Huntington downs Patriots (05/05/04)

PORTLAND — For the second time in less than a week the Jay County softball team stayed with the Huntington North Vikings for a while. Still, they didn’t come up with the big hit when the opportunity arrived and made a key defensive mistake.

The Patriots left the bases loaded in the fourth inning of a tie game and proceeded to allow four unearned runs to cross the plate in a 9-2 loss to the Olympic Athletic Conference-rival Vikings Tuesday.

They also had a 3-0 lead on Huntington North last week before going flat in an 8-3 defeat.

“We’re still just not doing the little things,” said Jay County coach Jack Wood, noting a couple of misses on pop ups and line drives. “We’re still not getting that big hit. We’re just not focusing for seven full innings.”

Jay County (6-10, 2-5 OAC) alternated hits and outs to open the fourth inning, with Chelsea DeBoy and Jamie Walker each knocking singles. Amber Champ drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Jenni Chittum.

However, Huntington North (10-3, 4-1 OAC) escaped the inning when Chittum hit a grounder to shortstop Whitney Brubaker. Walker collided with Brubaker as she was trying to throw to first and was called out for runner’s interference.

The Vikings took the lead for good with a two-out rally in the fifth. Rebekah Gumbiner started things off with a two-out single, and Katie Karst entered as a pinch runner. Karst stole second, and Kodi Boxell knocked her in with a double to left field.

Aubrey Sundling then brought Boxell in with a single to center before Jay County escaped the inning.

Karst also keyed Huntington North’s first two runs in the third inning. She entered after a Gumbiner single and stole second base.

Boxell followed with a single, and both runners scored on Sundling’s fielder’s choice.

“That was probably a key, putting (Karst) in there,” said Huntington North coach Paris Seibold. “She’s so quick. She can steal bases and that puts you in scoring position.

“She’s a freshman, but she’s like a rocket taking off.”

The Vikings posted two unearned runs in the sixth inning after Chelsea DeBoy dropped a hard liner which could have ended the frame. They added three in the seventh — two unearned — thanks to a couple of hits, a walk and an error by pitcher Brittany Logue.

Logue took the defeat, allowing nine runs — five earned — on 10 hits. She dropped to 3-5 as she allowed two walks and did not strike out a batter.

The bottom of the Huntington North order did a lot of the damage, with No. 8 hitter Gumbiner finishing 3-for-3 with a couple of RBIs. Karst scored twice after entering to run for Gumbiner.

Boxell, batting ninth, finished 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and one RBI.

“We started to hit the ball a little later in the game,” said Seibold, who also got one hit, one run, one RBI and one stolen base from the leadoff hitting Sundling. “Our hitting is pretty good all the way through the lineup.”

“I think when it was still a 4-2 ball game we thought we were still in it,” said Wood. “As you saw it increase you saw the heads drop a little bit. You just can’t do that against a team as good as Huntington North.”

Katie Alberson posted the first Patriot run as she singled in her first at-bat after returning from the broken nose she suffered last week against Muncie Southside. She scored on an RBI single to right field by Walker.

Champ walked to lead off the third inning, and scored on a single by Stephanie Imel.

Walker was the lone Patriot to post a pair of hits, as she finished 2-for-3. She also stole a base.

Jay County left eight runners on base in the contest, four of which were in scoring position.

The Patriots will visit Bluffton today at 4:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]