An estimated 400-foot grand slam leveraged off the bat of Max Anderson left Jamestown Eagles baseball coach Sam Joseph feeling mixed emotions Thursday night in Mandan.
The long ball highlighted Jamestown's two-game sweep of the Mandan A's but reminded Joseph of what Dickinson State University is getting in Anderson. Anderson's moonshot easily cleared the 320-foot fence down the right-field line at Mandan's Veterans Memorial Ballpark.
"I didn't have to yell tag up, everybody in the ballpark knew that thing was gone," said Joseph, a former University of Jamestown baseball player. "I was teasing him about it. I was like, 'You better start paying me here, giving you all this information and you're gonna go to Dickinson and use it against UJ.'"
The lighthearted exchange was a welcomed about-face following Monday's pair of losses at the Bismarck Representatives. The Eagles polished off an eight-game Senior Babe Ruth Class A West Region road trip at 6-2 and will host the Bismarck Capitals at Jack Brown Stadium on Monday beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Jamestown improved to 11-5 overall and 10-2 in the West.
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The Eagles scored three runs in the second inning of Thursday's opener against the A's, eventually winning 10-2. Joseph described his club as setting the cruise control in the nightcap, before scoring three times in the fourth and erupting for a walk-off, eight-run fifth in an 11-1 victory.
Following Anderson's four-run blast, which gave the Eagles a 7-1 lead, a Connor Hoyt two-run single to center ended the game two innings early. Anderson (2-for-3) finished with five RBIs, while Tommy Falk tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth with a run-scoring triple to left, touching off the Eagles' 11 unanswered runs.
"We started off very slow," Joseph said. "I let the guys know we can't do that. We were just going through the motions and we're not ever gonna be good enough to do that. They've gotta have a short-term memory and get to the next game and start over 0-0.
"They were able to turn it around, string some hits together and Max hit a very, very, very far ball."
Jacoby Nold pitched all five innings, striking out three and walking none to secure the victory.
Jamestown's Jeremy Williams made a splash in his return to center field. The future University of Jamestown wide receiver batted 3-for-4 in the opener with an RBI and two runs scored in his first action of the season.
Williams had been rehabbing a torn ACL suffered during the 2019 high school football season. He drove in the night's first run with an infield single during Jamestown's three-run second.
"It was like he never left," Joseph said of Williams. "He was getting his foot down and his knee was really feeling well. It's not like he just jumped off the couch and into the lineup. He's been doing some workouts and lifting with his football team over at UJ, so he's strong and he's back."
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The Eagles broke open Game 1 with six runs in the fourth, an inning that included a pair of Mandan's five errors in the contest.
Starting pitcher Tommy Falk tossed five innings, striking out six, en route to victory. Falk surrendered five singles and saw two Mandan runs score through 82 pitches, neither run was earned.
"Tommy got out there and set the tone, threw strikes and let his defense work for him," Joseph said. "That's what we need. We need our pitchers to do that for us to win. We have to pitch to contact, let our defense work."
Anderson (3-for-3) helped lead Jamestown's 16-hit attack with three hits, including a double. The Eagles scored all 10 of its runs off Mandan starter Avery Bogner, who allowed four earned on 11 hits.
Joseph said Jamestown will need all hands on deck Monday vs. the Bismarck Caps.
"They're the best team in the league," Joseph said. "If we come out like we did against the Reps, they're going to beat us. We have to make sure that we play errorless baseball. We have to do the little things and then keep chipping away like we have been doing with most of these games."
Jamestown 10, Mandan 2
J 031 600 0 -- 10 16 1
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M 000 020 0 -- 2 6 5
Tommy Falk, Mason Lunzman (6) and Isaac Mimong. Avery Bogner, Seth Arenz (5) and Tukker Horner. W--Falk. L--Bogner.
Highlights: J, Falk 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 6 SO, 2 BB, 1-4, RBI; Max Anderson 3-3, 2B, RBI, R; Jeremy Williams 3-4, RBI, 2 R; Mason Lunzman 2-4, RBI, 2 R; Connor Hoyt 2-5, R. M, Brayden Bunnell 3-4, RBI; Bogner 4.1 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 4 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB.
Jamestown 11, Mandan 1 (5 inn.)
M 100 00 -- 1 6 3
J 000 38 -- 11 6 2
Jacoby Nold and Isaac Mimong. Luke Darras, Turner Locken (5) and Avery Bogner. W--Nold. L--Darras.
Highlights: J, Nold 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 0 BB; Connor Hoyt 2-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R; Max Anderson 2-3, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R; Ty Monson 1-1, 2 BB, RBI, R; Tommy Falk 1-2, 3B, BB, RBI, 2 R. M, Brayden Bunnell 3-3, RBI; Seth Arenz 1-2, 2B.
