The heart of the Adams Central batting order teamed up to rock Whitko pitching and they dominated the Wildcats at the plate from the mound, sending the Jets to the championship game of the local 2A sectional with a 17-7 victory in six innings Saturday afternoon.
Cade Van De Weg started the game on the mound and recorded five of his six outs via strikeout. He allowed one unearned run and left the game with his team in the lead, 5-1. He will now be ready to start Monday’s championship game, having thrown only 53 pitches in the semis.
Ethan Funk took over on the mound in the fourth inning and shut down Whitko, allowing just two hits and getting out of a jam to hold the Wildcats scoreless until the mercy rule was brought into effect.
At the plate, Van De Weg and Funk were a combined 6-for-8, knocking in seven runs and scoring five times. Van De Weg had a double and Funk had a triple.
The Jets were plunked four times by Whitko pitching.
After struggling through the fourth inning, the Jets’ lead was just 9-7, but a seven-run rally put the game out of reach for the visitors. Hayden Bluhm made Whitko pay when they intentionally walked Van De Weg to load the bases. Bluhm singled up the middle to score two runs and Jamison Roach followed with a two-run hit of his own.
Carson Ross knocked in Roach, then came around to score in a weird sequence that saw Whitko hit Reece Hammond and Joey Everett, then walk in a run, with Ross crossing the plate free of charge for a 16-7 lead.
Ross put the ball in play in the next inning and the resulting run put the Jets, who were the visitors on the scoreboard and batting first, up by ten runs, setting up Funk to see out the game.
The Jets now face an interesting opponent in the finals in Bluffton. When the two teams met in the regular season, Adams Central chose not to throw any of their regular arms. The result of that contest was a demoralizing, 19-0 loss.
Now, coach Foster has his team in the biggest game of the season and his opponent, Bluffton, will face a completely different set of pitchers. The Tigers have not faced Cade Van De Weg, Jamison Roach or Barrett Collier this season and those three hurlers account for 113 of the 155 innings thrown this year for AC.
Listen to the championship game of the Adams Central 2A baseball sectional live on 92.7 FM Monday night at 5:30 p.m.
About the Author
