Jets brave breeze to sweep Bulldogs
Amidst a persistently fierce wind, the Adams Central Jets won both of the games they played at New Haven on Friday night.
The Jets held New Haven off the board in an 11-0 win in game one. Game two was taken by Adams Central, 7-6.
Adams Central (5-1) opened the scoring with a three-run third inning.
Ryan Tester started the run when he drove in Trevor Currie on a line-drive single to right. With the wind whipping in that direction, right field became a popular destination for hits.
The wind also made matters difficult for Nate DavisMadison, the right fielder for New Haven (0-6). Jack Hamilton lifted a fly ball in his direction. It looked as though Davis-Madison was positioned to make the catch until he was thrown off by a late gust of wind.
The ball glanced off his glove, giving Tester an opportunity to score from second after he stole that base. Hamilton stopped at third with a triple.
Davis-Madison made the catch when Dakota Perry chipped the ball in his direction, but Hamilton raced in for a run on a sacrifice fly.
Cade Van De Weg protected the Adams Central lead by recording a pair of strikeouts in a one-two-three third inning.
Lawson Deathe and Currie perfectly executed a double steal in the fourth inning. Currie successfully swiped second and Deathe scored.
The wind disrupted DavisMadison again with two outs in the fourth. Similar to the prior inning, the breeze caused the ball to move in a manner that Davis-Madison did not anticipate, causing the ball to hit his glove before dropping to the grass.
Currie took advantage by scoring from second to give the Jets a 5-0 lead.
Adams Central continued to cruise in the sixth. Another hit to right field by Tester resulted in a triple. Cameron Fravel, the courtesy runner for Cade Van De Weg, scored from first.
Tester scored on a Hamilton base hit.
Hamilton reached third on error. He made it home on a ground out by Ethan Funk.
Keegan Bluhm tacked on another run with a double to right field.
Deathe, running for Bluhm, scored again on a double steal. Keagen Combs scored on a Carson Ross double.
Another quick inning from Van De Weg brought the first game to close due to the 10-run rule.
Currie gave Adams Central the lead in the top of the first inning of game two when he recorded a single that scored Hamilton.
That might have given the impression that another comfortable victory was in store for the Jets but the Bulldogs would have none of it.
Still pursuing its first victory of 2024, New Haven tied the game on a single by Mason
Knoch. Brayden Kunberger tallied on the hit.
The home side took the lead for the first time in the doubleheader when the Jets turned a double play with the bases loaded. While the Jets took the two outs, Bryant Wake scampered to the plate from third.
New Haven added another run on a passed ball.
Playing with the momentum at that point, the Bulldogs picked up in the second where they left off in the first.
Kunberger kept the inning alive with a two-out triple. An error allowed him to score. Knoch drove in another run with a single.
Facing a 5-1 deficit, the Jets showcased their resilience.
The third inning started with Combs hitting a double to left field. A two-base hit by Hamilton brought Combs around to make it a three-run New Haven lead.
The lead was reduced to two runs when Van De Weg became the next Jet to double. His hit was directed to right field.
Adams Central equalized on a two-run triple by Perry. Van De Weg and Tester, who drew a walk before Perry batted, came across to make the score 5-5.
Another double, this time off the bat of Funk, allowed the Jets to go in front once more.
They added onto their lead in the top of the fourth when Tester drew another walk, this time with the bases loaded.
New Haven still did not go away. Ethan Goodwin produced a run for the Bulldogs on a base hit.
After scoring runs in batches throughout the night, Adams Central had to rely on quality defensive work to preserve the victory.
Hamilton made a catch in center field and distributed the ball to Currie for another double play.
An error and a walk kept the inning alive and gave the Bulldogs two runners with two outs, but the threat was neutralized when Kunberger grounded out to Tester.
The home team went down in order in the bottom of the sixth.
Still only down a run, New Haven would mount one last significant challenge before the Jets boarded the buses back to Monroe.
A trio of two-out walks were issued to load the bases.
Knowing that a base hit would likely have been enough to give New Haven the walkoff win, Ross, who pitched the seventh inning for Adams Central, got Kunberger to hit a grounder to Currie.
Currie dispatched the ball to a covering Ross at first to end the game.
After hosting Eastbrook on Monday evening, Adams Central will welcome Winchester to Monroe at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.