Patriots drop doubleheader

Errors hurt the Patriot softball team Saturday as they dropped both halves of a doubleheader to Connersville.

Jay County fell 11-4 and 6-3 to a still perfect Connersville squad (4-0) as the Patriots (1-2) committed nine errors on the day, keeping wins out of reach.

The tone of the afternoon was set as the Spartan's leadoff hitter launched a ball off the top of the fence for a near home run on the first pitch as Connersville stormed ahead early and never looked back.

The Spartans led 8-0 by the middle of the fourth and, despite a three-run bottom of the inning for the Patriots, the game was out of reach.

Errors hurt JCHS early as bad throws turned into extra bases for the Spartans. The Patriots committed four errors and gave up only two earned runs.

Tiffany Davis (1-1) took the loss, giving up seven runs on only two recorded hits in 3 1/3 innings. In relief, Brittney Watson tossed four strikeouts.

JCHS connected for five hits with doubles from Davis, Danielle Wellman and Selena McKibben.

In the second game, an untimely error opened the door and the Spartans took advantage, scoring three two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Back-to-back singles from Wellman and Pazia Speed in the top of the third drove in Caitlin Gilbert to put Jay County on the board first and the Spartans matched in the bottom of the inning.

But it was errors in the fourth that opened the game up. Connersville reached on an error and a muffed infield popup with two outs brought a run across the plate. The Spartans got hot after that, striking three two-out singles to drive in another pair of runs to extend the lead to 4-1.

JCHS bounced back with a double from Wellman and a walk from Speed. Both runners advanced on a passed ball before Brittany Mann pounded a double driving in both runners to bring the game within one.

But Connersville blanked the Patriots in the last two innings and added some insurance to walk away with its second win of the day. The Spartans were helped by five errors from the Patriots in the match.

Watson (0-1) threw all six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and tossed one K in the loss.

Wellman had a hit and a double, Speed a single, RBI and run, and Mann a single, double and two RBIs as the Patriots recorded five hits - all from the squad's top four hitters in the lineup.[[In-content Ad]]