Jay rallies to beat Eagles

Through three and a half innings, the Eagles had two home runs. The Patriots had managed just a pair of hits.

As it turns out, the home team was just warming up.

Jay County High School's softball team took advantage of a pair of walks to lead off the fourth inning, scored four times and rallied for a 7-5 victory over visiting Delta.

"I know there was a lot of jitters," said JCHS coach Doug Arbuckle, who had a freshman and three sophomores in his starting lineup, after the win in his coaching debut. "I feel like it was a big confidence boost ...

"I'm very proud of the girls. There were a few instances in the game when we could have got down on ourselves."

One of those moments was the top of the fourth, when Eagle No. 8 hitter Holly Kennedy hammered a two-run home run over the fence in center field for a 3-0 lead. Instead, Jay County bounced back to take the lead in the bottom of the frame.

The Patriots could have faltered again in the fifth when Amanda Wilhelm went deep for the second time in the game to help Delta reclaim the lead. But again the home team stood strong, tying the game again in the bottom of the fifth and scoring the game winning runs in the sixth.

With the game tied at five, starting pitcher Tiffany Davis led off the sixth inning with a walk, and Pazia Speed added a single to left field two batters later. Brittney Watson nearly gave Jay County its first home run of the year, blasting an RBI double to the base of the fence in center field.

Jess Piercey followed with a RBI single to center field, and Davis shut down the Eagle offense in the seventh.

The bottom of the sixth inning capped a big day for the Patriot five through eight hitters. They combined for six hits, six runs and four RBIs.

"I felt like we were going to be strong all the way through," said Arbuckle. "It doesn't matter where we bat, one through nine. I feel like everybody can produce.

"I thought Jess Piercey played an outstanding game. She had some good at bats," he added, noting the way she worked for hits despite facing a couple of two-strike counts. "She got some key hits there for us."

The biggest bat in the game belonged to Piercey, the senior second baseman, who finished 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Speed singled and scored twice, and Davis, Watson and Selena McKibben each had a hit, a run and an RBI.

"They're solid," said Delta coach Paul Grove. "The last two or three years they've really come along ... They've got a good, strong hitting lineup."

Delta (0-1) showed its strength first when Wilhelm launched a solo home run to left-center field to left off the third inning. Kennedy added her shot in the fourth before Wilhelm blasted another pitch over the fence in left field in the fifth.

Wilhelm added a single in the sixth inning to finish 3-for-4.

However, the Eagles offense sputtered late, failing to score despite leadoff singles in both the sixth and seventh innings. Davis got sophomore shortstop Amanda Hart to pop out to Piercey for the final out of the game.

"I thought Tiffany Davis showed great composure those last couple innings after giving up those home runs," said Arbuckle. "Getting the lead back for her ... she really stepped up and pitched great those last two innings."

After falling behind 3-0, free passes helped the Patriots get going.

Speed and Watson drew back-to-back walks to open the fourth inning, and Piercey and McKibben followed with consecutive singles. Another walk to Kendra Younger set up Laura Castillo for a sacrifice fly to bring home Piercey. And Davis added a two-out single to score McKibben.

Piercey, McKibben and Castillo each drew walks in the fifth inning, and Davis started the sixth with a walk on the way to scoring the winning run.

"We had one inning where the first two batters walked," said Grove. "That kind of opened the door a little bit. They had some timely hitting. They came through when they had to."

Junior varsity

Jay County and the Eagles settled for an 8-8 tie as the game was called after four innings because of darkness.

Abby Denney totaled two hits, including a double, and a run for the Patriots, who scored four times in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game. Ranae Ray doubled and scored twice, and Anneliese Jetmore had a single, two runs and an RBI.

Whitni Somers and Nikka Chaney each tossed two innings.[[In-content Ad]]