Jay shows off in showdown (05/03/07)

The Patriots are a confident bunch. And they have every reason to be.

Jay County turned Wednesday's showdown into a showcase of its own talent, clobbering the visiting Bluffton Tigers 8-0.

"It's nice to see them carrying themselves on the field like that," said JCHS coach Jack Wood of his players' attitude. "They expect to win, they expect to play well. And when someone doesn't, somebody is always picking them up. It's a total team effort each game."

Heading into the Olympic Athletic Conference tournament, the Patriots (10-3) have won eight straight games. Their last loss came at Huntington North April 18, and they will have a chance to avenge the other two defeats in Saturday's tournament.

Jay County, which lost to OAC foes Connersville and Anderson Highland 8-1 and 2-0 respectively, will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will play No. 2 seed host Spartans in the opening round at approximately noon. Top-seeded Highland and No. 4 seed Muncie Southside will meet in the tournament opener at 10 a.m.

The consolation game and the championship game will follow.

After handing Bluffton just their second defeat of the year, the Patriots look primed for a run at the OAC title.

They jumped on the Tigers for a quick 3-0 lead Wednesday as Kaelee Keller again got on base and wreaked havoc in each of the first two innings.

"We've talked about ... being ready to play as soon as you step on the field," said Wood, whose team rolled out to a 7-0 lead in Monday's win over Yorktown. "We took a great infield (warm-up), had a great practice yesterday and when they walk out of that dugout they're just ready to play ball."

Keller singled in the first inning, then stole second and third bases. Shae Keller followed with a walk and a steal of second base, and freshman clean-up hitter Pazia Speed brought the sisters in with a two-run single to right field.

Jay County's run in the second inning was all Kaelee Keller.

The sophomore drew a two-out walk, then stole second base for the second time. The throw from catcher Chelsea Hunt skipped into center field, allowing Keller to take third base.

With the count in pitcher Marah Kyle's favor against Shae Keller, Kaelee decided to play a little game of cat-and-mouse. She moved half-way down the third-base line, daring Hunt to throw the ball. Hunt made the mistake of doing just that, and Keller darted home to score easily before the catcher got the ball back.

"That's the attitude she's got - 'I dare you to throw me out,'" said Wood of Keller, who finished with four stolen bases and drove in a run with a ground out in the third inning. "She's been caught one time this year, and that one she got a bad jump. (Her speed) is a definite plus."

Jay County blew the game wide open in the third inning thanks to three hits and a pair of costly Tiger errors.

Speed started the rally with a one-out single to center field and a steal of second. Morgan Locke reached base on the first error of the inning, and she and Speed executed a double-steal to take second and third.

Amber Edmundson followed with a walk to load the bases, and Lindsey Wellman's single to center field brought in a pair of runs. Ashley Bunch reached base on an error to load the bases again, and Brittany Mann came through with a two-run double to right-center.

Keller's RBI ground ball scored Bunch to complete the inning in which all five Patriot runs were unearned.

"We weren't cut in mentally," said Bluffton coach Rick Mettler, whose team is now 10-2. "But Jay County's kids put the ball in play. They hit the ball hard and did a nice job. They beat us.

"Credit to Jay County. They played well."

Speed finished 2-for-4 with three steals, two RBIs and a run for the Patriots, and Wellman and Mann each drove in a pair of runs.

While Kaelee Keller was torturing the Tigers on the base paths, Shae Keller kept their hitters off balance as well.

The senior scattered six hits and allowed runners past second base just twice in the game. Bluffton's best scoring chance came as they had runners on second and third with one out in the third inning, but Keller got Kyle to pop out to Wellman at second base and then struck out No. 4 hitter Kayci Meyer looking.

"Bluffton's got a great program ... That's a pretty good ball team and she threw and awfully good game," said Wood.

Kyle took the loss for Bluffton, allowing eight runs - three earned - on five hits and four walks in 21/3 innings. Sheyann Pace came in and limited the Patriots to just two hits while striking out five in the final 32/3, but the Tigers never rallied.

Eliza Walburn led Bluffton's offense with two hits, including a double, and a stolen base.[[In-content Ad]]