| Follow Us |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Text/Email Alerts |
|
|
|
2012 Banquet
2012 Banquet announcement coming soon. Keep checking your emails for information!!!
Lexington Christian edges East Jessamine 6-5 in nine innings
jstark@jessaminejournal.com
Jessamine Journal
It took Lexington Christian nine innings, but the Eagles got past East Jessamine 6-5 in the end.
The Jaguars squandered an early 3-0 lead but came back from being down 5-3 to force extra innings.
East Jessamine plated three runs in the top of the first as it cranked out three hits and two walks with two outs. Matt Hall and Jarryd Settles hit RBI doubles to left field in the frame.
Christian got back two runs in the bottom of the first inning off starting pitcher Sam Hall. Hall faced the first three batters of the second inning, but all three reached base. Jacob Burnight took over with the bases loaded and no outs. Three runs would end up scoring in the inning as LCA took a 5-3 lead.
Junior Forrest Baldwin got East’s offense going again in the fourth inning. With two outs and Barron Blackford on second base, Baldwin doubled to center field and came in to score on an error by the center fielder. He beat the throw to the plate and tied the game 5-5.
Burnight and the East defense did a good job to keep the LCA offense in check for the next few innings. The Eagles went six straight innings without a hit. But that came to an end in the bottom of the ninth inning.
LCA’s first two batters reached base to start the inning, and Burnight was replaced with Baldwin. Baldwin’s third pitch was roped to left field, scoring the winning run from third base.
East collected five hits — two of which were by Hall. Settles drove in two runs.
On Tuesday night, the Jaguars shut out Scott County 4-0 to move to 10-17 on the season. The shutout was East’s third in five games.
East Jessamine's Baldwin throws no-hitter
Forrest Baldwin
NO HITTER!!!
April 28, 2012
East Jessamine junior Forrest Baldwin threw a no-hitter Saturday against Fleming County.
Saturday at the Harrison Memorial Hospital/McDonald’s Classic in Harrison County, Baldwin struck out five and hit a lead-off home run in East’s 11-0 romp.
The win gave the Jags back-to-back wins for the first time this season.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boyle beats East Jessamine in nine-inning thriller Monday night
jstark@jessaminejournal.com
Jessamine Journal
East Jessamine and Boyle County battled for nine innings and more than three hours on Monday night, but it was the Rebels who came out on top 10-9.
The Jaguars were down 9-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning but rallied to score four runs in the frame and force a ninth inning.
Jarred Settles led off the eighth with a double down the left-field line and moved down to third on a dropped fly ball in center field. Billy Russell grounded out to shortstop for the first out, but the ground ball was enough to score Settles and put Cody Eschrish at third base. Brady Corman doubled to left to score Eschrish and make it a 9-7 game.
Boyle was able to get another out to bring Mike Jones to the plate with two outs. He hit the ball on the ground to the second baseman who threw the ball away — allowing Corman to score and Jones to move up to second base.
Kyle Peel came through with a single to center field, scoring Jones and tying the game 9-9. Peel was thrown out going into second base.
The four-run comeback was East’s second big comeback of the night as the Jaguars trailed 4-0 after two and half innings.
Down 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning, East sent 10 batters to the plate and Peel drove in two runs with a one-out triple to make it a 4-3 game. Peel ended up scoring on a passed ball, and Sam Hall reached base later in the inning and scored on an error to give East a 5-4 lead.
The Jaguars carried the 5-4 lead into the top of the sixth. The leadoff man for Boyle reached base on a four-pitch walk and moved down to second on a sacrifice bunt. East got a second out on a strikeout, but the would-be third out — a pop-up in shallow right field — fell between three Jaguars, and the runner was able to score from second base to tie the game 5-5.
Forrest Baldwin wasn’t slated to start for East but ended up pitching the bulk of the game. Sophomore Jacob Burnight started for the Jags but was pulled after one and two-thirds innings after allowing four runs on seven hits. Baldwin got out of the second inning and worked in and out of a jam in the third inning before settling down. Once he had the lead in his favor, Baldwin was sharp for the next four innings, despite Boyle picking up a run in the sixth.
Baldwin threw more than 100 pitches and struck out eight.
East Jessamine baseball falls to Dunbar 3-1
jstark@jessaminejournal.com
Jessamine Journal
East Jessamine stranded nine base runners, four of whom were in scoring position, in the Jaguars’ 3-1 loss at Dunbar Saturday.
“We had every opportunity, especially early in the game, to break the game wide open,” East Jessamine coach Kevin Clary said. “If we could have gotten off to a good start, it may have been a different outcome ... We had every opportunity, and that’s very frustrating.”
Down 1-0 in the top of the third inning, Billy Russell led off the frame with a walk and stole second base to get into scoring position with no outs. Following a fly out to center field, Matt Jones reached on a sacrifice bunt to put runners on the corners with one out, but East could not get the hit it needed to tie the game.
Again in the top of the fifth, Russell led off the inning with a double to left field that reached the wall, but the next three batters would be retired, leaving Russell at second.
“We’re going to be a really good team; we just need to get a two-out hit every now and then,” Clary said.
Dunbar was able to tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a couple walks and a hit batter. Dunbar drew seven walks on the afternoon.
East cut the lead back to one run in the top of sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Barron Blackford drew a walk to force in Dakota Wozniak, who was running for Jacob Overstreet.
Russell came up with a chance to tie the game or give East the lead with the bases loaded. He hit a fly ball to center field that resulted in an out. Matt Hall tried to tag up and score from third, but the throw beat him to the plate, keeping the Bulldogs’ lead intact.
