Corn's blast sparks Jay

Southern Wells got off to a hot start.
The Patriots had a better beginning.
Jay County High School sophomore Emily Corn’s first career home run gave her team the lead and senior pitcher McKayla Norris settled down after a rocky first inning as the Patriot softball team defeated the Southern Wells Raiders on Tuesday, 12-7.
“It feels awesome,” said Norris, who along with her teammates has won three straight games after losing 10 in a row to start the season. “We had a really rough start obviously, but getting three wins in a row, we are up (and) we believe in ourselves, which we didn’t have.
“Now we do, and I think we can keep it going because of that.”
Like the Patriots (3-10, 3-3 Allen County Athletic Conference) began the season, Norris had a shaky start against the Raiders on Tuesday. She allowed a leadoff single to Breanna Penrod, and walked Taylor Wells. She made a throwing error to aid Southern Wells in scoring its first run, then two batters later Jessica Yencer hit a three-run home run to left field. The senior gave up one more hit later in the inning, but recorded two strikeouts to prevent further damage.
“She faced a lot of adversity tonight and she did really well,” said JCHS coach Amy Hawbaker. Later in the game Norris was called multiple times for illegal pitches, which visibly frustrated the Patriot captain. She was able to modify her delivery and continue to pitch effectively, despite tweaking her ankle during the third inning.
“I was very proud of how she was able to adjust tonight,” Hawbaker said.
Norris credited her teammates for helping her focus on pitching.
“They build me up when I get down on myself (so) I go out there with a new attitude,” said Norris, who had her changeup fool hitters into making lazy swings. Despite allowing seven runs — four earned — on 10 hits, she matched her season-high of eight strikeouts.
“I struggle with (changeups) sometimes, but tonight they were on and it showed,” she said.
Norris was able to put a rocky beginning behind her because her teammates wasted no time in getting her a lead.
After the early 4-0 deficit, Kensey Litton led off the home half of the first inning with a bunt single, and two pitches later was standing on third after two stolen bases.
“I love what I’m seeing out of her in the leadoff spot,” Hawbaker said. “When she gets on base there is no stopping her because her speed is unbelievable.”
The freshman speedster finished with three singles, two stolen bases, one RBI and a run.
Chloe Trissel followed Litton with a walk, and Kady Finnerty got the Patriots on the board with an RBI single. Trissel later scored on a pickoff attempt, and Gabby Hart walked to bring Corn to the plate with two runners on base.
The sophomore second baseman blasted SWHS pitcher Markie Price’s 1-1 offering deep over the fence in left field. Her first career round-tripper put Jay County on top, 5-4, and it kept the lead for the remainder of the game.
“I think that really helped turn things around for them,” Hawbaker said of Corn’s homer. “They were a little down in that first inning, but when she came up with that hit they really pulled it together.
Sam Twigg followed Corn with an RBI single, and three batters later Litton drove her in for a 6-4 Patriot lead.
Jay County scored three more times in the fourth inning on two Southern Wells errors. The 9-4 advantage stood until the Raiders benefited from a pair of Patriot errors to make it 9-6.
The three-run deficit was short-lived though, as Trissel ripped a two-run double in the sixth inning and later came around to score. Jay County’s lead ballooned to 12-6 until Courtney Lemler of Southern Wells hit a solo shot to left field in the top of the seventh.
In addition to Litton’s three-hit game, Finnerty, Corn and Twigg also had two-hit performances. Freshman Maggie Pryor notched her first career walk and run in the sixth inning, during which Hannah Chapman and Hannah Phillips also saw their first varsity at-bats.

Junior varsity
The only thing that could stop Kaylee Inman from dealing was darkness.
Inman, a Jay County sophomore, pitched four perfect innings and helped the Patriots to a 9-0 lead over the Raiders before the game was called in four innings.
Jay County (9-1-1) scored four runs in the second inning and added five in the fourth before the game was suspended.
Hannah Phillips and Randi Ferguson both had a triple and a single to pace the Patriot offense. Hannah Phillips added a double and a single.