DELPHOS — The spring rains this week have really messed with the plans of many a baseball and softball coach in the area.

When Jefferson and Hardin Northern hooked up in baseball action Friday night at Wildcat Field, Wildcat head baseball coach Troy Montenery was looking to his team to get back to its high-octane ways at the plate.

Did they ever!

They scored 17 runs in the first inning and destroyed the Polar Bears 20-2 in a strange five innings.

“Ever since we lost to Bluffton Monday, the kids have been itching to get back on the field. We just kept sitting and it was frustrating,” Montenery said. “We had to learn a lesson, too, about not overlooking anyone. Perhaps we didn’t overlook Bluffton but I don’t think we were as ready to play as we should have. Plus, Bluffton is a much better team — with a heck of a pitcher in Cheney — than a lot of people thought.”

The game began in a slight rain that persisted in varying degrees of intensity throughout.

Jefferson right-hander Sean Fisher (1-0; 3 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts), making his pitching debut due to shoulder injuries, gave up a leadoff walk to Nate Ruhlen; an out later, Tommy Wheeler bounced out to advance him to second, where he stayed.

“Sean has been telling us his shoulder is getting better and this was an opportunity to see. I couldn’t be happier; he was outstanding,” Montenery noted. “He was around the plate. He was around 50 pitches when we took him out.”

Cory Bastian (3-for-3, 3 runs, 3 RBIs) led off the Jefferson half of the frame against Polar Bear starter Wheeler, who did not register an out in the 10 batters he faced. He tripled to deep right field. Fisher (2 walks, 2 runs) walked. Josh Miller (3-for-3, 2 runs, 3 runs batted in) ripped a hit up the middle to plate Bastian. A throwing error on a Ryan Kortokrax bouncer allowed Fisher to score and put Miller at third. Aaron Schuerman (2 runs) walked. Matt Gerdeman (2-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) lined a hit to center to plate Miller and Kortokrax for a 4-0 edge.

Taylor Hesseling (2 runs, 2 RBIs) walked. Jordan Jettinghoff laced a hit to center to bring home Schuerman and Gerdeman for a 6-0 spread. Matt Antalis (2 runs) bounced a single into center to bring Hesseling in for an 8-0 lead and start it all over again with Bastian.

A wild pitch moved both runners up a base and the senior leftfielder lined a 2-run knock into right to finish Wheeler and bring lone Polar Bear senior Alec Stewart-Evans in to to pitch. Fisher walked. Miller launched a 2-run triple to right-center. Kortokrax was hit by a pitch but was erased on a grounder by Schuerman, scoring Miller for a 12-0 bulge.

It kept growing. Gerdeman looped a double to right to put runners at second and third, with both scoring courtesy of a 2-base line hit to center by Hesseling that made it 14-0. An out later, Antalis walked.

Bastian came to the plate again and lined a hit into right to score Hesseling; an error on the play also scored Antalis and put the batter at second. A wild pitch put him at third, from whence he scored via a Fisher line hit to right. Miller lined a hit into left but Hardin Northern finally got out of the inning, trailing 17-0.

“It was nice to finally get some at-bats. We had been hitting the ball well before Monday,” Montenery added. “We didn’t want to let that start a trend and wanted to get back to what we were doing before.”

There is a 10-run “mercy” rule in high school baseball and softball but Montenery had his own “mercy” rule, not having his team take at-bats for the next three innings.

The visitors (3-10) had a chance in the second to get some runs. A 2-base throwing error allowed Reid Parsons to lead it off. An out later, Trent Bryan hit a soft liner that shortstop Schuerman tried to make a diving catch of but couldn’t, putting runners at first and second. However, Fisher fanned Jacob Lozano and picked Parsons off base.

Benji Shepherd led off the third with a free pass but was erased by a ground ball by Ruhlen. A fly ball and a strikeout swinging ended that threat.

Junior Austin Clarkson relieved Fisher and got a 1-2-3 fourth inning.

Northern got its two tallies in the fifth. Bryant singled and an out later, advanced on a wild pitch. An out hence, Ruhlen walked. Dylan Shepherd blooped a hit into right to load the bases. Wheeler doubled to left-center to plate Bryant and Ruhlen but Stewart-Evans flied out to center to end the inning.

Montenery then asked for his five extra players to have a pinch-hit turn at bat against Patrick Stevenson. Adam Wollenhaupt got aboard via an error. Nik Moore looped a single into short right and Mike Rahrig got aboard on a slow bouncer to third to load the bases. Clarkson walked to force home Wollenhaupt. Nick Cook lined a hit down the right-field line to plate Moore and Rahrig and end the game.

Jefferson (10-3) hosts Fort Jennings (weather permitting) at high noon today, a game pushed back from Wednesday.