HOPE — Hauser baseball coach Nate Long figures if his team gets the kind of pitching it has in its first two games of the season, it could be a formidable opponent for just about anyone on its schedule.
The Class A No. 8 Jets hurled their second consecutive shutout to begin the season on Thursday. They followed Wednesday’s season-opening 11-0 win at Edinburgh with a 10-0, five-inning Mid-Hoosier Conference triumph in their home opener.
"When Aaron (Mee) and Trey (Johnson) can both pitch they way they have the last two nights, it’s going to give us a good chance to compete," Long said. "Really, if we can pitch like that in a game, we’re going to have success."
Johnson fired a three-hitter and struck out 10 on Thursday. That followed Mee’s one-hitter with 11 strikeouts on Wednesday.
"Mee and Johnson are elite pitchers in 1A baseball," Edinburgh coach Dennis Smith said. "We’ve seen some elite pitching. Even our first two games, Brown County, we saw a great pitcher, and Trinity, we saw a great pitcher. We’re probably not going to see any better pitching in our 1A schedule than what we’ve seen."
The best scoring chance for the Lancers (0-4, 0-2) came in the top of the first. Coltan Henderson reached on an error, and Ethan Armel singled with one out. But Johnson came up with back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
"My curveball was working and my fastball," Johnson said. "I had pretty good command of all my pitches. It just felt good. It was Opening Day for us at home, and there’s nothing better than to be on the mound."
Hauser (2-0, 2-0) got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first off Edinburgh starter Coltan Henderson. Jackson Paradise led off with a single, and went to third when Aaron Mee laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on an error. After Mee stole second, groundouts by Johnson and Sean Miller scored Paradise and Mee.
The Jets put up four runs in the second. Kameron Lawson and Kobe Meahl led off with singles, advanced on a sacrifice by Parker Eickbush and again on an RBI-groundout by Will Trotter. Paradise and Mee walked, and Meahl scored on a passed ball. Paradise stole third and came home when Mee stole second. Mee then scored on a hit by Johnson to make it 6-0.
In the third, Frankie Poole reached on an error, went to third on a double by Lawson and scored when Meahl reached on an error. After Armel came on for the Lancers in the fourth, Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a hit by Miller for an 8-0 lead.
The Jets ended the game in the fifth when Lawson singled, stole second, went to third on a bunt single by Meahl and scored on a groundout by Eickbush. Meahl, who had stoled second and went to third on the groundout, came home on a wild pitch.
"I think our pitching and our defense seems to be ready to go," Long said. "Our hitting still needs a little bit of work, but I thought our at bats were better. I thought our guys were a little more relaxed tonight."
Lawson went 3 for 3 to lead Hauser’s nine-hit attack. He now is 4 for 4 with two walks in the two games.
"I was just seeing the ball well," Lawson said. "I’m starting off strong my senior year, just trying to lead the team and help as much as I can. We’ve had a great start to the season, and we just need to keep bringing the energy that we’ve had and keep winning."
Paradise went 2 for 2, and Meahl went 2 for 3 for the Jets. Johnson and Miller each had two RBIs.
The Lancers’ lone hit after the first was a one-out single by Ian Buchanan in the fourth.
"I thought our approach was better at the plate," Smith said. "We were a little bit more aggressive. I think the more at bats we get, the better we’ll get. We just have to keep seeing pitches and keep getting at bats. I think we’re going in the right direction. Like I just told them, ‘Just stay the course, and things will get better.’"
