Patriots put things together

It’s been a tumultuous start for the Patriots.

The offense has been better but just not enough, the defense has struggled and the pitching hasn’t been what they expected.

Finally, all of those came together in a game this season.

After dropping the first game of Saturday’s double header against the Centerville Bulldogs 15-5, the Jay County High School baseball team picked up its first win of the season in game No. 2 by a score of 7-3.

“To get that first win was good for us,” JCHS coach Todd Farr said. “It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest, but the guys continued to battle and stuck with it.

“Even after the first game, which wasn’t very good at all, they continued with positive attitudes and got it done, so I’m proud of them for that.”

Jay County (1-5) started the season off on the wrong foot as it dropped the first five games, including game No. 1 against Centerville (3-2).

Things finally came together in the sixth game of the season when the offense found ways to manufacture runs, the pitching put forward a solid effort and the defense played just clean enough to not surrender an insurmountable number of unearned runs.

Zedrian Vasquez started the game for JCHS. During his five innings on the mound, the junior recorded three strikeouts while walking six batters and surrendering four hits over five innings.

The only damage came in the fourth inning. With one out, he walked Peyton Ramsey and Luke Basler to put a runner in scoring position. Keith Plyley followed with an RBI single with Ed Parker driving in a run on a groundout next. A final run scored unearned on a passed ball to give Centerville its third run.

After throwing one more inning for the Patriots, his offense reclaimed the lead to give Vasquez the win.

“(Zedrian) gave us exactly what we thought he would,” Farr said. “Maybe a few more walks than we’d like, but overall he did well.”

Following up Vasquez’s strong performance on the mound was Jackson Edwards. To start the sixth inning, the JCHS senior recorded an out on a fly ball to center field before striking the next two batters out.

The seventh inning was just as strong, striking out the side with only one mishap that led to a one-out triple for Centerville’s Kollyn Peed. Because Edwards came into the game with only a two-run lead, the five-strikeout performance over two innings notched him the first save of the season for Jay County.

“It was definitely the offspeed,” Edwards said in response to what made him so effective. “Zedrian started and he’s a bit faster than me when it comes to pitching, so I threw my junk and it was working.”

The Patriot offense struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning on a two-out rally. Ryne Goldsworthy began the streak of five batters reaching base with a single to left field. Grant Wendel and Cody Rowles both drew walks before Goldsworthy came around to score on a passed ball.

After Edwards walked, Wendel was plated when Drew Schemenaur got hit by a pitch to drive in a run.

The next time Jay County would score it came with a one-run deficit.

With one out in the fifth inning, Sam Myers worked a walk off of four-straight misses by Gavin Robinson. Myers quickly made his way around the bases, as three passed balls allowed him to score and tie the game during Parker Nichols’ at bat.

JCHS second baseman Grant Wendel leaps near the edge of the infield to make a catch during the first game against Centerville on Saturday. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

“My whole goal was to score,” Myers said. “Parker did a good job laying off those pitches so I could get to third and then obviously it worked out on that passed ball so I could score.”

Nichols walked, stole second and then came around to score on a single by Kade Sommers. Leighton Brown, who came in to run for Sommers, advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt, reached third on a dropped third strike and subsequently scored when first baseman Grady Blake threw the ball away after recording the out at first base.

Two more runs came in the sixth on an error in the outfield and a double by Schemenaur.

“It’s just a whole lot of confidence,” Myers said. “That’s something I preach as a team leader. Whether if it’s fielding the ball or hitting, if you believe in yourself you can do it.”

The Patriots still committed two errors in the game, but they weren’t as detrimental to the four from the first game. Defensive mistakes accounted for six of the 15 Bulldog runs.

Many of the mistakes came at inopportune times, such as a dropped third strike, three passed balls and a throwing error that directly led to runs.

“I think it’s a little bit mental, a little bit of not being able to get outside and they’re young and learning,” Farr said. “We’ve got guys that are in positions that are new … so it’s a learning process.”

The runs from errors were enough to take down the Patriots, as the offense only managed five runs in the game.

While it hasn’t been the start to the season that they hoped, players and coaches alike described the first win as getting a weight off their shoulders. Now they’re just looking to build off of it.

“We’re getting there,” Farr said. “We haven’t checked out yet.

“We just have to make sure we’re playing our best baseball by the end of the season. We’re getting ready to go into conference play this next week so we want to start off strong, so we’ll see what we can do.”