Adams Central built a 10-1 lead thanks to a big night from the very bottom of their batting order and then hung on to defeat South Adams for the second this month and advance to the sectional championship game Monday with a 10-7 victory.
Ethan Poling and Jack Hamilton teamed up to go 5 for 8 from the No. 8 and No. 9 spots in the order, scoring four times and knocking in four with the help of two hits by leadoff hitter Logan Uhlman.
Head coach Josh Foster went with Dakota Perry and the move paid off as he went as far as he could, throwing 121 pitches and striking out ten. He left the game with his team leading 10-3.
The Jets scored in each of the first five innings, starting with a triple from Uhlman and a double by Cade Van De Weg to put AC up early.
Perry got into trouble in the second but recovered with two strikeouts to keep SA off the board.
In the bottom of the second, Keegan Bluhm singled to center and then scored on a triple by Poling.
The Starfires tried to gun down Poling at home on a ground ball by Uhlman, but were unsuccessful and AC led 3-0 after two innings.
The Jets picked up another run on a passed ball in the third off Starfire starting pitcher Matt Steiner, then scored two more in the fourth when Poling singled and Hamilton crushed a home run to center field off reliever Caleb Hirschfeld.
Steiner ended his outing with three innings thrown and five hits allowed. He struck out one.
Hirschfeld only faced two more batters before coach Brad Buckingham went to Owen Wanner with one out in the fourth. He finished the inning without allowing a run, striking out two.
The Jets hit Wanner hard in the fifth, beginning with a triple by Hamilton and two RBI hits by Uhlman and Trevor Currie. Wanner complicated the inning by issuing three walks. Three Starfire errors meant the inning ended with AC up 10-1.
The Starfire comeback began with a two-run homer by Brady Beall to left field, scoring himself and Corey Lenington. Dakota Perry struck out two more to get out of the inning, but the Starfires got right back in it with a single by Wanner and two more big hits by Matt Steiner and Hunter Miracle, cutting the lead all the way to 10-7. The first two batters of the inning reached against Ryan Black, who came on in relief of Perry.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Jets went to Logan Uhlman, but he allowed both inherited runners to score on Steiner’s double. Uhlman got the second out of the inning on a strikeout, then ended the game with a ground ball.
Perry’s performance was exactly what the Jets needed and it sets Adams Central up in perfect position to go after Monday with everything they have.
“He was on,” said head coach Josh Foster of Perry. “He came locked in and ready.”
Of the bottom of his lineup, Foster could not be more excited.
“They came through big time.”
The coach knows that he and the Jets are in for a huge challenge on Memorial Day.
“We need everybody, from No. 1 to No. 9 for sure!”
