Jays up to 4-0: JHS holds Hi-Liners hitless — twice
The howling wind and winter-like wind chill didn’t seem to bother the Blue Jays at all on Monday, especially the pitchers. Jake Stilwell, Joey Gebhardt and Riley Schafer combined to throw 11 no-hit innings as they got little resistance again from Valley City in a second straight sweep of the Hi-Liners.
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The howling wind and winter-like wind chill didn’t seem to bother the Blue Jays at all on Monday, especially the pitchers.
Jake Stilwell, Joey Gebhardt and Riley Schafer combined to throw 11 no-hit innings as they got little resistance again from Valley City in a second straight sweep of the Hi-Liners.
“Give our kids credit. I never heard or could tell of a lack of concentration because of the elements,” JHS coach Cory Anderson said. “They did as good of a job as possible to block those things out.”
Stilwell spun five hitless frames in Game 1, while Schafer did not allow a knock in the nightcap as they posted wins of 11-1 and 11-0, giving them four wins over Valley City by the combined score of 58-3.
The competition goes way up from here, though, and they know it.
“We’ve had our exhibition and spring training and that has concluded. Starting Friday the games count so to speak,” Cory Anderson said. “I thought we did the things we needed to do. Our pitchers threw a lot of strikes, which was good to see, but there still needs to be improvement. We need to do a better job at the plate. We’re still behind offensively at this juncture, but overall we did do a lot of good things these first four games.”
They scored at least once in seven of their 10 at bats on Monday.
In the opener, a 4-run fourth put it out of reach and another 4-spot in the sixth ended it early.
Four of their seven hits went for extra bases. Brady Anderson had three hits, one a double, and two RBIs. Landon Weiser added two hits, including a double, while Joey Gebhardt tripled and Tyler Ukestad had a double.
Stilwell fanned nine Hi-Liners in the 15 outs he recorded for his first win.
Schafer’s line was nearly identical to Stilwell’s in Game 2. He worked five hitless innings, struck out nine and walked one.
“Our four (starting) pitchers, it’s not the first time to the hill,” Anderson said. “That’s a comforting thing to have that experience to fall back on.”
Schafer, like Stilwell and Tyler Krenz and Brady Anderson in the season-opener on April 5, got plenty of support — the Blue Jays led 11-0 after three innings.
Six different players had hits. Danny Fischer tripled and Weiser and Anthony Cook had doubles. Anderson and Tony Smith each had two RBIs. They also drew four walks. By contrast, the five JHS pitchers have walked just two batters in 21 innings.
The Blue Jays open West Region play at home on Friday against Bismarck St. Mary’s. They play Minot Saturday in Velva, but those games will not count in the region standings.
Jamestown 11, Valley City 1, 6 Innings
Hi-Liners 000 010 — 1 0 2
Blue Jays 021 404 — 11 7 1
Berg, Magnussen (4) and Miller. Jake Stilwell, Joey Gebhardt (6) and Cody Benson. W—Stilwell. L—Berg. 2B—JHS, Landon Weiser, Brady Anderson, Tyler Ukestad. 3B—JHS, Gebhardt.
Jamestown 11, Valley City 0 4 1/2 Innings
Hi-Liners 000 00 — 0 0 6
Blue Jays 353 0x — 11 6 0
Magnussen, Meyer (3) and Miller. Riley Schafer and Joey Gebhardt. W—Schafer. L—Magnussen. 2B—JHS, Weiser, Anthony Cook. 3B—JHS, Danny Fischer.
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com
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