Jay advances to regional final

GARRETT — Two physical errors stung the Patriots.

A mental error by the Hornets gave Noah Arbuckle the opportunity to return the favor.

Arbuckle's two-run blast to left-center field of Angola pitcher Aaron Chao proved to be the turning point during Saturday's regional semifinal at Garrett as the Jay County High School baseball team earned a return trip to the regional final with a 5-2 victory over Angola.

Errors in the top of the first and third innings allowed Hornets' leadoff hitter Jarrett Gibson to score and stake his team to a 2-0 lead. JCHS got one run back in the bottom of the third thanks to a Quinn Faulkner walk and a two-out infield single from Wyatt Geesaman that brought Arbuckle to the plate.

The junior, who had struck out swinging in his first at bat, was hoping to see heat.

“I was looking for that first-pitch fastball that he gave me,” said Arbuckle. “He gave it to me in the first at bat and I was just under it. But then he gave it to me that second at bat and I hit it out.

“It obviously changes the momentum a lot.”

Angola coach Roger Roddy called for a curveball. But that message didn't get to Chao.

Instead, he gave Arbuckle exactly the pitch he had his eye on. Arbuckle responded by drilling the fastball for a no-doubt home run to left-center field.

“We had a little mix-up on a pitch call, and he was sitting right on it,” said Roddy. “And he hit every bit of it.”

Newly staked to a lead, Geesaman took control on the hill. He allowed just two base runners over the final four innings, sitting down the side in order in both the fourth and seventh. Angola put No. 9 hitting Eric Cockroft on second in the fifth, only to have Faulkner and Arbuckle combine on a 5-3-5 double play to end the inning.

The Hornets again pushed a runner to second base with two outs in the sixth, but David Frank hit a fly out to Michael Schlechty in center field to end the threat.

Geesaman induced another fly out to center from Owen Soup to open the seventh inning and then struck out pinch hitters Kyle Brandt and Gage King to end the game.

It was strong effort for Geesaman — he allowed just three hits, and one of the runs against him was unearned — who had struggled with his control during the 2018 regional tournament. He walked three batters, but also recorded 10 strikeouts while limiting the Hornets to three hits.

“I’ve just grown a lot as a pitcher and a player from last year to this year,” said Geesaman, who is headed to pitch at the University of Cincinnati. “I’m just trying to focus on one pitch at a time and not do too much. Last year, I let stuff bother me a lot. This year, I’m just trying to focus on just the next pitch.”

Jay County scored its other two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, beginning with a double from Isaac Moeller. A Daniel Fugiett single plated Moeller, and then a two-out single from Faulkner put runners on first and third. Instead of a home run, this time it was a double-steal that resulted in a run. Angola opted to throw through to second base in an attempt to get Faulkner for the final out of the inning, but he slid in safely to allow Fugiett to trot home for a 5-2 Patriot lead.

Moeller came through from his No. 5 spot in the order, as he also had a single in the second inning to finish 2-for-3. Faulkner bounced back from an error to open the game to contribute the 5-3-5 double-play, another put-out at third when Shoup attempted to take the base after an overthrow, two hits, a run and a stolen base.