Patriot softball inches closer to ACAC title

The Patriots are one win closer to a conference title.

Rieley Brewster hit a walk-off home run and Haleigh Clayton and Taylor Brown threw a combined no-hitter as the Jay County High School softball team disposed of the Bluffton Tigers by a 10-0 score in five innings Wednesday, keeping alive the Patriots’ hopes of their first conference championship.

The win improves the Patriots to 12-6 on the season and 5-1 in Allen County Athletic Conference play ahead of a 6 p.m. matchup tonight against the Heritage Patriots. A Jay County victory, coupled with Southern Wells defeating Woodlan, would give JCHS its first ACAC championship.

Jay County scored six times in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Brewster, an RBI single from Renna Schwieterman, two errors and a bases-loaded walk.

An inning later, Schwieterman hit a two-run home run, temporarily putting her tied for the team lead with seven homers, until Brewster hit a solo shot to walk it off and re-take the top spot with eight home runs.

Brewster and Schwieterman had three RBIs each, with Mady Fraley, Maddy Rinker and Kristen Wendel also collecting RBIs.

Haleigh Clayton threw four hitless innings and struck out seven. Taylor Brown threw the final frame with one strikeout.



Curts leads baseball

Austin Curts hit a two-run home run and fanned a career-high 11 batters in leading the Jay County baseball team past the Bluffton Tigers on Wednesday, 8-1.

The Patriots moved to 8-6 (3-1 Allen County Athletic Conference) and will host Heritage (17-2, 3-2 ACAC) at 6 p.m. tonight.

Jay County jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an Crosby Heniser RBI single, a Curts sacrifice fly and a Dusty Pearson RBI double.

Curts hit his two-run blast in the third inning to make it 5-0 before the Tigers got their only run in the top of the fifth.

The Patriots added three more runs in the sixth.

Curts allowed one earned run while scattering just three hits. He struck out a career-high 11 and didn’t issue a walk in the 111-pitch, complete-game effort.



JV baseball blasts Tigers

BLUFFTON — Three runs in the first inning and a half dozen in the second carried the Jay County junior varsity team to a 13-3 win over the Bluffton Tigers in six innings on Wednesday.

The Patriots (5-5) led 11-3 after the fifth inning before putting the game away in the sixth.

Christian Runkle had two doubles and two RBIs to pace the Patriots, while Bennett Weitzel hit a double and a single, and drove in three runs. Kenny Carducci doubled and singled, while Ryne Goldsworthy had two hits and three RBIs.

Bryce Wenk knocked in two runs. Cody Rowles and Peyton James each had two hits.

Jackson Edwards got the win, allowing three runs — one earned — on four hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked one.