Jackson scores soggy win in Jadwin Tournament opener

CHILLICOTHE – Coming out of an hour-long rain delay, Jackson Post 81 coach Brian Jarvis debated whether or not to send starting pitcher Brice Graham back out to finish the game.

“We talked about it, but he was in a groove when we stopped,” Jarvis said. “For our team this year finding a groove has been difficult.”

Graham came back strong after the delay, striking out four of the last six batters to lock down Jackson American Legion Post 81’s 5-1 victory over Waverly American Legion Post 142 in the opening game of the Jim Jadwin Memorial Baseball Tournament at VA Memorial Stadium.

Playing nearly the entire game in what ranged from a drizzle to an all-out rainstorm, Graham went back-and-forth between his fastball and a big, drifting curveball that struggled to find the strike zone early on.

“We knew these (Waverly) guys were dead-red fastball hitters,” Jarvis said. “Brice puts a lot of work in on his off-speed stuff. During the break we knew there were some things mechanically that he was doing and we knew how to fix them.”

Jackson gave Graham some cushion early on by scoring three runs on a hit, a walk and multiple Waverly errors in the second inning.

Post 142 starter Tanner Cunningham walked Jarod Ponn to start the second. Jackson’s Michael Graham then laced a base hit into right that moved Ponn to third and allowed Graham to advance to second on the throw.

Caleb Haller drove in the first run when he reached base on an error. A second throwing error allowed Graham to score, and Haller then made it a 3-0 game when he scored on a passed ball.

Post 81 added single runs in both the third and fourth innings on RBI singles from Ponn and Bayley Bartoe.

Waverly’s most productive inning hinged on two defensive plays by Bartoe, Jackson’s left fielder.

When Post 142’s Ian Gillen lined a one-out single to left in the bottom of the third, Bartoe misplayed the ball on the wet turf and it rolled past him, allowing Gillen to reach third.

Gillen then scored his team’s only run on a passed ball.

Two batters later, Waverly’s Talon Osborne singled to right, bringing up clean-up hitter Jake Reed.

Reed drove a Graham pitch deep down the left field line toward the large picnic patio and into foul territory. But Bartoe stuck with the play and made a sliding catch before making contact with the wall.

“That was a momentum inning and he put a stop to it,” Jarvis said. “He had an error earlier in the inning. That’s just a testament to him to be able to stick with it and make a big play. That was huge for us.”

The rain intensified in the middle of the fifth inning leading to the hour-long delay. When it finally let up enough to resume play, Jackson quickly wrapped up the six-inning victory – shortened due to tournament time restraints.

“As long as Brice Graham was able to come back, that was all that mattered,” Jarvis said.

Graham pitched six innings surrendering three hits, three walks and one hit batter. He struck out seven.

Trevor Gerstenberger led Jackson’s offense going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored and Bartoe singled, walked twice and had both a run and an RBI.

Cunningham took the loss for Post 142 lasting 3⅓ innings and surrendering all five Jackson runs. He walked four and struck out four.

Osborne had two of Waverly’s three hits with a pair of singles.

“As a team we just really weren’t ready to compete,” said Post 142 coach Jonathan Teeters. “We booted around too many balls and didn’t throw strikes. We’ll learn from it and be ready to go tomorrow.”

Chillicothe Post 757 took on Blissfield (MI) Post 325 in the nightcap at VA Memorial Stadium.

Play in the Jim Jadwin Memorial Baseball Tournament resumes at 9:30 a.m. Friday when Chillicothe Post 62 takes on Hillsboro Post 129.