Kade Sommers held the Bellmont Braves to just five singles while striking out nine to help the Jay County Patriots to a 3-0 win at home Thursday night.
Jayden Springer broke up Sommers’ no-hit bid in the fifth inning with a single to right. Springer did the same thing Wednesday night, keeping the Chargers from a combined no-hitter with the team’s only hit of the game.
Jay County got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first against Bellmont starter Matt Bleeke, scoring twice on some good baserunning. Bleeke pitched a complete game, allowing the same number of hits (five) as Sommers. He struck out five.
The timely hits made the difference, though, with Jay County adding on an insurance run in the third with an RBI groundout from Joe Geesaman.
Bellmont finally put pressure on Sommers in the sixth inning with singles from Dan Selking and Matt Bleeke, but the two-out rally was snuffed out by Sommers on a full-count pitch that was popped up to Geesaman at first base.
Bleeke set down the Patriots in order in the bottom of the sixth and the Braves took one last hack at Sommers, getting Jack Schultz on with a single, but he was out at second on a ground ball fielders choice for the second out.
Ben Mills followed up with a two-out hit and Layne LeMaster worked a walk after fouling off some tough pitches, bringing the winning run to the plate, but the game ended on a ground ball to the right side.
The loss dropped the Braves to 8-12, with Jay County upping their season tally of wins to 16. They won the ACAC with a perfect 6-0 record – a feat matched by their softball counterparts and classmates.
Bellmont will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader at Concordia Lutheran Saturday.
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