a fake squeeze, hoping to get Frasher into scoring position as well. But when Cole Stigleman pulled back his apparent bunt attempt, the pitch — a strike — went zipping to the backstop. Heniser came in to score the game-tying run, and Frasher cruised all the way to third base.
“It was a fake squeeze just to get him down to second,” said Selvey. “But it worked.”
Stigleman ended up getting hit by a pitch, Frasher came to the plate a batter later when Ryan Schletchy reached base on a fielder’s choice and Stigleman made his way home when Ethan Myers sent a two-out single to left field.
The Patriots tacked on one more run in the fifth inning when junior Isaac Moeller smacked a single to right field to plate Noah Arbuckle.
Moeller played a key role on the mound as well in relief of classmate Wyatt Geesaman. He retired seven consecutive batters before getting into a bit of a jam as he allowed a walk and a single in the top of the seventh inning.
Stigleman took over from there, inducing a pop up to third baseman Max Moser before striking out Drew Pyle to end the game.
“Isaac came in and gave us, his first time on varsity, 2 1/3 innings,” said Selvey. “And gets an RBI.
“He threw strikes. He’s got a little bit of movement on his ball, but he’s got a good curve. He’s got a real good curve.
In game two, they were just a team in search of a break. They got it, on a play that started as a fake.
Payton Heniser scored the game-tying run thanks to a passed ball on a fake squeeze play and the Jay County High School baseball team added two more tallies in the fourth inning Saturday en route to taking game two of a doubleheader 6-3 over the Hagerstown Tigers.
The victory came after the Patriots struggled to put the ball over the plate in an 8-2 loss in the opener.
Jay County (9-5) found itself trailing 3-2 and in danger of a sweep midway through game two when Heniser drew a leadoff walk. Mitchel Frasher reached base on an infield single followed by an error that allowed Heniser to go all the way to third.
That’s when coach Lea Selvey called for a fake squeeze, hoping to get Frasher into scoring position as well. But when Cole Stigleman pulled back his apparent bunt attempt, the pitch — a strike — went zipping to the backstop. Heniser came in to score the game-tying run, and Frasher cruised all the way to third base.
“It was a fake squeeze just to get him down to second,” said Selvey. “But it worked.”
Stigleman ended up getting hit by a pitch, Frasher came to the plate a batter later when Ryan Schletchy reached base on a fielder’s choice and Stigleman made his way home when Ethan Myers sent a two-out single to left field.
The Patriots tacked on one more run in the fifth inning when junior Isaac Moeller smacked a single to right field to plate Noah Arbuckle.
Moeller played a key role on the mound as well in relief of classmate Wyatt Geesaman. He retired seven consecutive batters before getting into a bit of a jam as he allowed a walk and a single in the top of the seventh inning.
Stigleman took over from there, inducing a pop up to third baseman Max Moser before striking out Drew Pyle to end the game.
“Isaac came in and gave us, his first time on varsity, 2 1/3 innings,” said Selvey. “And gets an RBI.
“He threw strikes. He’s got a little bit of movement on his ball, but he’s got a good curve. He’s got a real good curve.
“With Cole coming in and getting a pop up and a strikeout, it’s nice to have that out of him. And that’s maybe his role from here on.”
Hagerstown (11-3), which finished 14th in the most recent Indiana Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A poll, took control in a hurry in the first game and never let go. The Tigers ripped off a pair of singles to begin the game and completed a four-run first inning on an Owen Golliher three-run home run to right field.
The Tigers got another four runs in the fourth inning thanks to five walks, a hit batsman and an error.
“We started off really well,” said Hagerstown coach Brad Catey. “We were just hitting the ball hard. We had a lot of good, quality at bats. The last three or four games we’ve had the (pitch count) up in the 80s and 90s by the third, fourth inning. That’s really helped us. When you get a kid tired, he makes mistakes, and we’ve been taking advantage of those mistakes lately.”
Gaven Hare took the game-one loss, giving up eight runs — seven earned — on five hits and six walks in three-plus innings.
Geesaman got the win as he went four innings and gave up three unearned runs on two hits and four walks while striking out nine.
Ethan Myers led the Patriot offense on the day with four hits — three in the game-two win — two RBIs and a run.
Heniser went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run in the opener, and Arbuckle had a pair of hits.
Hagerstown (11-3), which finished 14th in the most recent Indiana Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A poll, took control in a hurry in the first game and never let go. The Tigers ripped off a pair of singles to begin the game and completed a four-run first inning on an Owen Golliher three-run home run to right field.
The Tigers got another four runs in the fourth inning thanks to five walks, a hit batsman and an error.
“We started off really well,” said Hagerstown coach Brad Catey. “We were just hitting the ball hard. We had a lot of good, quality at bats. The last three or four games we’ve had the (pitch count) up in the 80s and 90s by the third, fourth inning. That’s really helped us. When you get a kid tired, he makes mistakes, and we’ve been taking advantage of those mistakes lately.”
Gaven Hare took the game-one loss, giving up eight runs — seven earned — on five hits and six walks in three-plus innings.
Geesaman got the win as he went four innings and gave up three unearned runs on two hits and four walks while striking out nine.
Ethan Myers led the Patriot offense on the day with four hits — three in the game-two win — two RBIs and a run.
Heniser went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run in the opener, and Arbuckle had a pair of hits.
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