DELPHOS — Senior Nathan Jones delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give St. John’s an 8-7 dandy over Wayne Trace Friday night at Stadium Park.
Adam Grothouse got aboard on a walk to lead it off. He was picked off but beat the throw to second. Scott Buescher attempted a sacrifice but the Raiders tried to get Grothouse at third; again, he beat the throw. Jones then delivered a shot to right field.
That tally gave Grothouse (1-0) the victory in three frames of relief. He gave up four hits and one unearned run.
Bob Koester went four frames, ceding eight hits and six earned runs.
“Adam pitched two innings the night before and came back to pitch well. He got out of a big jam in the sixth with a runner on third with one out,” Blue Jay coach Dan Metzger explained. “He struck out two guys. Bob tired a little bit in the fourth. This was our third game this week and we have two more (Saturday), so we wanted him to go as long as he could. They just got to him in the fourth.”
That was when the visitors hung six on the board to go up 6-0.
“I don’t know if that woke us up but we got two in the bottom half. We were a bit flat to start the game,” he said. “We had two emotional games this week, coming from behind to beat Wapak Monday and almost doing it versus Jefferson Thursday.”
The Jays put a 5 spot up in the fifth, with the big blow a grand slam by senior Nick Johnson.
“No matter what the scoreboard says, these guys don’t give up. They keep fighting and scratching,” Metzger added.
The Jays visit Antwerp for two this afternoon: one against the Archers and another against Lincolnview. Lincolnview and Antwerp start the day at 11 a.m.