DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
MAPLES – “We oughta start every game with the bases loaded.”
That line from head coach Josh Foster may have been light-hearted after the Adams Central Jets re-started their game with Heritage with the bases juiced, but the 8-0 victory the Jets earned was as serious as they come, considering Heritage’s stellar 16-2 record coming into Monday.
When last week’s game was paused, Brady Richman was in the middle of a meeting on the mound with coaches after the bases were loaded with Jets.
Heritage elected to put their ace, Noah Redmon on the mound when play resumed, but he struggled at the start, walking Jack Hamilton on a full count to give the Jets the lead.
Ethan Funk followed with a two-run single to left on an 0-2 pitch and it was a 3-0 lead after just a few minutes Monday.
The Jets also elected to make a pitching change for the second part of the game, putting their ace on the mound in Cade Van De Weg and he was outstanding, shutting out the home team on just four hits and striking out five.
Adams Central added another run in the third on a Dakota Perry triple and an RBI hit by Ryan Tester, then scored again in the fourth when Redmon walked three batters. Walks again plagued Redmon in the fifth and Tester scored a sixth Central run on a passed ball.
The final nail in the coffin for the Patriots, which may end up costing them a conference title, was three consecutive hits to lead off the sixth inning by Ethan Funk, Trevor Currie and Perry. That knocked Redmon out of the game and brought on Caleb Abbott for the remainder of the contest.
Funk, Perry and Tester each had two hits for the victorious Jets, who hit three triples in the game.
The Patriots will have to win tonight at South Adams on 92.7 FM to share the conference title with the Bluffton Tigers.
