Jackson Heights baseball splits with McLouth

By Brian Sanders

Jackson Heights High School’s varsity baseball team split a Monday, April 20, road doubleheader with Northeast Kansas League foe McLouth, the Cobras taking a close 3-2 loss in the first game before rebounding to beat the Bulldogs 5-4 in the nightcap.

The split put the Cobras at 5-3 and fourth place in the NEKL and at 6-4 overall, while McLouth dropped to 3-5 and sixth in the league while at 6-6 overall.

———

In April 20's opener, Jackson Heights got on the board first in the top of the first inning when Cobra senior Teagen Bowhay took a bases-loaded beanball, walking senior Drake Mellies across home plate, then made it 2-0 in the top of the second when senior Cooper Hewitt stole home.

The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice ground-out and a single, each adding a run to the total, then went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double. The Cobras came close to tying the game in the top of the second on an attempted home-plate steal by freshman Tatum Eisenbarth, who got tagged out at the plate.

Cobra freshman Jamison Huyett opened the game on the mound for the Cobras, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out two over four and two-thirds innings before junior Hayden Schultejans came on in relief and allowed only one hit while striking out one over an inning and a third. The Cobras had a single error in the game while McLouth had none.

———

The nightcap saw the Cobras getting on the scoreboard first again, in the top of the second when Huyett scored on a sacrifice fly by Hewitt. After the Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the second, the Cobras retook the lead in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly from senior Austin Zeller that scored Mellies.

McLouth answered in the bottom of the third with three runs on a sacrifice fly and a two-RBI single to go up 4-2, but Jackson Heights wasn’t done. In the top of the fifth, sophomore Kolby Bowhay stole home to make it 4-3. In the top of the seventh, the Cobras went ahead on a two-RBI single from Teagen Bowhay, scoring Schultejans and Kolby Bowhay to go up 5-4, and McLouth couldn’t answer in the bottom of the seventh.

Zeller pitched the first four innings for the Cobras, allowing four runs on five hits and striking out one, then Schultejans came on in relief, allowing only one hit and striking out three over the last three innings. Jackson Heights played an error-free game while the Bulldogs had four errors in the game, it was reported.