Maybe it was the fact that they were on the road or maybe it is that the Crofton Bluejays (3-6) are starting to gel, but the past week was good for the Jays.
After starting the season with a 1-5 record in the always-tough South Central League, the Jays posted big wins on Sunday, June 18 and this past Sunday, June 25 against Wynot (4-4) and Tabor (5-3) respectively. They did have a loss to Freeman, 10-4 at home sandwiched in between the victories.
These latest wins still leave the Jays in the bottom tier of the SCL standings, but their stock is climbing fast.
Over the past few weeks, the Jays have had some close losses, including an 11-10 loss to the Yankton Tappers in mid-May and a 2-1 loss to Freeman the following week. After defeating Menno in early June, the Jays lost to Tabor and league-leading Lesterville before starting their latest winning ways.
After beating Wynot 3-2 on June 18, the Jays snagged their third SCL win last Sunday beating Tabor, 11-8 behind Jim Mueller’s five RBIs. He had some support from Christopher Kleinschmit, Austin Tramp, Seth Wiebelhaus and James Kaiser, adding RBIs of their own. Zach Hegge pitched seven innings, striking out 14 in the winning effort.
Coming up for the Jays is their annual Independence week blowout against rival Wynot on Monday, July 3, with fireworks following the game. Then the Jays take to the road against Menno on Sunday, July 9.
SCL standings as of early this week have Lesterville at the top at 7-2, followed by the Class A Tappers at 6-2 and Tabor, the team Crofton just beat, in third place at 5-3.
Ben Hegge was on the mound in the early innings against Freeman in SCL play last
week.