Crazy fourth keys Jay win (04/12/06)

A close game between interstate rivals was brewing. A couple of apparent missed calls blew any chance for an exciting ending.

The Jay County Patriots were the beneficiery of the calls — they came back-to-back in the fourth inning — and took advantage by posting five runs. Fort Recovery never recovered, allowing four more runs — three unearned — in the fifth and sixth innings in a 12-4 defeat.

The Indians (3-6) led 4-3 in the fourth inning and had two outs with Jay County’s Morgan Locke on first base. Danielle Jackson knocked a single, but Locke rounded second base and was caught in a run down. Fort Recovery shortstop Sandra Sudhoff eventually chased her back toward second base and applied the tag for what should have been the third out.

However, the field umpire saw it differently. He called Locke safe, allowing the inning to go on.

On the following play Saffron Redwine hit a ground ball to Sudhoff, who fielded the ball cleanly, chased down Locke and tagged her as she ran toward third base. Locke and Sudhoff were both headed off the field when they realized the field umpire had made the safe call again, and Locke scrambled back safely to third.

“It changed the whole aspect of the game,” said Fort Recovery coach Marie Osterholt of the first call. “And then it happened right over again. Yeah, we should have been able to come back and play, but it’s tough when all of a sudden five runs score when (the inning) should be done. It’s hard to come back from that physically and mentally.”

Given a couple of extra chances, the Patriots (2-2) took advantage by scoring those five runs to take the lead for good. After an Indian error on a ground ball by Amber Champ, Trisha Champ drew a walk and Chelsea DeBoy delivered a two-run single to right field.

Jay County added another run with back-to-back, two-out hits from Shae Keller and Jackson in the fifth inning, and scored three unearned runs in the sixth for the final margin. Fort Recovery threatened a couple of times, but couldn’t get any more runs home as it left 10 runners on base overall.

Patriot coach Jack Wood was happy with the offensive effort as he got at least one hit from each of the nine spots in the batting order and finished with no strikeouts.

“We’re seeing girls up and down the lineup, one through nine, that are getting some hits for us,” he said. “We don’t have to concentrate on trying to score when we have one-two-three-four up. That’s a big plus for us.”

DeBoy, the clean-up hitter, led the Jay County offense by going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Trisha Champ had a hit, a stolen base and two runs.

Amber Champ scored three runs, Redwine and Jackson each had two hits and Amanda Alberson drove in two runs.

Keller got the win, allowing four runs — three earned — on 12 hits in seven innings. She walked three and struck out three.

Fort Recovery, which has now lost four in a row, bounced back nicely from Monday’s 10-run loss to Celina by scoring four times in the first two innings against the Patriots. Ciera Rammel, Renee Evers, Kelsie Will and Lauren Wenning each had two hits, with Rammel scoring a run and driving one in.

“They played very well (early),” said Osterholt. “That one call changed everything and we couldn’t get back out of it.”

Kinsey Wenning took the loss as nine of the 12 runs scored against her were unearned. She allowed 13 hits and three walks in six innings.[[In-content Ad]]