Sectional slaughter (06/04/07)

HARTFORD CITY - The sectional drought ended with a deluge of hits, a flood of runs.

Among the Patriot hits that came pouring down were Josh Ludy's record-breaking home runs, which marked just a couple of highlights as they rolled to their first baseball sectional title in 12 years. Class 3A No. 7 Jay County erupted offensively, including an eight-run third inning, in clobbering the host Bruins 19-3 in five innings in Saturday's sectional championship game at Blackford.

The sectional crown marked the seventh in school history, but the first since a streak of four in five years from 1991 through 1995.

"For me personally, I felt a lot of relief. That's always our goal and ... it's been frustrating because we went so many years in a row there where we won sectional and then we had this dry spell ..." said JCHS coach Lea Selvey, who is in his 19th year leading the Patriots. "This one is especially satisfying to me because I've had these kids, a lot of them, since all-stars as kids. It's just been a lot of fun for me. I know how hard they've worked and how much they wanted to be successful."

Ludy went deep in each of his first two at bats against the Bruins, smashing a couple of two-runs shots. The first tied the single-season school record of Shannon Stigleman, who was on hand for the game a day after Ludy broke his single-season runs record, and the second set a new mark.

Andy Hughes also went deep in the victory with a two-run blast in the fourth inning, giving Jay County a single-season school record 27 home runs on the year. The previous mark of 25 was set in 1998.

"He had a career, I think," said Selvey of the performance from Ludy, who drove in five runs and scored four times. "He had a great day. It was fun to watch.

"He had more home runs in one day than I had in my life."

Ludy, who entered the game hitting just under .500, had just a single in each of the first two sectional games.

"Somebody started pitching to him," Selvey added of the junior catcher. "We were in a position where they had to throw to him a couple of times."

In addition to the championship trophy, the victory over Blackford gave the Patriots another reward. They will get to return to their home field.

Jay County's last home game was May 22 - an 11-0 win over Monroe Central - before it went on the road to Bellmont to close the regular season and then to Blackford for the sectional tournament. But they will host a one-game regional Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Western (20-6), the champions of the sectional tournament at West Lafayette.

"I think they're excited. We can't believe we get to come home and play one more game," said Selvey. "It's a bonus. We just want to go out and play hard and have fun."

"I really appreciated the support we got from the fans (Saturday). I hope a lot of them come out Tuesday and watch these guys. This is the first time ever we've had a regional at Jay County."

While the Patriots (24-5) ended up putting on the offensive fireworks display, Selvey noted that Blackford was in position to do its own share of damage in the early going. But the JCHS defense came up with several big plays.

The Bruins scored the game's first run on two hits and had runners on first and second with one out in the top of the first inning. But Hughes induced a ground ball from Kelby Cameron for a 4-6-3 double play turned in by Josh Selvey and Thomas McCowan to Nick Pryor.

Jay County scored twice to take the lead in the bottom of the opening inning, but Blackford again tied the score on Adam Barnes' two-out double in the top of the second. However Barnes tried to stretch the hit into a triple and right fielder Trey Dunn tossed to Selvey, who fired the relay to Tony McCowan at third for the final out of the inning.

"They scored, and then we had a nice double play to get out of the inning," said Selvey of the defensive effort. "We came back and scored two ... the next couple of innings we had a five run inning and then a eight run inning. They would open the door a little bit with an error or a walk, but we pretty much hit the ball hard every time out. We made them make a play.

"Our kids just sat back and were very relaxed, taking some nice cuts and driving the ball."

The onslaught began in earnest in the bottom of the second inning, which included Ludy's second home run and three Patriot singles. Hughes hit his two-run home run in the eight-run third to go along with doubles from Thomas McCowan and Dunn, and Hughes added double in the four-run fourth.

Hughes followed Ludy by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a run, and Dunn, who did not bat in the first two games, was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs. Michael Jobe, Thomas McCowan, Tony McCowan and Casey Waters each added a pair of runs.

After that offensive display, Selvey said he feels good about his team's chances against Western.

"I'd think if we can hit again like that, we'll be fine," he said, adding that he and his team would love another shot at No. 1 Norwell (31-0), a match-up that could occur in the semi-state championship game at Plymouth. "It was amazing ... everybody just came in and hit the ball.

"We've got a situation where we get to play at home. They should be even more relaxed. They're confident. ... Here we are rated, we're at home."

Hughes earned the win over Blackford, his sixth of the season, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks.[[In-content Ad]]