DELPHOS — Jefferson picked up where it left off last spring, putting together a 9-5 victory over St. John’s Thursday afternoon in their season-opener at Stadium Park.

“That’s a good team. They hit the ball well last spring and they hit the ball well today,” St. John’s coach Dan Metzger explained. “They have seven starters back and they put a lot of pressure on your defense. I though Austin (Vogt) pitched well but he got a bit tired later on and started getting the ball up. Jefferson took advantage of that.”

Jefferson’s opener was postponed from Monday against Kalida.

“Overall, for our first game, I am pleased. We hit the ball well, played decent defense and ran the bases well,” Jefferson coach Troy Montenery said. “Hitting was a strength last spring and it’s a luxury to have pretty much the same group back as last year. Plus, we have some depth — kids that can come off the bench — that makes us tough from 1 through 9.”

The Jays (0-3) got on board in the bottom of the first against Jefferson righty Josh Miller (1-0; 4 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned, 7 Ks, 1 walk). Tyler Bergfeld led off with a double down the left-field line and an out later, came home via a RBI rip to center by Curt Metzger. The latter would later get cut down at home trying to score on a wild pitch to leave the score 1-0.

Ryan Kortokrax led off the Jeffcat second frame by going a yard over the 342-foot sign in left field for a 1-1 score.

The Wildcats got the first two runners (Craig Carder - 2-for-3, 2 runs - and Cory Bastian) on via base knocks in the third. However, a close forceout at third, a pop-up and a called strike three kept the score knotted.

The Red and White took the lead for good in the fourth frame. Kortokrax led off by getting plunked. He stole second and scored via a RBI liner to right-center by Matt Gerdeman.

They added five more tallies in the top of the fifth to go up 7-1. Carder led off the frame with a 2-base hit to left-center and scored on a double down the left-field line by Bastian. Sean Fisher (3-for-5) lined a single to left and took second on the throw home. Aaron Schuerman bounced out to first to plate Bastian and put Fisher at third. Miller walked and a wild pitch scored Fisher and put the latter at second. Kortokrax beat out an infield hit to short; a rundown resulted in a pair of throwing errors that got Miller home and put Kortokrax at second.

That finished Vogt on the mound and brought in Jordan Bergfeld. A wild pitch put Kortokrax at third. Gerdeman walked and stole second, with Kortokrax also swiping home for the final run of the inning.

“We went as long as we could with Austin; we wanted to go as long as we could, especially since we’re scheduled to have three more games in the next two days,” Metzger explained. “This was also our third game this week, so you have to stretch your pitching staff. We put Jordan in and as they say, he had a baptism by fire. He did a good job, too, but we made some mistakes in the field behind him.”

The Blue and Gold got two back in the home half. With two outs, an error on a grounder hit by Brandon Hemker got it started. He stole second. T. Bergfeld walked. Both came home via a triple to right-center by Mitchell MacLennan to finish Miller and bring Carder to the mound. He retired the final batter to leave it at 7-3.

“We wanted to let Josh close the inning. We wanted to keep him around 70 pitches but when he started to get in the 70s (74), it was time,” Montenery said. “Craig was in the 30s in his pitch count. We’re supposed to play tomorrow and you want to be careful with your pitchers, especially early.”

The visitors got a run back in the sixth. A 2-base error put Carder at second to lead it off. Bastian beat out an infield hit to deep short. An error on a ball hit by Fisher scored Carder for an 8-3 spread.

The Jays got within 8-5 in the sixth. A throwing error allowed Chris Pohlman to get aboard. Joel Pohlman walked. An out later, back-to-back free passes to pinch-hitter Tyler Ditto and Matt Brinkman scored C. Pohlman. An out hence, an error off a ball hit by T. Bergfeld plated J. Pohlman.

Jefferson added the final tally in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Austin Clarkson led off with a double to left-center. A wild pitch put him at third. Matt Antalis walked. Carder flied out deep enough to center to score Clarkson.

“We are struggling to play solid defense,” Metzger added. “Until we shore up our defense, we will continue to struggle. We don’t have the offense and pitching to make up for the defense giving up extra outs. We have to get back to the fundamentals, like footwork and being in position to make plays.”

The Jays are slated to host Wayne Trace at 5 p.m. tonight.

“We made it interesting a couple of innings. This game was in the balance,” Montenery added. “We know this is always a tough game because St. John’s is a rival and our kids are ready to play.”