Spartans defeat Patriots for OAC championship (05/08/06)

ANDERSON — There was plenty of fight in the Patriots, but not quite enough to overcome a 9-0 deficit.

Jay County’s baseball team scored five times in the final inning Saturday as its comeback in the Olympic Athletic Conference championship game fell short in an 11-7 loss to the Connersville Spartans. JCHS reached the finals with an 8-1 win over the Muncie Southside Rebels.

The Patriots (8-9), seeded fourth, dug a big hole in the title game as Connersville scored four times in the third inning and five times in the fourth. Jay County got on the board with a pair of runs in the fifth before scoring the rest in the seventh.

Josh Atkinson took the loss, giving up six runs on eight hits in 31/3 innings.

Josh Ludy paced the offense with a 3-for-4 effort. He drove in a pair of runs and scored once.

Chris Elmore added a double and two RBIs, Josh Shatto had three hits and Luke Goetz scored twice.

Jay County took the opposite course in defeating Southside for the third time this season, jumping out to a 7-0 advantage. It scored twice in the second inning and five times in the third as Josh Shatto kept the Rebel offense silent.

Shatto gave up just one run on six hits as he went the distance.

He struck out six and walked one.

Tony McCowan was 2-for-3 with two runs and two stolen bases. Michael Jobe hit a solo home run, and Andy Hughes was 2-for-3 with a couple of RBIs.

John Retter drove in a pair of runs, and Cory Locke added two hits.[[In-content Ad]]