Second-inning surge marks fourth win

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A single brought home the first run. Another scored two more. One more single tied the game and the Patriots continued to score.

Scattered throughout were five stolen bases.

All resulted in another victory.

Jay County High School’s softball team had an action-packed second inning on Tuesday as it scored seven runs on its way to a 9-6 victory — its fourth in a row — over the Coldwater Cavaliers.

“They started hitting the ball,” said JCHS coach Monty Missicano, whose team has now won four straight games after starting the year 0-4. “When they get up like that anything can happen with this team.

“I told them many times that we can score in bunches. When they decide they can do it, which they did tonight, they are a very good hitting team.”

Aubrie Schwieterman, who had two putouts and five assists in the field at third base, began the second inning with a double to left field. Shelby Caldwell walked, and after a strikeout Sam Twigg hit an RBI single to put the Patriots on the board. Olivia Bright singled down the right field line to score a pair of runs to trim the Coldwater advantage to 4-3.

Kensey Litton, Maggie Pryor, Hannah Phillips and Schwieterman then hit consecutive singles to give Jay County a lead over Coldwater (5-7) that it never gave up.

Meanwhile, Bright, Litton, Pryor, Phillips and Schwieterman all stole second base, which accounted for nine of the team’s 10 swipes on the day. The top three players in the lineup — Litton, Pryor and Phillips — and Bright had two each.

Pryor it an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 8-4, and a double steal in the fifth allowed courtesy runner Maddy Rinker put Jay County out front 9-4.

A two-run home run with two outs in the seventh brought Coldwater closer but the Patriot damage had already been done.

Schwieterman finished with a double, a single and an RBI, while Bright’s two RBIs shared the team-high with Pryor. Twigg and Bright had a pair of singles too.

Coldwater, which scored a run in the first inning and three more in the second off starting pitcher Justice Day, out-hit Jay County 11-10.

But as Missicano went to Kailee Denney with two outs in the second inning, she was able to keep the Cavaliers mostly at bay. Denney retired the first six batters she faced and only allowed one baserunner over the third through sixth innings.

Coldwater’s Megan Schwieterman hit a two-out single in the seventh before Molly Steinke hit her homer to right center. Kamryn Rutschilling also singled, but the Cavs were unable to cut further into the deficit.

“I started off with a pitcher that I thought maybe (we) would get some work in for her,” Missicano said. Day surrendered four runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. “She pitched (Saturday) and had done a really good job. I don’t know exactly what happened tonight. I’ll have to talk to her about it, but she’s been doing good.”

In 5 2/3 innings of relief, Denney surrendered four hits and struck out one

“Kailee is doing a great job,” Missicano said. “She stopped them.”

Steinke added a double, a single and collected four RBIs for Coldwater, which also got a double, a single and two RBIs from Kate Leichty.

Maddie Steinke, Coldwater’s pitcher, struck out nine and walked a pair in the complete-game effort.