Jimmies softball split dramatic doubleheader against Morningside

JAMESTOWN – A controversial call went for and against the University of Jamestown in a 6-4 loss to Midland University in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 29, at Lyle “Trapper” Lawrence Field.

In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Jimmies’ Trinity Gregg got a hold of one and sent it over the wall in left field but there was a question of whether it went over on the fly or not. After a brief conversation between the two umpires, they determined that it did so the Jimmies deficit was cut to 4-3.

The Jimmies thought they had worked out of trouble in the sixth when the Mustangs’ Sydney Petersen appeared to be tagged out at the plate trying to score but after another umpire meeting they determined that catcher Megan Neiles did not tag Petersen and the run should count as the Mustangs lead went out to 5-3. The Mustangs added another one in the inning to push the lead out to 6-3.

“They argued that she didn’t get tagged and I’ve never in my life seen the base umpire come in and reverse a call at home where they missed the tag when the home plate umpire has a good angle and they’re six feet away from the play,” Jimmies head coach Kevin Gall said. “So, I guess if he clearly saw it, it was the right call. The collision play at home is a goofy one now, is it obstruction? Is it the slide rule? Is it, you know, missed tag?”

The Jimmies attempted to fight back with a run in the sixth to make it a 6-4 game but it wouldn’t be enough.

MU 6, UJ 4

MU: 0 2 0 2 0 2 0–6 7 0

UJ: 0 0 0 0 3 1 0–4 6 2

WP: Grace Buffington (19-5) LP: Sunny Halsey (6-13)

Scoring plays:

Second inning:

MU: Mackenna Sidzyik 2 run HR, Kennedee Jones scores

Fourth inning:

MU: Katie Murphy sacrifice fly, Sydney Petersen scores, unearned 

MU: Sidzyik caught stealing, Morgan Nixon steals home, unearned

Fifth inning:

UJ: Sunny Halsey RBI single, Megan Neiles scores

UJ: Trinity Gregg 2 run HR, Sonya Rodgers scores

Sixth inning:

MU: Jones double, Petersen scores, unearned

MU: Ellie Gengler single, Jones scores, unearned

Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Jimmies were down 6-4, but they managed to score three runs in the frame to get a 7-6 win over the Mustangs in the second game of the doubleheader.

The Jimmies (24-20, 11-11) took an early 2-0 lead before the Mustangs (31-12, 16-6) fought back to take a 4-2 lead on a pair of two-run shots in the fourth. The Jimmies responded with two runs of their own in the fourth to tie the game up at four. Early in the bottom of the seventh, the Jimmies' lone senior Megan Neiles stepped to the plate for her final ever at bat at Trapper Field, with runners on first and second and one out.

“When I walked up to the plate I didn’t want to be the last out,” Neiles said. “I really wanted to end on a high note although I knew my last at-bat wouldn’t define all four years I just really wanted to end on a high note and just hit the ball.”

Neiles did just that, hitting a single up the middle to score a run and cut the deficit to 6-5. The next hitter was Kayla Quintanilla who hit another run-scoring single to tie the game up at six. That set up Angie Chin to be the hero and she did just that hitting a double through the left side to score a run and give the Jimmies the 7-6 win.

The Jimmies are officially the No. 6-seed in the GPAC tournament and will start on Wednesday, May 3, at Midland with the time still to be determined.

“We’ve done it once or twice so, been there done that,” Gall said. “So, if we want to keep playing we’re probably going to have some situations where we gotta come from behind.”

MU 6, UJ 7

MU: 0 0 0 4 0 0 2–6 12 3

UJ: 1 0 1 2 0 0 3–7 15 1

WP: Hailey Schaefer (8-2), LP: Morgan Secora (2-1)

Scoring plays:

First inning:

UJ: Maddie Spaeth RBI double, Samarah Martinez scores

Third inning:

UJ: Martinez RBI single, Gregg scores

Fourth inning:

MU: Ellie Cropley 2 run HR, Liz Hammer scores

MU: Morgan Nixon 2 run HR, Sydney Petersen scores

UJ: Kayla Quintanilla reaches on an error, Ally Battistoni scores on the throw, unearned

UJ: Martinez reaches on a fielder’s choice, Quintanilla scores, unearned

Seventh inning:

MU: Petersen RBI single, Cropley scores on the throw, Vanessa Bohuslavsky scores

UJ: Megan Neiles RBI single, Kylie Yanzuk scores

UJ: Quintanilla RBI single, Battistoni scores

UJ: Angie Chin RBI single, Sonya Rodgers scores