Patriots put it all together in ’14

Editors note: In more than six years, Chris Schanz has seen his fair share of individual performances, whether in a single contest or over the course of a career. In this “Exceptional Efforts” series, he will take a look back at some of those standout games or careers.

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An exceptional effort doesn’t have to be by just one player. It can be by the whole squad.

And it doesn’t have to be just one game, either.

The 2014 Jay County High School girls softball team collectively put together the best season in the history of the program.

A school-record 23 wins is evident of such. But it’s the manner in which they reached the feat that is exceptional.

The Patriots were coming off a season during which they had a 13-12 record.

They began the 2014 season — the last before joining the Allen County Athletic Conference — with 16 consecutive victories. All but three of them were by four or more runs, and five of them were shutouts.

The streak ended with a 6-3 loss in the first game of a doubleheader with Adams Central, which had reached the state final in the previous two years. Jay County turned around to beat the Jets 4-3 in game two to tie the program record for wins in a season.

Five more wins pushed the number in the win column to 23, and that’s when the Patriots stumbled with a 1-0, season-ending loss to Huntington North in the Class 4A sectional semifinal at Homestead.

If not for a couple mishaps, the Patriots just might have beaten the Vikings and gone on to win the team’s first sectional title. But a baserunning gaffe in the second inning negated a JCHS run at the plate, and a fielding error in the fifth inning allowed the Vikings to score the game’s only run.

Huntington North, by the way, went on to win its fourth straight regional title.

But Jay County still had the greatest season the school has ever produced on the softball diamond.

All of the success started with a junior pitcher who had aspirations of throwing in college.

Larissa Boles was nearly lights out each time she stepped in the circle. The sported an 18-2 record with just an 0.54 earned run average in the regular season. She struck out nearly 10 batters per game, and hit the double-digit mark in 14 games.

Additionally, she only walked 30 batters on the season for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6:1 — for each walk, she struck out six batters.

Offensively, Jay County improved in every offensive category but one from the year before. The 2014 Patriots scored 60 more runs than the did the previous year, belted 56 more RBIs, hit 21 more doubles, two more triples and blasted nine more homers, all with just four more total hits than the previous season.

They outscored their opponents 232-40, and the team batting average improved to .379 from .330.

Boles, who had her senior season cut short with a freak knee injury, belted a .541 average and nine home runs — one off the entire team total from 2013 — to lead that 2014 squad. Catherine Dunn and Courtney Finnerty also batted .400 or better, while Katie Aker, Katlin Petro and Chelsea Tighe were not far behind.

Aker’s 36 RBIs were tops on the team and 31st in the state.

But it was just more than those six. Chloe Steigerwalt and Mikayla Gross were staples in the starting lineup and both picked their moments to shine. McKayla Norris and Kaili Baughman stepped up in spot starting roles to hit their first career home runs too, and Gabby Hart worked her way into the lineup as well.

With Boles in the circle, Petro at first base, Gross at second, Aker at short and Tighe rounding out the infield at third base; Finnerty anchoring the outfield in center with Hart (left) and Steigerwalt (right) manning the corners, the Patriots were collectively exceptional 23 times that year.

But it’s that crushing defeat they’ll remember most.

“I’m disappointed the season couldn’t continue for these girls because they put their heart and soul into it,” then-JCHS coach Doug Arbuckle said following the loss to Huntington North. “That’s what it’s about … I’m just so happy for the way these girls came together as a team and performed.”