July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
NHS tops Jay (04/18/08)
JCHS softball
NHS tops Jay (04/18/08)
By By RAY COONEY-
Following a great conference win and a blowout victory on the road, a stumble against one of the best teams in the state with a pitcher who routinely throws no-hitters can be forgivable. Coach Jack Wood just hoped his Patriots' loss Wednesday to Huntington North would have them even more ready to play 24 hours later.
But the results didn't back up that hope.
The Jay County High School softball team played a mistake-filled game, and the visiting Norwell Knights caught fire at the plate Thursday to hand the home team a 19-8, six-inning defeat.
"You come back tonight and you'd think you would be hungry, play with some heart," said Wood about responding to the Huntington North loss. "We just weren't there. Our heads weren't in the game. We committed errors that we haven't committed all year, things I guess that we take for granted that we just do.
"That's not to take anything away from Norwell. They hit the ball. But we sure didn't help ourselves any out there."
The Patriots (6-4) racked up their share of mistakes, but they were still in the game through four innings. They trailed just 7-4 and had already racked up eight hits.
Norwell quickly ended any thought of a comeback.
Kelsey Kline hit a one-out single to center field to get the Knights started in the top of the fifth inning, and Cassie Rice followed with her first career home run. And after Elizabeth Ault reached base on an infield single, Melissa Werling smacked another homer to left field to put her team up 11-4
It was the third blast of the game for Norwell - Danielle Davis hit a solo shot in the third inning - and the second in as many games for Werling.
"This has been our best hitting game so far, by far," said Norwell coach Scott Hanni, whose team is now 3-6. "Melissa Werling ... is hitting almost .500, just off the charts."
After Jay County recorded the second out of the inning, the Knights extended their rally with an infield single, a hit batsman and an error. Carolyn Vavrek then delivered an RBI single to center to complete the seven-run frame in which Norwell sent 11 batters to the plate.
The Knights added five more runs on four hits in the sixth inning to end the game early.
Six different Knights had two or more hits, including No. 8 and 9 hitters Rice and Ault who each finished 3-for-4. Rice scored three times and drove in three runs, and Ault had a double, and three runs.
Davis finished with a double, two runs and four RBIs, Werling scored four times, and Natalie Meyer had three hits.
"It's really exciting," said Hanni. "Rice and Kelsey Kline had both been struggling. They were both hitting under .200 ... and we'd really been working a lot in practice trying to get them to keep their hands up. It was a good game out of them tonight.
"It was nice to be on the other end of that. We got killed twice at South Adams on Saturday. ... We definitely enjoyed that tonight."
Brittany Schumm picked up the win for Norwell, allowing eight runs - six earned - on 11 hits and two walks. She struck out four in five innings before giving way to Werling in the sixth.
After seeing their deficit balloon to nine runs in the top of the fifth inning, Jay County scored three times in the bottom before back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat. Pazia Speed reached base on an error in the sixth, but Werling got back to back fly outs to center to end the game.
The Patriots finished with 11 hits -Kayla Phillips, Lauren Edmundson and Tiffany Davis each had two - but could not keep up with Norwell's attack. Lauren Edmundson had two runs and two RBIs, and Davis scored twice.
"The thing is, we're capable of scoring a lot of runs. But some of our hitters just didn't come through," said Wood. "I think we got to the point where we were just ready to get it over with. And that's a shame, because we're capable of coming back and scoring eight or 10 runs."
Tiffany Davis took the loss, giving up five runs on four hits, two walks and two hit batsmen in two-plus innings. Three of the runs against her scored on wild pitches.
Amber Edmundson gave up 14 runs - 12 earned - on 13 hits and three walks in four innings.
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But the results didn't back up that hope.
The Jay County High School softball team played a mistake-filled game, and the visiting Norwell Knights caught fire at the plate Thursday to hand the home team a 19-8, six-inning defeat.
"You come back tonight and you'd think you would be hungry, play with some heart," said Wood about responding to the Huntington North loss. "We just weren't there. Our heads weren't in the game. We committed errors that we haven't committed all year, things I guess that we take for granted that we just do.
"That's not to take anything away from Norwell. They hit the ball. But we sure didn't help ourselves any out there."
The Patriots (6-4) racked up their share of mistakes, but they were still in the game through four innings. They trailed just 7-4 and had already racked up eight hits.
Norwell quickly ended any thought of a comeback.
Kelsey Kline hit a one-out single to center field to get the Knights started in the top of the fifth inning, and Cassie Rice followed with her first career home run. And after Elizabeth Ault reached base on an infield single, Melissa Werling smacked another homer to left field to put her team up 11-4
It was the third blast of the game for Norwell - Danielle Davis hit a solo shot in the third inning - and the second in as many games for Werling.
"This has been our best hitting game so far, by far," said Norwell coach Scott Hanni, whose team is now 3-6. "Melissa Werling ... is hitting almost .500, just off the charts."
After Jay County recorded the second out of the inning, the Knights extended their rally with an infield single, a hit batsman and an error. Carolyn Vavrek then delivered an RBI single to center to complete the seven-run frame in which Norwell sent 11 batters to the plate.
The Knights added five more runs on four hits in the sixth inning to end the game early.
Six different Knights had two or more hits, including No. 8 and 9 hitters Rice and Ault who each finished 3-for-4. Rice scored three times and drove in three runs, and Ault had a double, and three runs.
Davis finished with a double, two runs and four RBIs, Werling scored four times, and Natalie Meyer had three hits.
"It's really exciting," said Hanni. "Rice and Kelsey Kline had both been struggling. They were both hitting under .200 ... and we'd really been working a lot in practice trying to get them to keep their hands up. It was a good game out of them tonight.
"It was nice to be on the other end of that. We got killed twice at South Adams on Saturday. ... We definitely enjoyed that tonight."
Brittany Schumm picked up the win for Norwell, allowing eight runs - six earned - on 11 hits and two walks. She struck out four in five innings before giving way to Werling in the sixth.
After seeing their deficit balloon to nine runs in the top of the fifth inning, Jay County scored three times in the bottom before back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat. Pazia Speed reached base on an error in the sixth, but Werling got back to back fly outs to center to end the game.
The Patriots finished with 11 hits -Kayla Phillips, Lauren Edmundson and Tiffany Davis each had two - but could not keep up with Norwell's attack. Lauren Edmundson had two runs and two RBIs, and Davis scored twice.
"The thing is, we're capable of scoring a lot of runs. But some of our hitters just didn't come through," said Wood. "I think we got to the point where we were just ready to get it over with. And that's a shame, because we're capable of coming back and scoring eight or 10 runs."
Tiffany Davis took the loss, giving up five runs on four hits, two walks and two hit batsmen in two-plus innings. Three of the runs against her scored on wild pitches.
Amber Edmundson gave up 14 runs - 12 earned - on 13 hits and three walks in four innings.
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