Jay torches Jets

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The Patriot bats weren’t necessarily silent.

They just needed a little jolt of energy.

Ryan Schlechty provided it. Ethan Myers followed suit.

Schlechty hit his first career home run and Myers drove in four runs as the Jay County High School baseball team defeated the Adams Central Jets 9-1 on Thursday at Don E. Selvey Field.

“Really proud of the kids for staying with it the whole time,” said JCHS coach Lea Selvey, whose team fell behind after the first inning but didn’t give up a run the rest of the way. “Sometimes we’ve been known to get up 4-1 and think we’ve got this won.

“We stayed with it. Really proud of the kids.”

If the first inning went any differently — Adams Central (8-6, 2-1 Allen County Athletic Conference) loaded the bases with one out but managed only one run — it could have resulted in the opposite feeling for both teams.

“I think the first inning could have set the tone for us,” said ACHS coach Dave Neuenschwander. “That first inning we worked so hard to get (JCHS starter Jake Myers) to be a little wild. Took a little bit of an advantage of it but couldn’t grab it.”

After Peyton Heniser tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, Jay County (6-3, 2-0 ACAC) grabbed the lead one inning later.

With one out in the top of the third, Schlechty blasted the first pitch he saw from Adams Central starter Andrew Hammond over the fence in right field. The first round-tripper of his career was the eventual game-winning run.

But the Patriots continued to pour it on the visiting Jets.

Ethan Myers hit a two-run single with two outs in the home half of the fourth inning as Jay County got out front 4-1. Two innings later it put the game out of reach with a five-run effort.

“You just feel like that is taking the wind out,” Neuenschwander said. “It is one of those things, if we want to come back it is a big fight, a big hole.”

In the sixth, the Jets got the leadoff man to second base but JCHS reliever Gaven Hare struck out the side.

“That was tough because if you can get one or two you’re still in the game,” Neuenschwander added.

Instead, Mitchel Frasher led off the home half of the sixth inning with a triple to the gap in right-center field, chasing Hammond from the game.

Cole Stigleman drove in Frasher with a single to left off reliever Ian Wellman, and Schlechty reached on an error. Jacob Geesaman walked to give the Patriots bases loaded with none out, and Ethan Myers drilled a two-run double to right center to make it 8-1 Jay County.

“I had to put it in the field,” said Myers, who was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and scored the final run of the game later in the sixth inning. “That is what I tried to do. I tried to get it up over the infield and score some runs.

“It just worked out.”

Jake Myers got the win, pushing his season record to 3-0. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing an infield single. After a shaky start, he settled down to finish with four walks and four strikeouts while giving up one earned run in five innings. Hare surrendered one hit and struck out three in two innings of relief.

“(Myers) had done his job for us on the hill and it was time to let Gaven take over,” Selvey said.

Jay County out-hit Adams Central 11-2, with each spot in the Patriot lineup getting hits. It was a rather relaxed mood for Jay County, which stumbled against Adams Central in Monroe last season.

“The difference was we actually showed up to play,” Ethan Myers said. “We underestimated them last year.”

But Selvey still hopes to see his squad approach the plate more aggressively. The Patriots fanned nine times.

“I want them to be a little hungrier and focused the entire time,” he said. “I think we’ll see that more and more out of these guys. Don’t want to peak too early.”