Jay County sophomore throws all nine innings in Braves’ season opener
By DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Bellmont battled back from a 3-0 deficit with a fifth-inning rally, but it was the Jay County Patriots who had the last laugh in a long, competitive game with a 6-3 victory in nine innings to spoil the Braves’ season opener.
Already starting late because of transportation issues, the game went well into the night and finished under the lights at the Bellmont softball diamond.
Senior Piper Baker started in the circle and pitched into the ninth, while Jay County’s Mallory Winner went the distance for the nine-inning victory.
Bellmont head coach Mindy Buuck felt she learned something about her ace hurler Tuesday night.
“Honestly there was a point in that fifth inning where we were going to make a change,” said Buuck after the loss of her decision after shortstop Riah Champ took Baker deep for a two-run bomb in the top of the fifth. “MaryKate (Scheumann) was ready to come in and we told her to be ready for the sixth but Piper wasn’t going to have it. She asked for one more inning.”
After Baker got the final out in the top of the fifth, Scheumann started the bottom of the inning, and her high school career, with her first base hit – a triple to right. The Braves’ #9 hitter, Sami Christen, followed with another extra-base hit, a double, to turn the lineup over to leadoff hitter Emily Bleke, who singled up the middle to score Christen to make it 3-2.
Shortstop Aaliyah Faurote then tied the game at three runs apiece with a triple to left, showing off her wheels and breathing some energy into the Bellmont dugout.
“I think our younger girls just saw the confidence Piper had and they fed off that. She knew she wasn’t done and that we as a team were not done and we came right out and got those three runs and were back in the game,” noted Buuck.
Baker finished the game with six strikeouts, while Mallory Winner, the two-time state champ for the Patriots’ wrestling team, had three Ks, allowing just five hits over all nine innings of work.
Winner buckled down after the rally in the fifth, allowing just a lone, two-out single to Christen the rest of the way.
The winning run in the ninth came after the Braves’ infield committed an error and then could not turn a double play on a ground ball to the left side. Winner drew a walk to put runners on first and second and catcher Jaelynn Lykins doubled to right to put Jay up 4-3. Another single and a walk meant the end of the night for Baker, who was replaced by Scheumann. The freshman struck out the final two batters to end the inning.
“Tonight showed that this is going to be an interesting season,” admitted Buuck, now in her second year in charge of softball in Decatur. “There were certainly things that I saw that I liked tonight. I want us to be a bold and aggressive team and we showed some of that tonight. We just have to execute better. I think that will come with more games.”
The Braves were scheduled to play another home game Wednesday night against Bluffton, but the weather forecast did not look promising for the game to be played.
