Retrospect: Jay Co. baseball run ended at semi-state

Uncharacteristic play led to the demise of a group of players who were in uncharted territory 25 years ago today.

The Jay County High School baseball team had its magical season come to an end June 19, 1995, as poor pitching, sloppy defense and absent offense contributed to a 10-3 loss to Franklin Central in the semi-state championship game at Richmond.

It was the furthest any Patriot team had advanced in the state tournament until the 2005-06 boys basketball team lost in the state championship.

Franklin Central, which later lost to LaPorte in the state championship game, scored six runs in the second inning. Shane White, who two weeks prior had been drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 24th round, gave up the six runs — five earned, which matched his season total entering the game — as the Flashes got four consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly off the righty.

Jay County’s offense was limited to just five hits and didn’t score until the fourth inning. White beat out an infield single and later scored on a Will Derrickson blooper.

Franklin Central tacked on two more runs an inning later to make it 8-1 before the Patriots (26-6) cut the deficit with a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth. Terry Vaughn lofted a two-run double to left field, scoring Jim Wehrly and Eric Steigerwalt.

Derrickson had two hits for the Patriots, with Wehrly and White also recording singles.

For the game, White allowed eight runs on seven hits. He struck out three and walked one in 4 2/3 innings.

In the semi-state semifinal, lefty Dan Ferrell tossed a four-hit shutout of the fourth-ranked Richmond Red Devils. The Patriots won 4-0, and scored all four runs in the sixth inning. White and Derrickson both had RBIs, while Steigerwalt knocked in two with a single.

It was the first of back-to-back semi-state appearances for Jay County, to date the only two in program history.ed expectations.”