After a rough opening game and with unrelenting and sweltering temperatures, the Jamestown Post 14 American Legion baseball team found a way to hand Grand Forks its first Eastern Division loss of the season on Saturday.
Post 14 -- which improved to 5-3 in league play -- lost the opening game to Grand Forks 10-2, but bounced back with a solid 5-4 win in the second game with temperatures soaring into the 90s.
The loss in the second game was the first in 10 Eastern Division contests for Grand Forks (9-1).
"As a whole, you have to be happy when you're able to get a split against a good team," Jamestown coach Robbie Jamison said. "We feel like we're a good team, and to prove it we have to compete and beat the best teams and we were able to do that.
"They came into the day 9-0 in the conference so to hand them their first conference loss is a confidence builder for us. We know we're capable of playing with and beating anybody."
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Ben Walker -- whose eight wins during the high school season led the state -- fired a complete game in Post 14's win in the nightcap.
The left-hander allowed four runs on five hits, striking out three.
"Statistically it was not his best start, but when you consider who this one was against and that we needed to win the game, it was definitely his best start of the year," Jamison said. "He located all his pitches and made them put the ball in play and we played pretty good defense behind him. It was a pretty solid overall effort by our team."
Grand Forks scored two early runs and led 3-1 before the home team scored twice in the third.
Each team got solo runs in the fourth before Post 14 broke the 4-all tie with one in the fifth.
No. 8 and 9 hitters Levi Gaunska and Kyle Walden led the attack for Jamestown with two hits each.
The potent middle of the Jamestown order -- including hot-hitting Brady Schoeler and Andrew Davidson -- was held without a hit.
"Anytime you're able to get by and win a game without the middle of your order getting any hits, you have to be happy," Jamison said. "Levi and Kyle swung the bats really well for us."
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Grand Forks scored two first-inning runs and pulled away late to win the opener.
Up 3-0, they added three in the fifth, and two each in the sixth and seventh.
Jamestown's two runs came in the fourth. Gaunska and Walden each had two hits and scored the two runs. Ross Hogan had an RBI double, cutting the lead to 6-2.
Post 14 (8-15 overall, 5-3 Eastern Division) is back in action on Wednesday, hosting West Fargo at 5:30 p.m.
Grand Forks 10, Jamestown 2
Grand Forks 200 132 2 -- 10 16 3
Jamestown 000 020 0 -- 2 6 3
Potter and Sadler. Andrew Lick, Isaac Steele (6) and Kyle Walden. W--Potter. L--Lick.
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Jamestown 5, Grand Forks 4
Grand Forks 201 100 0 -- 4 5 1
Jamestown 012 110 x -- 5 5 2
Galbreath and Kraft. Ben Walker and Kyle Walden, Lick (5). W--Walker. L--Galbreath.
