Smith pitches JC past No. 4 Knights (05/14/04)

PORTLAND — If the recent results are going to continue, Jay County baseball coach Lea Selvey might not mind seeing a few more ranked teams on his schedule.

The Patriots scored a win over a top-10 opponent for the second straight night Thursday, topping the Class 2A No. 4 Northeastern Knights 4-1. They defeated the top-ranked team in Class 3A — sectional rival Blackford — Wednesday.

“I’m really glad we didn’t let down after an emotional win last night,” said Jay County starting pitcher Mike Smith. “The defense really backed me up.

“We’re letting everyone know that we can play up here. We’ve got a lot of young kids that didn’t have much experience and they’re getting their feet wet.

“We’re showing we’re a team to be reckoned with. If we keep this going, everyone will forget about that slow start.”

The Patriots spent about a month at or below the .500 mark, but have turned the tables on their opponents within the last two weeks. They defeated Fort Wayne Wayne last week, swept a double-header from Anderson Highland Saturday and ran their winning streak to five games with the pair of victories over ranked teams.

Smith’s two-hitter boosted them to 10-6 on the season.

“I feel very happy with them,” said Selvey, whose team will try to add a couple more wins when it hosts a double-header against Fort Recovery Saturday at 11 a.m. “You can’t ask much more of these kids this week.”

Selvey couldn’t have asked for much more from Smith on the hill Thursday either.

He allowed a single to Josh Black with two outs in the first inning and was dominant for the next five. He struck out Cory Legear to end the first, and proceeded to retire 14 of the next 15 batters he faced. Only a walk to Travis Dale broke the streak.

Dale also had the only other hit against Smith, a solo homer to left field in the sixth. Still, the senior came back to strike out Chris Ponder and finished off the contest without a threat from the Knights.

Smith improved to 4-2 as he struck out five and walked just one in seven sparkling innings.

“I stayed away most of the game and tried to keep the fastball away,” said Smith. “I just tried to stay focused on every pitch.”

“We’re struggling at the plate lately,” said Northeastern coach Mike Roeder, whose team slipped to 14-5 with the loss. “That’s kind of been our Achilles’ Heel.

“But, I don’t want to take anything away from (Smith). He pitched a really nice game. I thought he threw well.”

Jay County got all the runs it would need to support Smith in the second inning, and added one for show in the fifth.

After a pair of strikeouts to open the second inning Mike Alberson delivered a single to left field, and Eric Somers knocked a double with a line shot the left field line. Josh Shatto struck out for what should have been the third out, but the strike got away from the catcher and Shatto ended up safe at first as Alberson scored.

Heath Williams and Trent Bailey made the Knights pay with back-to-back RBI singles for a 3-0 Patriot lead.

Bailey was also responsible for the fireworks in the fifth inning as he hit a rocket over the fence in left field for a solo home run. He finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run.

Williams and Somers also had two hits apiece.

Chris Ponder was the hard-luck loser for Northeastern as all of the three runs he gave up were unearned. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six in 41/3 innings.

Legear allowed four hits and struck out one in 22/3 scoreless innings of relief.[[In-content Ad]]