Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — One thing Jackson certainly didn’t forget about was the fact that Washington handed the Ironmen a loss on three separate occasions last season — one coming in a Division II district semifinal in extra innings.
Monday was the team’s first shot at revenge, and it seized the opportunity.
Behind a stellar pitching performance from Gaven Jones and opportunistic base-running, the Ironmen took a two-game lead atop the Frontier Athletic Conference standings with a 5-2 victory over the Blue Lions.
CREDIT: Seth Fain/Fain Photography
“It’s become a little rivalry between us and Court House. I think we both enjoy playing one another since we tend to bring out the very best in our respective teams,” Jackson coach Josh McGraw said. “Gaven was dominant on the mound, getting double-digit strikeouts, which is tough to do against any team, let alone a tough team like Washington. We had some great at-bats, and even though most of them led to walks, we showed great discipline at the plate. It was an overall great win for our guys.”
Jones was the star of the show, and it was clear that he was dialed in from the opening pitch. Whiff after whiff, he began to pile strikeouts on top of one another, and it was clear the Blue Lions couldn’t time up the speed on his fastball.
Rarely running into serious trouble throughout the evening, the junior standout earned the win on the hill by tossing six innings, giving up just two earned runs and striking out 13 batters.
“Coming into the game, I knew I was going to have to throw a lot of curveballs and changeups since they jump on fastballs pretty well,” Jones said. “I started hitting the zone really well, my off-speed pitches were doing really well, the defense behind me was flawless and ready to make a play any time contact was made.”
After a scoreless opening inning, Jackson began to give Jones the run support he needed.
With two runners on base, Zander Ervin laid down a bunt. Washington committed a throwing error, and Noah Ernst scored to put the Ironmen ahead 1-0.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and just one out, Bodhi Wolford stepped to the dish and smoked a two-run single through the right side of the infield that extended the lead to 3-0.
“The main thing for me was putting the ball in play, especially with just one out in the inning,” Wolford said. “His ball was kind of tailing out towards the end, so I was sitting backside the whole time, and luckily I found a gap on that side of the field to score two runners.”
However, the Ironmen weren’t done yet, and the Blue Lions couldn’t get out of their own way.
WCH committed a fielding error on the following at-bat, paving the way for another runner to score. Then, Ryan Seimetz notched a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Washington took back a bit of momentum in the top of the third when Sam Lotz ripped a two-run double into center field, cutting the lead to 5-2.
But that was all the Blue Lions could muster on the evening.
Jones only got stronger as the games continued, sizzling fastballs and buckling knees with curveballs. That paved the way for Tucker WIlliams to enter in the seventh and register the save, preserving the victory.
“This is now six straight wins for us, and the biggest thing is simply just getting games under our belt. We’ve dealt with a lot of cancellations just like every other team has, so simply just taking the field and playing has been great,” McGraw said. “When we came back from Myrtle Beach, we had eight days off and really struggled once we took the field again. Now we’re at the point of getting into not just physical shape, but mental shape as well. I think we’re at the point where we’re starting to round the corner a little and begin to play our best ball, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Our goal is to be playing our sharpest once the middle of May is here.”
Following Jones’ stat line, Wolford finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Seimetz went 0-for-3 with an RBI for Jackson.
Lotz finished 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Will Miller suffered the loss on the bump in six innings of work, allowing just three hits, two earned runs and striking out eight batters.
“Credit to him [Will Miller]. He pitched a heck of a game as well. We never faced him before, but he is a ball player,” McGraw said. “Playing them again tomorrow won’t be easy, but we have 16 guys on our team that don’t like to lose and they’re playing with a fire under them.”
TUESDAY: Jackson 11, Washington 5
After Monday’s win, Jackson (13-4, 6-0 FAC) followed it up with another victory over the Blue Lions on Tuesday — an 11-5 decision — to take a three-game lead in the FAC title race.
Offensively, the Ironmen were led by Boston Campbell and Nolan Johnson. Campbell was 4-for-5 at the dish with three runs and an RBI while Johnson finished 4-for-5 with a double and four RBIs.
Also helping out was Ramey Wyant, who went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI, as well as Ryan Seimetz and Cade Wolford, who were 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI and 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and three RBIs, respectively.
Wyant was the winning pitcher, going five innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out four.
The Blue Lions were paced by John Wall, who was 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Lotz finsihed 2-for-4 with a run. Cooper Robertson also chipped in, going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Gavin Coffman was 1-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs.
Jackson is back in action on Thursday, traveling to Greenup County while Washington (10-6, 5-3 FAC) welcome West Jefferson the same evening.
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