Lemont's Jay Siblings Shine on the Diamond

Two Lemont siblings have made names for themselves on the field.

Lemont High School Junior Rylie Jay recently was named to the 2014 Illinois Coaches Association Softball Class 3A All-State Team, repeating her first-team accolades from 2013. Additionally, she was a third-team all-state honoree as a freshman in 2012. Her brother Tyler, a 2012 Lemont High School graduate, recently was chosen for USA Baseball's College National Team. Among the 24 players chosen for the team, he was one of just two left-handed pitchers, as well as the only representative from a Big Ten school.

The younger Jay batted .491 with seven home runs and a team-high 48 runs batted in. She led the team with 55 hits, and ranked on the squad in batting average, home runs, doubles (12), triples (4), runs scored (49) and slugging percentage (.857). She also was successful on a team-best 26-of-27 stolen base attempts, struck out just twice in 125 plate appearances, and finished the year on a 17-game hitting streak.

Lemont finished with a 23-11 record in 2014 and won an IHSA Class 3A Regional title under head coach Chris Traina.

Jay is a .500 career hitter with 22 home runs, 145 RBIs and 133 runs scored. Of her 164 career hits, 63 have gone for extra bases. She has been successful on 51-of-56 stolen base attempts; led the team in hits, RBIs and stolen bases in each of her three seasons; and ranked among the team's top two in runs scored, home runs, batting average and on-base percentage each year as well. The Indians have posted a 73-28 record in her three seasons. She has verbally committed to playing softball at Western Illinois University beginning in 2016.

The elder Jay spent a week in June at Team USA's training camp, where he did not allow an earned run, struck out eight batters in 5.1 innings, and limited opponents to an .063 batting average (1-16).

Last week, the College National Team began its schedule in North Carolina with five games slated against Chinese Taipei. They'll follow with a series against Japan, then travel to tournaments in The Netherlands and Cuba.

Jay recently finished his sophomore season at the University of Illinois. He posted a 4-1 record with a 1.94 ERA and 10 saves in 23 appearances; his 10 saves are the second-most in one season in Fighting Illini history. Jay struck out 47 batters in just 41.2 innings of work in his first season as the team's closer, and earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades. He limited foes to a .190 batting average, and did not allow a run in 17 of 23 appearances.

At Lemont, Jay earned Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State accolades as a senior in 2012 after batting a team-best .512 with 10 doubles, three triples, a home run, and a team-high 32 RBIs. He also led the squad in hits (43) and on-base percentage (.543), and was second on the team with nine stolen bases. On the mound, he went 7-3 with a 1.24 ERA, and struck out 80 in just 45.0 innings (12.4./7 innings). He established career bests in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched and ERA. Lemont went 21-8 and captured the 2012 SSC Blue title under Joe Rodeghero in his final season as head coach.

In his three-year varsity career at Lemont, Jay went 16-6 with two saves, posted a 2.28 ERA, and struck out 182 batters in 119.2 innings. He also was a .430 career hitter who drove in 52 runs and scored 33 times.

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