’Dogs top JC again

MUNCIE — The Bulldogs beat the Patriots by two runs in the regular season.

History repeated itself in the postseason.

The Jay County High School softball team’s season ended Tuesday when it lost to Centerville 7-5 during the opening round of the Class 3A IHSAA Section 24 tournament hosted by Delta.

A three-run seventh inning gave the Bulldogs a late lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Runs scored on a solo home run by Drew Tubesing and a two-run double from Hanna Stapleton.

The Patriots (20-6), who posted the second-highest win total in school history this year, had a three-run inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Home runs from Mallory Winner and Riah Champ powered the effort.

Winner suffered the loss, giving up seven runs — four earned — on 11 hits through seven innings.

Stapleton earned the win for Centerville, giving up five runs on eight hits.

Jay County’s other runs came on singles from Jozey Shimp and Mady Fraley in the first and second innings.



Heartbreaking end

MARION — The Jay County girls tennis team narrowly lost to the Mississinewa Indians in the regional semifinal match 3-2 Tuesday.

The Patriots got wins from both of their doubles duos.

Kaylee and Melana Zimmerman edged past Lily Harpe and Addyson Warren in the No. 1 doubles match 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-2. Meredith Dirksen and Sophie Sprunger beat Abigail Gaines and Alyssa Ryan in the No. 2 doubles contest 6-2, 6-4.

The Indians swept up the No. 1 and 2 singles matches. Allie Clark swept Brenna Haines while Gabrianna Hoiser beat Brenna Bailey 6-1, 6-2.

The match ended when Maggie Dillon fell in a heartbreaker to Avery Cuneo in the No. 3 singles match. Dillon couldn’t hold on in the tiebreaker, allowing Cuneo to come out on top 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-0).



More momentum

FORT WAYNE — The Jay County baseball team won its second game in a row by 10 or more runs as it beat the South Side Archers 14-2 Tuesday.

The game was originally scheduled for May 13 but was rained out. It will be Jay County’s (13-13) final game of the regular season before playing New Castle in the sectional semifinal at Yorktown on Friday.

A pair of five-run innings fueled the victory.

Sam Myers and Christian Runkle were the top Patriot hitters. Both went 3-for-4 in the game, Myers provided two RBIs on a pair of doubles while Runkle scored two runs.

The Patriots threw a different pitcher in all five innings, giving Kade Sommers the win after allowing only one hit before the first of Jay County’s five-run innings.

The Archers’ only runs came in the fifth inning when they scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball.



Dominating Union

WINCHESTER — The Jay County boys golf team blew out Union City (209) and Union Modoc (217) on Tuesday when they shot a team 169.

Caleb DeRome led the way for the Patriots with a team best 40 in the nine-hole match.

Closely behind him were Liam Garringer and Gage Sims, separated by only one stroke each. Garringer shot a 41 while Sims had a 42.

Rounding out the Patriots’ score was Luke Fugiett with a 46.

Cody DeHoff’s score of 47 did not contribute to the team’s score in the match.



Split end

GAS CITY — The Jay County Junior High School baseball teams finished their seasons with a doubleheader against Mississinewa on Tuesday. The eighth grade team trumped the Indians 10-0 while the seventh graders fell 10-4.

Brock Wasson earned the win in the eighth grade game, as he gave up only one hit in four innings while striking seven batters out. He also led the team offensively with two hits, one producing an RBI in the Patriots’ five-run second inning.

The eighth grade team finished the year with a record of 10-1 in its inaugural season.

The Indians jumped on the Patriots in the seventh-grade game for four runs in the first inning and five in the second.

Nick Snow suffered the loss, giving up six runs on two hits.

The seventh grade team finished the season with a record of 8-2-1 in the team’s initial season.



In Division III

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The OHSAA has announced the divisional breakdown for fall sports for the 2024 season Tuesday.

Fort Recovery will remain in Division III for volleyball, the second smallest division based on enrollment. It is tied for the 15th-smallest school in the division with a “volleyball adjusted enrollment” of 116. Poland Seminary, Oak Harbor and Meadowbrook are the largest schools in the division at 187.

MAC rivals Coldwater, St. Henry and Versailles will also compete in Division III, while Marion Local, Minster, New Bremen, New Knoxville and Delphos St. John’s are in Division IV.

Both of the cross country teams will be competing in the smallest division (Division III). Fort Recovery falls near the middle in terms of enrollment.

Boys and girls golf will also be in the smallest divisions, with the boys competing in Division III and the girls in Division II.



Cook’s, Williams win

Cook’s Nursery and Williams Auto Parts of Portland Junior League Rookie baseball both earned wins on Tuesday.

Cook’s Nursery took down Pioneer Packaging 6-5 while William’s Auto Parts topped Matt’s Garage 10-9.

The top hitter for Cook’s Nursery was Hunter Hamilton who went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs.

Pioneer Packaging also had a perfect hitter from that plate, that being Koda Johnson who was 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.

Parker Huntsman showed out for William’s Auto Parts with two singles, an inside-the-park home run, three runs and four RBIs.

Owen Clemens was the top hitter for Matt’s Garage, tallying three RBIs on two hits and a home run.



Forge wins

Portland Forge of Portland Junior League Sandy Koufax baseball took down Loy’s Realty 12-8 on Tuesday.

A trio of players scored a trio of runs for Portland Forge in the ballgame, those being Max Klopfenstein, Andrew Day and Logan Wendel. Day also added three singles while the other two both slapped one.

Grant Fennig and Sam Wiggins both scored a pair of runs for Loy’s Realty in the contest. Fennig added three singles while Wiggins hit a single and a double.