Out of reach (04/11/07)

FORT RECOVERY - So much for being rusty.

Jay County's softball team started its season a week later than expected, but didn't waste any time once it got on the field. The Patriots racked up four first-inning runs at Fort Recovery Monday and rolled to an 11-1, five-inning victory over the Indians.

"We came out ready to play, focused," said JCHS coach Jack Wood, whose team recorded 10 hits and didn't allow a runner past first base over the final four innings. "It seems like any time we take a good, solid infield (warm-up) we start out pretty decent. We talked about being mentally ready to play ... we were aggressive at the plate and on the bases. We did a lot of things right, a lot of positive things."

Six errors and seven unearned runs left Fort Recovery coach Marie Osterholt feeling the exact opposite.

"Nothing went right," she said after her team dropped to 1-3. "They just need to start focusing on the ball game, one thing at a time, and be ready. They weren't ready to play tonight, and hopefully we correct that tomorrow night."

The tone for the game was set in the first inning when Shae Keller led off the season for Jay County, which had its first three scheduled games postponed last week because of rain and cold temperatures, with a single to left field. She advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored when Brittany Mann crushed a triple over the head of right fielder Joanna Snyder.

Morgan Locke and Amber Edmundson added back-to-back doubles later in the inning, and Amanda Alberson, the lone Patriot with multiple hits, completed the four-run frame with an RBI single.

"They scored four runs and we got down right away and couldn't get back out of the hole," said Osterholt. "We'll just keep plugging away, keep trying."

Fort Recovery (1-3) had a chance to respond as it picked up three hits in the bottom of the first. But Mann connected with Keller and then catcher Trisha Champ on a relay to cut down Val Fortkamp at the plate as she tried to score from second base on a single to center field by Ashley Grube.

Grube later scored on an infield single by Lori Osterholt, but that was all the offense the Indians could muster. Keller clamped down after the first, allowing just one more hit - Fortkamp's second single of the game - over the final four innings.

"She buckled up and she stopped them," said Wood of Keller, who finished with six strikeouts. "Shae has really grown as a pitcher in that aspect. The maturity is there, and she's able to just stick it out now and go after them."

Meanwhile, Jay County tacked on two runs in a second inning in which its first four batters got on base without a hit.

Mann reached first on an error, Champ and Locke were each hit by pitches and Edmundson drew a walk. Mann was retired on a fielder's choice, but Alberson came up big a second time as she drove in Champ and Locke with a two-out, two-run single to left.

The Patriots added five more unearned runs, this time on the benefit of just two hits, in the fifth inning for the final margin.

Alberson led the JCHS offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and eight other players added one hit apiece. Locke reached base all four times she went to the plate and finished with three runs, and Champ scored twice.

Jay County also got contributions from all three players who came in off the bench, including a hit, a run, an RBI and two stolen bases from Kaelee Keller. Pazia Speed had a hit and an RBI, and Lindsey Wellman scored a run.

"It's a great problem to have," said Wood of his effort to find somewhere for everyone to play. "We're as deep this year as we've been in four years. Probably we'll see some different lineups ... we have a variety of girls who play a variety of positions."

Beth May took the loss for the Tribe as she walked five and struck out one.[[In-content Ad]]