Hamilton and Currie power AC in dominant win
Jack Hamilton and Trevor Currie combined to bat in four runs for the Adams Central Jets in their 19-5 home win over the Fort Wayne Crusaders on Wednesday night in Monroe.
Surprising given the final score, the Crusaders took the lead in the top of the first inning when a balk was called.
Their 1-0 lead did not last long and did not deter the Jets.
Cade Van De Weg produced the first hit of the night for Adams Central (11-7, 1-2 Allen County).
It was the first of many.
A double by Van De Weg was followed by a two-base hit by Currie. Van De Weg scored from second base.
It was all Adams Central from that point on.
A base hit to left field by Ethan Funk brought Currie around for the go-ahead run.
After Ryan Tester singled to center, Keagen Combs being hit by a pitch loaded the bases with one out.
A ground ball by Carson Ross rolled into left field to score Tester and Funk and put the Jets ahead by three runs.
A miscue on a pick-off attempt allowed Combs to score and Cameron Fravel, the courtesy runner for Keagan Bluhm, to reach third.
Fravel scored on a line-drive single to right field by Lawson Deathe, giving the Jets a 6-1 advantage.
Batting for the second time in the inning, Hamilton gave Adams Central a six-run lead when he lined a double to left to score Deathe.
Currie singled two batters later to bring in Hamilton.
The Jets added two more on a double by Funk. Van De Weg, who drew a walk before Currie batted, and Currie both scored.
Funk was thrown out at third base when he attempted to stretch a double into a triple.
The inning ended there, but the Jets continued lighting up the scoreboard in the second inning.
Batting with the bases loaded, Hamilton blasted an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left field for a one-out grand slam. That made the score 14-1.
The Crusaders (3-6) chipped two runs off the Adams Central lead in the top of the third.
An error in the fourth allowed them to move two runs closer.
But Deathe put a stop to any Crusader momentum when he followed a lead-off double by Bluhm with a two-bagger of his own. Bluhm scored from second to put the Jets up 10 runs.
The margin grew to 12 when, after backto-back singles by Hamilton and Van De Weg, a Currie base hit brought in Deathe and Hamilton.
While Van De Weg was thrown out at third in the ensuing at-bat, Currie scored the 18th run of the game when Combs lined the ball to left. Funk was right behind him for number 19.
The Crusaders needed at least five runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend the game.
But Currie, pitching the fifth for the Jets, overcame a pair of walks to keep Fort Wayne scoreless in the frame, causing the game to conclude early due to the 10-run rule.
Adams Central is set to travel to Woodlan for an Allen County Athletic Conference game on Friday. First pitch in Woodburn is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.