UJ The University of Jamestown baseball team opened up its fall season with a 7-5 loss to Mayville State (N.D.) University Wednesday night at Jack Brown Stadium.
Down 7-4 with runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth, the Jimmies appeared to tie the game on a three-run home run to right field by Tayler Cullen (JR/Santa Rosa, Calif.). However, the umpires ruled Cullen’s blast stuck in the ivy on top of the wall, negating the homer and giving Cullen an RBI double.
The Comets struck early, plating four runs in the top of the second. Skylar Forst homered and Michael Theisen singled in a run while two more runs scored on a Jimmie error.
Adam Senden connected on a two-run homer in the top of the third, making it 6-0 in favor of Mayville State.
Brian Rice (JR/Vancouver, WA) scored on an error in the bottom of the third for UJ’s first run.
Tanner Shepard (JR/Longville, MN) and Jared Bentley (SR/Washougal, WA) hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the Comets’ lead to 6-3.
Senden homered again leading off the fifth to give Mayville a three-run cushion, but the Jimmies answered in their next at-bat with a run-scoring single by Cullen.
Cullen, Rice, and Grant Okawa (SR/Mississauga, ON) all had three hits for Jamestown (0-1). Senden finished 3-for-3 and three other Comets had multiple hits.
Kensaku Akiya (SR/Kawasaki, Japan) took the loss, pitching four innings and allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits. He walked one and struck out two. Jimmie relievers Andy Reed (SR/Woodinville, WA), Robert Evans (SO/Moses Lake, WA), and Austin Pesicka (SR/West Linn, OR) surrendered just one run on two hits over the final five innings.
Jamestown is back in action next Wednesday when they host Valley City State (N.D.) at 6 p.m.
