Blue Jackets jump on Redskins early in 12-0 rout

FINDLAY -- In each of the first two innings of Thursday's Division VII district semifinal between New Riegel and Arcadia, Redskins starting pitcher Isaac Stoner retired the first two batters. But for whatever reason, the Blue Jackets seemed to be at their best with two down.New Riegel scored six runs in the first inning and another one in the second, grabbing a 7-0 lead and never looking back in a 12-0, five inning win.The Blue Jackets will advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. final against Hardin Northern, which beat McComb, 4-2, in Thursday's first game at Findlay High School.The Blue Jackets sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning, getting a two-run single from Brighton Coffin and an RBI double by Shane Jones."It was two outs, and then a couple of good hits by their team," said Arcadia coach Tim Saltzman. "We had some struggles bouncing back."The Blue Jackets collected six hits in the inning."Two outs, you don't always expect a huge rally," said New Riegel coach Dereck Uitto. "(The hits) weren't cheapies. The kids really hit the ball hard. We've been scuffling a little bit offensively, but I thought we had a really good practice last night, and we came out ready to go."New Riegel added a two-out run in the second, then batted around again in the third -- getting a two-run single from Carter Clouse -- and scored another four times. Staked to a big lead, Jones -- New Riegel's starting pitcher -- got into a groove.He allowed a one-out double to Arcadia's Colin Musser in the first inning and a two-out single to Aiden Lynch. But that was all he allowed in four innings of work. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter."That seems to be how Shane starts out. Sometimes, he's just gotta get a feel for it," Uitto said. "But the thing is, with Shane, you always know he's going to get a feel for it."He became dominant at one point. Yeah, only four innings, but a pretty dominant four innings."Jones gave way to Gabe Pugh for the top of the fifth. Pugh retired the Redskins in order, striking out a pair.Uitto said he pulled Jones after four innings so that that the hurler could pitch again if needed Saturday against the Polar Bears."I would expect a hard-fought battle," Uitto said of Saturday's final.