Bruins edged JCHS baseball

HARTFORD CITY — Parker Nichols delivered his first home run of the season to tie the game.

The hit sent the Patriots into extra innings, but they couldn’t hold on as they were walked off in the eighth.

Peyton James’ RBI single ended the game as the Jay County High School baseball team fell to the Blackford Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday.

Offense was hard to come by in the matchup for both teams.

The first run came in the sixth inning when Blackford’s Landon Rodgers hit a sacrifice fly to plate Ethan Morris.

Nichols’ home run tied the game and gave the Patriots (11-13) the opportunity to win the game in extras.

While Sam Myers held the Bruins down in the seventh, an error by Aiden Phillips allowed Rodgers to reach base before scoring on James’ single.

Myers suffered the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in seven-plus innings.



Beat the bears

FARMLAND — Jay County Junior High School’s golf team got past the Monroe Central Golden Bears 141-147 on Tuesday at Hickory Hills Golf Club.

Jensen Avery and Dawson Goldsworthy tied to earn medalist honors in the six-hole match, shooting 31 apiece.

Avery had a birdie on hole No. 12 and shot par on hole No. 18. Goldsworthy parred on the 12th and 18th holes.

Jayden Comer followed with a 38.

Tobe Swartzentruber rounded out the Patriots’ score with a 41. He had a bogey on No. 17.

Kason Sims’ score of 44 didn’t count to the team score.



Delta split

MUNCIE — Jay County’s junior high baseball teams split a pair of games against Delta on Tuesday.

The eighth grade team beat the Eagles 9-5 while the seventh grade team fell 5-3.

Leighton Brown was the offensive catalyst for the Patriots, going 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. Blake Collins also had multiple hits for the Patriots.

Despite giving up five runs, Brock Wasson earned the win for Jay County.

The Patriots outhit the Eagles in the seventh grade game 7-5, but couldn’t pull off the victory.

Gavin Byrum was stuck with the loss after giving up three runs in two innings.

Byrum was the offensive leader in the game going 3-for-3 with three singles.



Opens up

Matt’s Garage outhit POET Biorefining of Portland Junior League Rookie baseball on Tuesday 16-5.

Matt’s Garage got strong offensive performances from Duke Armstrong and Owen Clemens who both had four hits. Armstrong drove in six runs in the game while Clemens plated five.

Behind the pair was Jaxon Allred and Kaidyn Garringer both with three hits and multiple RBIs.

The top hitters for POET were Corbin Hutzler and Owen Michael. Hutzler had two doubles while Michael produced three singles.

Eli Michael also had two hits, one of them a double.



Teams tie

PG-14 and Lions Club of Portland Junior League Willie Mays baseball tied 5-5 on Tuesday.

Beckham Hough led PG14 at the plate with an inside-the-park home run, a triple and a single. Eli Homan added a triple and two singles while Sawyer Smitley smacked a double and a single.

Hough started the game on the mound, giving up two runs and striking four batters out through three innings. Homan relieved him, giving up three runs while striking out seven in the final three frames.



The Rock wins

The Rock defeated Crossroads Federal Credit Union on Monday 11-4 in Portland Junior League Minor softball.

One of the game’s top moments was an inside-the-park home run by Shylyn Bowers.

Ellie Wiggins was also a large part of the offensive production, scoring two runs for The Rock.