YANKTON, S.D. (uj.edu) — Dru Fitz (JR/Gresham, OR) pitched a four-hit shutout and the University of Jamestown scored three runs without the benefit of a hit, capturing the GPAC Baseball Championship Tuesday afternoon with a 3-0 win over Concordia (Neb.)
Jamestown (35-16) won the GPAC Championship in its first year as a member of the conference. The Jimmies will find out Thursday where they will be headed to begin the NAIA Opening Round of the national tournament.
UJ scored twice in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead. Chase Hacker (JR/Millcreek, WA) led off the inning with a walk, then a balk by Concordia pitcher Jason Munsch moved him to second. Tanner Roundy (SR/Henderson, NV) executed a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error by Munsch allowed Roundy to reach as Hacker scored all the way from second. Another error on the throw home put Roundy at second with no out. Musch wild-pitched Roundy over to third, then got Drake Pilat (SR/Winnipeg, MB, Canada) to ground out to second, but Roundy came across with the Jimmies’ second run.
The score remained 2-0 until the top of the ninth, when the Jimmies pushed home an important insurance run. Roundy singled to short to open the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Braxton Hewitt (FR/Carrington, ND). Following a pitching change, Roundy took third on a wild pitch, then scored on another wild pitch to make it 3-0.
Munsch (5-4), who struck out 16 batters over seven innings in his prevous start against the Jimmies, struck out the first six batters Tuesday and retired the first seven in a row before Zach Zurbrugg (SR/Bremerton, WA) singled in the third. Zurbrugg also had the other hit against Munsch, a single to left with one out in the fifth. Munsch was lifted after the fifth, giving up one earned run on two hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts.
Fitz (6-2) retired the final 17 batters he faced following a two-out single in the fourth by Teyt Johnson. The right hander struck out two and did not walk a batter, needing just 96 pitches to complete the game. The outing was his second straight complete game, and first nine-inning complete game of the season.
Previously…
Yankton, SD ( CSi)- The Jamestown Jimmies Baseball team is the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Champions with a 3-0 shutout of the Concordia, Nebraska Bulldogs Tuesday, in the game played in Yankton, SD.
Dru Fitz pitched all 9 innings, retiring the last 17 batters in a row.
UJ now heads to the NAIA National Baseball Tournament, on Monday May 13, with the location to be announced this Thursday, May 9
