Jay gets split (05/02/05)

PORTLAND — The Patriots got off to good starts in the first inning of both games Saturday. But the next six innings of the games could not have been more different.

The Jay County softball team’s offense went scoreless in the final six innings of the first game while the defense allowed seven unearned runs in a 9-1 loss. However, the team regrouped with excellent hitting, pitching and defense in game two for an 8-0 win to earn a split against the New Castle Trojans.

“Our intensity stepped up,” said junior shortstop Chelsea DeBoy of the game-two win, noting that making the smart plays was a key to the victory. “We played with heart and we kept each other up the whole game.”

After three errors led to all but two of New Castle’s runs in the first game, the Patriot defense rebounded behind sophomore pitcher Shae Keller in the second.

Jay County did not commit an error in the second game, and Keller allowed only one hit and faced just two more than the minimum through the first six innings. The Trojans managed two hits against Keller, who earned her first varsity win, in the final frame, but could not break her shutout.

“Shae’s throwing the ball so well right now,” said JCHS coach Jack Wood, whose team is now 4-8. “She’s moving the ball around. She pitched a great game.”

Keller also got some big help from battery-mate Trisha Champ, who threw out a pair of would-be base stealers. The first of those came in the second inning as Champ bobbled the ball and then stumbled but still threw a strike as she was falling to her left to get Kacie Gauker at second base. She gunned down Megan Malloy by at least 10 feet for the final out of the third inning.

Champ also led the offense as she opened the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff walk. DeBoy singled two batters later, and Andrea Current drove them both in with a two-out, two run single to left field.

Champ rounded the bases on a triple and an error to open the third inning, and added RBIs in both the fourth and sixth. She finished 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBIs and a steal.

“Trish is just a spark plug. She gets us going,” said Wood. “She’s just a great athlete and a great softball player. She’s a freshman, but it’s just amazing how she’s stepped in and helped us right away this year.”

After Champ’s triple and run in the third inning Jay County scored twice in the fourth inning and three times in the sixth for the final margin.

Hannah Fenker, Rashelle Stearns and Gauker each had one hit for New Castle in the loss. Freshman pitcher Chelsey Curnutt took the loss, allowing eight runs on 11 hits and two walks in six innings.

“I’m a little disappointed because we didn’t come and be more competitive (in game two),” said New Castle coach Jeff Theobald. “We’re a better ball club than that.”

Champ also got the Patriots off to a great start in the first game with an inside-the-park home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning. But that was the only run they would get, and the errors opened the door for the Trojans (4-8).

Jay County held the 1-0 lead through three innings, but nine straight New Castle batters reached base to open the fourth. The Trojans scored five times in the inning thanks to a pair of bunt singles, two Jay County errors, an RBI single by Malloy and an RBI double from Heather Greene.

Three of those five runs were unearned, and New Castle added four more unearned runs in the seventh inning. They again got two bunt singles in the seventh to go along with one error, another RBI single by Malloy and a two-run double from Jennifer Ooten.

Ooten doubled twice in the game as she totaled four hits, two RBIs and a run. Malloy and Stefanie Murray each had two hits and two runs, and Kara Davis went 3-for-4 with a stolen base.

Carly Prince earned the win for New Castle, allowing just three hits after Champ’s home run. She struck out four and walked one.

“Carly was outstanding,” said Theobald. “She lost a tough one (Friday night) — we got beat by Delta 4-3 in 10 innings. She came back and pitched a pretty good game. She probably didn’t have her best stuff, but still fought very hard.”

Three of the Patriots’ four hits in the game went for extra bases as Miranda Betz and DeBoy each had a double. But, they could not string enough hits together to help support Brittany Logue.

The senior took the loss, allowing nine runs — two earned — on 12 hits. She struck out three and walked four.

“It was like two different teams out there,” said Wood. “The first game we had a 1-0 lead then we dropped a fly ball and started hanging our heads. It was only two innings that they hurt us scoring. We misplayed a couple of bunts. We just didn’t make the plays.”[[In-content Ad]]