Dunbar added another run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Forrest Baldwin led off the top of the seventh with a single to left field for the Jags, but that was all East could manage in its last chance.
Russell finished 2-for-3 with a double and a steal. He was also solid in the field defensively. During the bottom of the fourth inning, Russell made two run-saving catches in left field.
“He had a phenomenal game,” Clary said. “He had two hits; he saved two runs ... he’s really stepped up and has been a leader for us. He’s a gamer.”
Cody Eschrich, who started for East, stuck out three batters in three innings and allowed one run on three hits and three walks.
Baldwin took the loss in relief. He walked three and allowed a run in one and one-third innings.
Hall finished the game on the hill for the Jags. He struck out one and gave a run on two hits and a walk in one and two-thirds innings.
“Our pitching wasn’t very good today,” Clary said. “We just have to make quality pitches, and we have to get better on the mound.”
East defense was pretty good on the afternoon. The Jags turned a double play to get out of a jam in the third inning and executed a textbook rundown in the sixth inning to get out of another tough spot.
New era for Jaguars baseball program begins with win
jstark@jessaminejournal.com
Jessamine Journal
The East Jessamine baseball program started a new season and a new era this spring.
Kevin Clary, who was hired in June, coached the Jaguars to a win in his first game at East. The Jags defeated Model 3-1.
Clary said he was pleased with East’s first outing but admitted the team may have had a bit of first-game jitters.
“I was pleased overall,” he said. “Our effort was good; our energy was good. We talk about the three E’s all the time: energy, enthusiasm and effort. And I thought they played with a high level of all of them.”
The Patriots (0-1) and Jaguars (1-1) were locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first four and a half innings before Mike Jones drove in Jarryd Settles on a ground ball to second base to give East a 1-0 lead.
A two-out double by senior Kyle Peel (the team’s only senior) made it a 2-0 game. Jacob Overstreet beat out an infield single to score Jones and cap East’s three-run frame.
“We didn’t leave runners stranded (in the fifth inning). The one thing that disappointed me today was our baserunning; we made several silly baserunning mistakes, and we preach that we’re going to make the defense earn 21 outs, and we gave them three or four easy outs because of bad decisions,” Clary said.
East had a runner picked off first base in the first inning and had two runners tagged out going to third base unforced in the fourth and sixth innings.
It took East and Model a few innings to get going offensively. Part of that can be attributed to first-game nerves.
“I expected it, to be honest with you,” Clary said.
Sophomore hurler Sam Hall, who took the opening-day start, was solid through five and two-thirds innings. With two down in the sixth, he gave up a single to left field and followed with a walk. Cody Eschrish was brought on in relief. He allowed a run to score but got out of the inning without allowing any more damage.
“For the first time out, I thought Sam Hall was outstanding,” Clary said. “He kept his pitch count down (78 pitches). Cody came in right behind him and closed the deal out for us. His command was pretty good, too.”
East lost to Harrison County 11-0 on Tuesday.
The season ahead
East Jessamine is coming off of an 18-18 season that included late-season controversy off the field and an early exit in the district tournament on the field.
Kevin Clary takes over the program touting an impressive baseball career that includes two state championships (2009, Lexington Catholic head coach; 2006, Lexington Catholic assistant coach) and was KHSBCA 2009 coach of the year.
“(Thus far the season has been) unbelievable. They’ve welcomed me with open arms. The boys have worked harder than any group I’ve ever coached,” Clary said. “The attention span has been unbelievable.
They’ve showed up to work every day. The commitment level is outstanding, and they’re a joy to work with. It’s far exceeded my expectations.”
East Jessamine has high expectations for this season and hasn’t shied away from challenging themselves early and often throughout the season. The Jaguars will play in several different tournaments through out the season, including the USA Classic in Memphis, Tenn., during spring break. The Jags will also face tough competition in regular-season games against Louisville-Male, Harrison County and Dunbar.
“Everywhere I’ve been, it’s been my motto that you don’t learn anything playing bad competition. I would rather play, to borrow a basketball phrase, ‘a good RPI schedule,’ because it will get us tournament ready,” Clary said. “That’s what the whole goal is, to be ready in May.”
The Jaguars lost three seniors from last year’s team and have just one senior on this year’s squad — Kyle Peel.
Clary said the leaders of the team have yet to step up. Part of this is because of having a lot of youth. In addition to the one senior, East has nine juniors, nine sophomores and two freshmen.
“We don’t have that vocal leader yet, but a lot of guys lead by example,” Clary said.
While East seemed to have a pretty solid lineup on the field Monday night, nothing is set in stone. Clary said he does not judge on first impressions and he will try to give everyone an opportunity to show him what they can do in the first couple of weeks.
East will thrive off its chemistry this season. Although the Jags are young, they are a close-knit group who really like each other — “that’s a lethal combination,” Clary said.
The Jags are also very versatile and have players who can deliver in several positions.
“I feel comfortable playing a lot of my guys in different positions,” Clary said.
However, East is still lacking a No. 1 starter that can be depended on to take the mound for the big games and deliver a lock-down performance. Developing starting pitching will be a primary task for East this season.
East Jessamine has 31 scheduled games this season in addition to a week’s worth at the USA Classic and a couple other tournaments.
SIZE LARGE ON HAND AND AVAILABLE NOW!
East Jessamine pullovers are still available.
$35.00 for S - XL
2XL - add $2.00
3XL - add $3.00
Shirts $20 * SPECIAL ORDER ONLY
|
|
