The Adams Central Flying Jets led 5-0 after three and 7-4 after four innings, but a nine-run inning by the visiting Patriots in the fifth inning looked to spell doom for the home team – until they rallied to score five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and win the game 14-13 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
None of the five pitchers used by either side had the answers as it was all offense, all night long in Monroe.
The biggest difference between the two teams was likely the five errors committed by Jay, which led to all seven of the runs allowed by Mallory Winner to go in the book as unearned.
Winner was replaced in the circle after the big, nine-run fifth with the Patriots enjoying a 13-7 lead. She allowed six hits and did not walk a batter.
Zoe Romine took the ball and was hit hard by the Jets, to the tune of seven runs on nine hits. She struck out two in two innings and was saddled with the loss.
Lilli Jackson was the starter for AC, but she was taken out of the circle while the Jets still led 5-4 in the fourth. Myla Ellenberger got the team out of a jam after walking her first batter with a popup.
Ellenberger ran into trouble of her own, however, in the top of the fifth, allowing the first three runners to reach without a hit on a pair of walks and a hit batsmen. She was replaced by Brinlee Rinkenberger, who promptly walked the first two batters she faced.
The solution for the Adams Central coaches? Bring Jackson back in.
It didn’t exactly work as planned, with Jay County leading 13-7 by the time Jackson got out of the inning with a strikeout.
The team got to work, however, and Melina Peralez and Audrey Eisberg started the bottom of the fifth with hits. Both scored with two outs on a single by Baylee Smith.
Later in the inning, Jozie Zimmerman cleared the bases with a double to left and scored on an RBI double by Brooke Thomas. That brought the crazy ACAC game to 13-12 after five innings.
Jackson settled down in the circle and worked through the sixth without allowing a score and Rinkenberger tied the game with a triple, then scored on another RBI single by Smith.
That allowed Lilli to finish off the game, and she did just that, allowing just a single in the top of the seventh.
Smith finished the game 4 for 4 with three RBI. Zimmerman also knocked in three.