Jimmies split weekend set
The long 4-game weekend was a pretty good microcosm so far of the Jimmies’ season.
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The long 4-game weekend was a pretty good microcosm so far of the Jimmies’ season.
There was some good (2 wins), and some not (2, 1-run losses). But in the end, coach Tom Hager’s team is still looking for one thing.
“This weekend was very frustrating at times for both the coaches and players,” he said. “But the main thing we can take away is that we can be a very good baseball team. For us, it’s still about consistency.
“We certainly have the potential to put everything together and be a very good team, we just have to be more consistent.”
The Jimmies did put it all together pretty well in the final game of DAC Preseason Tournament, routing Valley City State 12-2 Sunday night at Jack Brown Stadium.
That came after a tough 8-7 loss in the opener on Sunday when Dickinson State scored three runs in the top of the seventh to rally for the win.
The Jimmies (16-11-1), who host Dakota Wesleyan on Tuesday at 2 p.m., split their two games Saturday in Valley City.
“We’re not far from where I think we can be, and where we need to be,” Hager said. “But we can’t keep talking about it, we need to do it. That’s the bottom line.”
JC 12, VCSU 2
After the tough-to-take loss to the Blue Hawks in the morning, there was no moping around by the Jimmies in the weekend wrap-up.
Kyle Mallory and Nico Moreno had RBI-doubles in the bottom of the first inning and Rudy Strnad added a run-scoring single as the Jimmies were off and running with a 5-run frame.
“That was really encouraging to see how we responded after a tough loss to Dickinson,” Hager said. “The guys were ready to play and we played one of our more complete games of the season.”
They never let off the gas, either.
They scored in every inning but the fifth.
Joe Perez clubbed a solo home run to left in the third and Max Boe uncorked for a no-doubter to right field in the fifth as part of a 13-hit attack.
Boe finished 3-for-4. Mallory and Moreno each had two hits and two RBIs.
“We know we can get production from a lot of different people, we just need it on a more consistent basis,” Hager said.
Wes Hardy was the beneficiary of all the support. He went six solid innings, allowing 7 hits with 6 strikeouts.
DSU 8, JC 7
The Blue Hawks rallied late to stun the Jimmies in Sunday’s opener.
Jamestown College led 7-5 after six full, but Sam Bisson plated Jon Mendoza with the go-ahead run just after Brock Murphy’s 2-run single tied it at 7-all.
Spencer Flaten and Matt Achter — the first two hitters in the JC lineup — combined to go 6-for-9 with 4 RBIs and 4 runs scored. The rest of the team had just five hits.
Flaten had a 2-run home run in the bottom of the second.
Achter connected for a 2-run shot in the bottom of the fourth as the Jimmies built a 7-4 edge.
Kacy Gardiner was saddled with the loss in relief.
Justin Elizondo had a hand in nearly every Blue Hawk run. He clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the first and a solo shot leading off the fifth. He finished 3-for-4 and scored four times.
DSU 2, JC 1
Paul Roers gave the Jimmies a solid start in the opening game Saturday, but two runs were enough for the Blue Hawks.
Dickinson State broke a 1-all tie with the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh for a 2-1 win.
Roers, the tall right-hander from Moorhead, surrendered just two hits, but Derek Carley singled in Jacob Muir with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to win it. Muir had reached on an error, the only one of the game for either team.
“Paul did exactly what he was supposed to do,” Hager said. “It was a tough-luck loss for him. He threw the baseball really well. We just didn’t give him enough support.”
The Jimmies mustered just four hits off DSU starter C.J. Ketron. Moreno singled in Spencer Flaten in the top of the sixth for their only run.
JC 8, VCSU 6
Two big innings got the Jimmies a split Saturday.
They scored four runs in the top of the first and then broke a 5-5 tie with a 3-run sixth and hung on for an 8-6 win.
Moreno connected for a 2-run home run in the top of the first inning. Achter and Mitch Stevens each had two hits in the win. Achter scored twice and Stevens had two RBIs.
Blake Stewart worked 2 2/3 innings of relief to get the win.
DAC Preseason Tournament
Saturday’s games
At Valley City
Dickinson State 2, Jamestown College 1
Jimmies 000 001 0 — 1 4 1
Blue Hawks 001 000 1 — 2 2 0
Paul Roers and Joe Perez. C.J. Ketron and Zach Griffith. W—Ketron. L—Roers (1-3). 2B—JC, Spencer Flaten. DSU, Jonathan Mendoza.
Jamestown College 8, Valley City State 6
Jimmies 401 003 0 — 8 10 2
Vikings 300 110 1 — 6 8 1
Tony Fagan, Blake Stewart (5) and Perez. Ronnie Blagg, Colin Waldner (2), Andy Erickson (7), Scott Stephenson (7) and Dan Buehner. W—Stewart (2-1). L—Waldner. 2B—JC, Matt Achter. Mitch Stevens. VCSU, Skinner. 3B—Max Boe. VCSU, Stephenson. HR—JC, Nico Moreno (4).
Sunday’s games
At Jack Brown Stadium
Dickinson State 8, Jamestown College 7
Blue Hawks 202 010 3 — 8 12 2
Jimmies 121 300 0 — 7 11 1
Adam Ranger, Kacy Gardiner (6) and Perez. Tanner Newman, Ian Anderson (4), Andrew Grafton (7) and Griffith. W—Anderson. L—Kardiner (0-1). 2B—DSU, Justin Elizondo. JC, Perez. HR—DSU, Elizondo 2. JC, Spencer Flaten (6), Matt Achter (1).
Valley City State 13, Dickinson State 6
Vikings 330 105 1 — 13 18 2
Blue Hawks 303 000 0 — 6 8 1
Derek Zitzow and Josiah Churchill. Nick Kearley, Bobby King (2), Chas Allen (6), Ian Anderson (6), Brock Overbo (7) and Griffith. W—Zitzow. L—Kearley. 2B—VCSU, Kyle Skinner. DSU, Mendoza. HR—DSU, Elizondo.
Jamestown College 12, Valley City State 2
Vikings 101 100 0 — 2 7 5
Jimmies 521 202 x — 12 13 1
Taylor Nelson, Andy Erickson (3), Joey Duttenhefer (5), Alex Beach (6) and Buehner, Skinner (4). Wes Hardy, Zach Mendiola (7) and Perez. W—Hardy (3-1. L—Nelson. 2B—VCSU, Scott Stephenson 2, Preston Jensen. JC, Kyle Mallory 2, Moreno 2, Max Boe, Adam Smart, Achter. 3B—VCSU, Mike Gershman. HR—JC, Perez (2), Boe (1).
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com
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