Patriots sweep doubleheader

The Patriots had 10-run leads in both games.

They won the first one the easy way.

The second came the hard way.

After a mercy-rule victory in the opener, the host Jay County High School softball team let an 11-run lead get away game two of a doubleheader Saturday before bouncing back for a 20-14 win to complete the sweep.

“The first game, we played good defense and we seemed to be on top of things,” said JCHS coach Amy Hawbaker, whose team took the opener 15-5 in six innings. “The second game, sometimes, this group, they have trouble staying focused the whole way through. They had some errors that scared me a little. I think I have the heart of a 78-year-old woman. But they did a good job of pulling it back together and getting the job done when they came back up to bat, so I was proud of them for that.”

The Patriots (8-5) scored 10 times in the first inning of game two and added three runs in the third for a 13-2 lead. But Hagerstown came storming back and tied the game in the fifth inning when senior Tayler Kelley blasted a grand slam over the left-field fence.

Jay County was shut down in the bottom of the fifth, but recovered after recording an 8-6-5-6 double play to end the top of the sixth.

Pitcher Rhegan Shimp led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to right field, and courtesy runner Emily Corn scored on a wild pitch to give the Patriots the lead again. Three walks and an error followed before freshman Aubrie Schwieterman smacked a two-run double to the base of the fence in center field. Kailee Denney added a two-out, two-run single to center field and scored on another Shimp hit to complete the seven-run frame.

“I just talked about how we needed to overcome adversity, dial it back in, focus in on what needed to be done,” said Hawbaker. “And they did that.”

Runs came fast and furious for the Patriots all day, with each of their first three batters reaching base — one when she was hit by a pitch and the other two with walks. Two more walks later in the inning set the stage for Gwen Butcher, whose two-out single to right-center field capped a four-run inning that was followed by a six-run second.

Hagerstown managed to close the gap to 11-5, but JCHS got some more assistance from walks and finished off the game an inning early when Butcher took home on a wild pitch.

While his team racked up 19 runs over two games, Hagerstown coach Bruce Charles was left to lament a still-developing defense.

“It’s hurt us all year,” said Charles, whose team is still looking for its first win. “We’ve got five freshmen starting, two sophomore and two seniors, and the freshmen starting, they’re just growing, they’re getting better, they’re just not ready for varsity softball. … And until they grow up and get a little better, that’s going to haunt us for a while.”

Chloe Trissel, a four-year starter at third base, celebrated Senior Day in a big way, racking up five hits. One of those was her second home run of the season, a two-run shot over the fence in left-center field. She also scored seven times, drove in three runs and stole a couple of bases.

Hannah Phillips walked in each of her first two at bats before smashing four straight hits. She closed game one with two doubles, and then had a single and a double in the opening inning of game two. She followed Trissel with six runs while adding two runs and two RBIs.

Leadoff hitter Kensey Litton added three hits, five runs and four stolen bases for JCHS, which has won six of its last seven games.

Kaylee Inman picked up the victory as she went the distance in game one, while Shimp got the game-two victory in relief of Butcher.