Blue Jays sweep Minot
Quelled in two previous chances to end the marathon against Minot on Saturday, Brady Anderson got one more crack at it in the bottom of the 11th.By: Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Double Play
Quelled in two previous chances to end the marathon against Minot on Saturday, Brady Anderson got one more crack at it in the bottom of the 11th.
The Jamestown High School senior didn’t disappoint, belting a double down the first-base line to score courtesy runner Shaun Hogan and lift the Blue Jays to a 3-2 victory in West Region baseball play at Jack Brown Stadium.
“We had some (earlier) opportunities with runners in scoring position,” JHS coach Cory Anderson said. “I just kind of felt like if we could continue to do that, we were going to come through in that situation more often than not.”
The Jays swept the doubleheader with a 9-8 win in the non-region nightcap to improve to 14-6 overall. They’re 5-3 in the region.
Cory Anderson said he had confidence in his team, as the Jays pulled through in the eighth inning to beat Bismarck St. Mary’s 2-1 on Friday.
“I think the confidence is growing each time that it happens,” Anderson said. “We’ve had some tough luck losses. … We’ve had our share of close games that our kids certainly aren’t scared of that situation. More often than not, I think they’re ready to be the ones to make the plays necessary to win.”
The Jays stranded two runners in both the seventh and ninth innings, but weren’t denied in the 11th. Joey Gebhardt walked to start the inning, and Hogan pinch-ran for him. After a Riley Schafer sacrifice, Minot chose to intentionally walk Danny Fischer. Landon Weiser lined out to shortstop and with two outs, Brady Anderson secured the win.
Jamestown had an early 1-0 lead after an RBI double in the first inning. Fischer scored in the third to put Jamestown up 2-0, but Braden Lysne scored on a wild pitch and Hunter Oothoudt had an RBI single that allowed the Magicians to tie the game at two in the fifth inning.
Fischer took over for Jamestown starter Tyler Krenz to start the eighth inning and picked up the victory, scattering four hits in four shutout innings. Krenz surrendered two runs on five hits in seven innings of work.
“We got seven out of TK and we probably would have gotten seven more out of Danny,” Cory Anderson said.
The defense was solid again for Jamestown, which didn’t commit a single error in its last two region games. It had just one to Minot’s four.
“They work hard at their skills in practice and the results are showing,” Anderson said. “A lot of these guys are at positions they feel comfortable with. … Their baseball IQ has improved a lot. That might have as much to do with it as fundamental skills.”
The top of the order did the heavy lifting as Fischer (No. 1), Anderson (No. 3) and Jake Stilwell (No. 4) each had two smacks to make up the Jays’ hit total.
“We need a little bit better offensive production,” Anderson said. “We did draw seven walks, and those are obviously important. We’re having quality at-bats — we’re just not getting the base hits to show for them.”
In the second game, Gebhardt started and went all five innings in the win. He gave up four in the first inning, but got plenty of help as the Jays responded with seven in the bottom half.
Minot went up 8-7 with three in the fourth, but Jamestown followed with two more runs and Gebhardt took care of business in the top of the fifth to improve to 2-0.
Fischer and Anderson had two hits and Tyler Ukestad had a two-run double for Jamestown, which goes to Mandan on Tuesday.
Jamestown 3, Minot 2 (11)
MHS 000 020 000 00 — 2 9 4
JHS 101 000 000 01 — 3 6 1
Austin Berntson, Casey Ryan (5) and Kolton Larson. Tyler Krenz, Danny Fischer (8) and Joey Gebhardt. W—Fischer. L—Ryan.
Highlights: JHS, Brady Anderson 2-5, 2 RBI, game-winning double, walk, Jake Stilwell 2-5, RBI, 2B, Danny Fischer 2-4, 2 R.
Jamestown 9, Minot 8
MHS 410 30 — 8 6 4
JHS 700 2x — 9 7 5
Chandler Jacob, Daniel Erickson (1) and Zach Danielson. Joey Gebhardt and Shaun Hogan.
W—Gebhardt (1-0). L—Jacob.
Highlights: JHS, Fischer 2-3, 2 RBI, R, 2B, Anderson 2-2, 2 R, RBI, walk, 2 2B, Tyler Ukestad 1-3, 2 RBI, R, 2B.
Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
Tags: sports, jays, baseball, prep
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