Jays fall to Patriots

• Kyra Dewald

Jamestown’s Kyra Dewald (left) takes a slight lead off first base during the Blue Jays’ softball matchup against Bismarck Century on Friday at McElroy Park. (John M. Steiner / The Sun)
• Savannah Windish

Blue Jay second baseman Savannah Windish makes on out against the Patriots on Friday. (John M. Steiner / The Sun)

Talk about it

A busy week for the first-year Jamestown High School fastpitch softball team gets even busier today, when the Blue Jays face Bismarck High in Bismarck for games No. 5 and No. 6 on the week.

The Jays’ recent blitz began on Tuesday, when they dropped a pair of games to Minot Ryan in Jamestown, and on Friday they played host to Bismarck Century at McElroy Park.

The Patriots defeated Jamestown 19-4 in 5 innings and 13-1 in 6 frames, but once again JHS head coach Mike Soulis said more positives for his newly established team came to light during the nightcap.

Jamestown held the Patriots scoreless through the first two innings in Game 2, behind senior starting pitcher Kayla Thoele, but an 8-run top of the third for Century tipped the scale.

“We had a couple of errors that led to four or five runs in the inning, which hurt,” Soulis said. “But again our second game was better than our first. We have to come better prepared for that first game.”

The Jays got a hit each from freshman Kadie Anderson, junior Kyra Dewald, senior Stacy Fritz, senior Savannah Windish and Thoele, as the team plated one run in the finale.

In Game 1, the Patriots hit the ground running with 5 runs in the top of the first to put the Blue Jays behind early. Anderson shouldered the loss in the circle for the Blue Jays, as Century racked up 19 runs on just 5 hits.

“Kadie threw strikes, they just hit the ball,” Soulis said. “It was just one of those deals, and it’s one of the reasons why (Century) is a top team.”

But Jamestown’s offense did come together to put a crooked No. 4 on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. A triple by Dewald drove in sophomore Ashlie Meier, followed with a double by Fritz that plated Dewald, and a base hit by Thoele scored Fritz.

“We hit the ball, finished strong and competed throughout the game. As a coaching staff we are happy with that,” Soulis said. “Weren’t not happy with the end result, but this year is about building on other accomplishments to get us to the big picture.”

Jamestown (2-8) will face the Demons today at noon. The team will then be off until next Thursday when they travel to Dickinson to face the Midgets, before taking on Minot at home on May 4.

“It will slow down a little bit next week, which will give us a chance to rest some arms and get back to a few practices so we can get back to working on a few more fundamentals,” Soulis said.

Bismarck Century 19, Jamestown 4

Century 503 74 — 19 5 0

Jamestown 000 04 — 4 4 2

Kadie Anderson and Ashlie Meier. L—Anderson.

Bismarck Century 13, Jamestown 1

Century 008 023 — 13 6 1

Jamestown 000 100 — 1 5 2

Kaylyn Herold and Allie Holland. Kayla Thoele and Stacy Fritz. W—Herold. L—Thoele.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jays, softball, prep