Jimmies sweep home doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan

JAMESTOWN — The Jimmies settled down after a slow start and carried a two-run fifth inning to a 4-2 win over Dakota Wesleyan University on Friday, April 28, at Jack Brown Stadium.

The Tigers struck first when Diego Jirau hit a single up the middle to score the runner from second and make it 1-0. The Tigers added another one in the third as their lead went to 2-0. After giving up the second run, the Tigers loaded the bases and looked to add on but the Jimmies’ starter Luke Zimmer got a strikeout to get out of the jam. From that point, Zimmer retired seven of the next eight hitters.

“The fact that we were able to limit some damage on the mound early on in game one I thought was key,” Jimmies head coach Tom Hager said. “Luke made some pitches when he needed to, kept us in the game and then we were able to get a few hits when we needed to.”

The Jimmies tied it up in the fourth when Julian Sansores hit a two-run shot to tie the game up at two. The Jimmies took the lead for good in the fifth when Jordan Singleton hit a run scoring single to make it 3-2 and then Hayden Brown hit a double to make it 4-2. Brown did not only contribute at the plate in the first game he also came in to pitch the seventh and closed the game out giving up one hit in the frame.

DWU 2, UJ 4

DWU: 1 0 1 0 0 0 0–2 7 1

UJ: 0 0 0 2 2 0 X–4 6 1

WP: Luke Zimmer (8-1) LP: Jereko Martinez (2-5) SV: Hayden Brown (6)

Scoring plays:

First inning:

DWU: Diego Jirau RBI single, Seth Christiansen scores

Third inning:

DWU: Christiansen RBI double, Lane Darrow scores

Fourth inning:

UJ: Julian Sansores 2 run HR, Hayden Brown scores

Fifth inning:

UJ: Jordan Singleton RBI single, Xander Orejudos scores

UJ: Brown RBI double, Singleton scores

Before the crowd even had a chance to sit down and settle to watch the second game the Jimmies were up 7-0 and that continued through the rest of the game as they got a 22-5 win over the Tigers. The 22 runs are the most the Jimmies have scored in a game since they scored 23 runs in a win on April 29, 2018.

“I think we just got locked in from the beginning of the game,” Hager said. “Kendall set the tone with that leadoff and everybody kept hitting, it was contagious.”

The Jimmies (25-17, 14-10) put up a seven spot in the first inning on eight hits. The Tigers starter Jacob Glovich went a third of an inning giving up seven runs on seven hits on only 26 pitches. After Glovich departed the Tigers (11-30, 6-20) turned to Caleb Meyers who was pushed to 2.2 innings despite giving up seven earned runs on 10 hits.

After the first inning was over, the Tigers attempted to fight back with a run but any comeback hopes were dashed in the bottom of the second when three batters into the second inning the Jimmies’ Julian Sansores hit a double to left to score Brown and push the lead out to 8-1. In what was a comparatively slow inning for the Jimmies they would only be able to add another one to head into the third up 9-1.

Early in the third, the Jimmies’ Brown continued his huge day by crushing a ball over the wall in right to push the lead out to 11-1. Brown finished the second game going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs.

“He made me look pretty bad my first at-bat, some breaking balls down in the dirt,” Brown said. “So, I told myself, you gotta see some spin up in the zone and he gave it to me and I didn’t miss it.”

One of the Jimmies' other huge offensive contributors was Kendall Yackley who finished the second game going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. As the blowout continued, Hager went further down his bench and took Yackley out before the fifth inning, with Yackley sitting a triple shy of the cycle.

In the fifth inning, the Jimmies starter Elias Harris ran into some trouble and gave up a two-run double with the second runner taking out Jimmies catcher Triston Madison. As Madison lay on the ground being attended to by the trainer, Hager had a conversation with his freshman hurler.

“I told him that he needed to get the last out of the inning and that we weren’t going to anybody else,” Hager said.

The conversation seemed to work as he got a ground ball out from the next batter to finish five innings and get his first career win.

The lopsided margin did open up the door for a special moment in the sixth inning as freshman Brady Scanlon came in for his first career at-bat and roped a double down the line to score a run and extend the lead to 22-4. In total in the second game, 14 different players got at least one at bat and 12 different players got at least one hit.

The Jimmies and Tigers have another doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

Max O'Neill / The Jamestown Sun

DWU 5, UJ 22

DWU: 0 1 0 0 3 0 1–5 8 1

UJ: 7 2 3 0 6 1 X–22 25 1

WP: Elias Harris (1-2) LP: Jacob Glovich (1-7)

Scoring plays:

First inning:

UJ: Triston Madison 2 run single, Oreudos, Kendall Yackley score

UJ: Singleton RBI single, Alex Alva scores

UJ: Brown 2 run HR, Singleton scores

UJ: Chase Burke RBI triple, Julian Sansores scores

UJ: Troy Berg sacrifice fly, Burke scores

Second inning:

DWU: Jake Kostenbauer RBI single, Drew Kitchens scores

UJ: Sansores RBI double, Brown scores

UJ: Yackley reaches on an error, Sansores scores, unearned

Third inning:

UJ: Hayden Brown 2 run HR, Singleton scores

UJ: Sansores RBI double, Isaiah Roebuck scores

UJ: Burke RBI triple, Alex Tolbert scores

UJ: Yackley 2 run HR, Burke scores

Fifth inning:

DWU: Darrow reaches on a fielder’s choice, Kostenbauer scores

DWU: Christiansen two-run double, Landon Ruesink, Darrow score

UJ: Orejudos bases-loaded walk, Roebuck scores

UJ: Alva RBI single, Burke scores

UJ: Singleton two-run single, Orejudos, Ryan Muizelaar score

UJ: Romero RBI single, Alva scores

UJ: Roebuck RBI single, Singleton scores

Sixth inning:

UJ: Brady Scanlon RBI double, Berg scores

Seventh inning:

DWU: Oscar Pravecek RBI single, Chase Reimer scores