Eagles drop 3 straight

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Excitement surrounded the Jamestown American Legion baseball team in the first game of the Devils Lake tournament on Thursday. But since then, the Eagles have fallen into a bit of a lull.

Post 14 opened the tournament with a two-out, seventh-inning rally to nip Renville 10-9 on Thursday, but the Eagles closed out the day with a 10-7 loss to Bloomington and followed up with losses to Rolette and Wolf Point, Mont. on Friday to fall 1-3 in the tournament.

“We need to capitalize more with runners on,” said Eagles coach Shane Schoeneberg. “We’ve stranded quite a few runners.”

Jamestown 10, Renville 9

In Jamestown’s opener on Thursday, Jordan Piatz was one of the few Eagles to deliver with runners on, and it came at the game’s most crucial time.

Stepping to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners, Piatz delivered a triple — his first hit of the tournament — to tie the game at 9-all.

Piatz, standing just 90 feet from victory, didn’t need to wait for a hit to score as he sprinted down the line after a wild pitch and narrowly beat the tag to give Jamestown the victory.

“It was pretty dramatic to say the least,” Schoeneberg said. “I guess it just showed our mental toughness by not giving up.”

Ian Hogan went 2 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs for Jamestown, while Piatz finished 1 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs. Brandon Gange and Brady Anderson also drove in runs for the Eagles in their opening-round victory.

Bloomington 10, Jamestown 7

The late rally came from the opposition in Thursday’s nightcap as Bloomington put up seven runs in the seventh inning to defeat Jamestown 10-7.

“I give credit to the Bloomington hitters,” said Schoeneberg. “Riley (Schaefer) pitched his butt off.”

Schaefer nearly went the complete game but struggled in the final frame and was relieved by Reid Monson after going 6 2/3 innings.

Bloomington struggled in the field, committing seven errors in the game, but the bats did its part to overcome the fielding woes.

Bloomington pounded out 13 hits over seven innings to hand Jamestown its first loss of the tournament.

Hogan went 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs for the Eagles, while Anderson went 1 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.

Rolette 7, Jamestown 4

After giving up four runs in the top of the first, the Eagles were forced to battle from behind the entire way, resulting in their second loss of the tournament.

Rolette scattered eight hits off Jamestown starter Reid Monson to defeat the Eagles 7-4 in Game 1 on Friday.

Monson went the distance with three strikeouts and four walks. He helped his own cause by going 3 for 3 from the plate with three RBIs, but Rolette starter Nic Pfeifer did his part to earn the victory.

Wolf Point (Mont.) 12, Jamestown 5

Jamestown jumped out to an early 4-1 lead after the first inning, but Wolf Point charged back with eight combined runs in the final four frames to secure the 12-5 victory.

“We put up four runs in the first and then our offense kind of shut down a little bit,” said Schoeneberg. “(Wolf Point’s) pitcher (Easton Murburger) did a pretty good job after the first.”

Jamestown’s Kasey Gengler had two RBIs and Tim Smith, who made his catching debut, and Piatz each had one.

“I thought for the most part we battled,” Schoeneberg said. “We were right in both those games today.”

Jamestown (9-14) will conclude the round-robin tournament today against tournament host Devils Lake at 1:30 p.m.

Devils Lake Tournament

Jamestown 10, Renville 9

Renville 006 020 1 — 9 11 1

Jamestown 210 031 3 — 10 13 1

Derek Scott, Cormeir (7) and Wensted. Kasey Gengler, Jordan Piatz. W—Piatz. L—Cormeir. 2B: J—Ian Hogan 2. 3B: J—Piatz.

Bloomington 10, Jamestown 7

Bloomington 002 001 7 — 10 13 7

Jamestown 300 040 0 — 7 6 1

Scowalter, McConnell and Horn. Riley Schaefer, Reid Monson (7) and Dakotah Walker. W—McConnell. L—Schaefer. 3B: J—Anderson. HR: J—Hogan.

Rolette 7, Jamestown 4

Rolette 410 000 2 — 7 8 1

Jamestown 120 100 0 — 4 8 1

R—Nic Pfeifer and Hagen. Reid Monson and Walker. W—Pfeifer. L—Monson. 2B: Tim Smith.

Wolf Point (Mont.) 12, Jamestown 5

Wolf Point 130 113 3 — 12 12 3

Jamestown 401 000 0 — 5 10 2

Easton Murburger and Jess Hawk. Brady Anderson, Gengler (3), Lynch (7) and Smith. W—Murburger. L—Gengler.

Sun sports writer David Griswold can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at dgriswold@jamestownsun.com

Tags: legion baseball, sports