Patriots roll 10-0 (05/22/08)

FORT WAYNE - In 4A the Patriots will have a chance to go all the way.

The Jay County High School softball team left no doubt Wednesday - from the leadoff home run by senior catcher Trisha Champ to the seven-run fifth inning that put the game away - as it earned its first sectional championship berth in seven years. It dominated the Marion Giants for a 10-0, five-inning victory in the semifinal round of the sectional tournament hosted by Homestead.

The Patriots, who defeated Marion just 4-3 during the regular season, racked up 10 hits by eight different players.

"The last time we played them, we hit the ball pretty well and played pretty well, we just were not swinging the bat as well at that time of year as we are right now," said JCHS coach Jack Wood, whose team has won five in a row and eight of its last 10. "We really had a lot of hard balls hit up the middle."

That theme started from the first batter, even after Marion pitcher Shelby Harney worked the count to one-and-two on Champ. The four-year starter crushed the next pitch over the "Spartans" sign in right-center field for her team-leading fifth home run - three over the fence and two inside the park - of the season.

"She started off the game well. That's simply some of that senior leadership," said Wood. "We were talking when she was on third base one time about her having two strikes on her, and she said she just put it in her mind, 'She's not going to strike me out.' To lead off the game like that, what a lift that was. It just kind of pumped everybody up."

Champ had two strikes on her in the top of the third inning, but with Jess Piercey on first base she delivered once again. This time her hit to right-center field stayed in the park, but she sprinted around the bags for an RBI triple and later scored on a bunt single from Tiffany Davis for a 3-0 lead.

Marion coach Amy Miles said the leadoff home run "didn't set the tone. It was a great hit, but that didn't mean anything. The tone was set when we made errors on the base paths and couldn't move the runners around."

The Giants had runners in scoring position in every inning, but made a variety of bad decisions and mistakes to help take away opportunities.

Champ threw out runners attempting to steal second base in both the second and third innings. Also in the second inning, Marion managed to turn a good break into a bad one.

Bethany Harrell popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt, but pitcher Amber Edmundson couldn't quite get to it in time. It deflected off her glove and into foul territory along the first base line, allowing Harrell to reach base safely. But then Aujalen McCallum tried to advance from second to third.

Champ tracked down the ball, ran at McCallum to force her to make a decision and threw to left fielder Tiffany Davis, who alertly ran in to cover third base, for the second out of the inning.

"We hit the ball well enough to win the ball game," said Miles. "We moved runners, but we made mental errors on the base paths. You can't do that. You can't make the third out at third base. ... And that's what we did."

Jay County put the game away in the third inning, when Champ again had a one-two count before fouling off three pitches en route to drawing a leadoff walk.

After Champ stole second and third bases, Pazia Speed laid down a bunt. Champ was caught off of third base and got in a rundown, but scored her third run of the game when catcher Katie Smith dropped the ball as Champ slid home safely.

Lindsey Wellman and Amber Edmundson added back-to-back RBI singles, and Piercey singled later in the inning. The Patriots also scored a pair of runs on illegal pitches as they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven times.

"Last night, we had probably one of our better practices," said Wood. "We concentrated a lot on hitting ... We hit the ball very, very hard ... Everybody made great contact. They were just consistently driving the ball. Hopefully we're peaking at the right time."

Champ finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs, three runs and two stolen bases. Wellman also had two hits, along with a run and an RBI.

Edmundson allowed at least two base runners in every inning, but consistently worked out of trouble. She tossed a six-hit shutout while walking three and striking out two.

Jay County last advanced to the sectional championship in 2001, the last year the school was in Class 4A. The Patriots never made it past the semifinal round of the tournament in six seasons in the smaller Class 3A.

They will play for their first crown in school history Friday night at 7 p.m. against the host Spartans. Homestead (25-2-2) defeated Fort Wayne South Side 18-1 in Wednesday's other semifinal game.

"It's a great opportunity for us," said Wood, whose team surpassed its 2006 win total with the shutout of Marion. "Homestead is a very good ball club. It's a game that we can compete in and win. We have to focus, be ready to play and be mentally in the ball game. I think we can compete for a sectional championship."

Harney took the loss for Marion, giving up 10 runs - nine earned - on 10 hits and a walk. She struck out four batters.

Kilee Oliver went 2-for-3 with a triple to lead the Giants.

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