College Baseball..Kendall Yackley (SO/Lynnwood, WA)’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh broke a 4-all tie and the University of Jamestown baseball team held on for a 6-4 win over Valley City State (N.D.) University Wednesday night at Jack Brown Stadium.
The Jimmies evened their fall record at 1-1 while the Vikings fell to 1-2. UJ is back in action Thursday night, hosting Mayville State (N.D.) University at 6 p.m.
Gedeon Ellis homered with two outs in the top of the third to give VCSU an early 1-0 lead.
VCSU’s lead was short-lived as Jamestown went ahed in the bottom of the third. Chase Hacker (SR/Millcreek, WA) singled, Yackley reached on a fielder’s choice, and Grant Okawa (SR/Mississauga, ON) walked to load the bases. On a 2-1 pitch, Tayler Cullen (JR/Santa Rosa, Calif.) blasted a grand slam to deep left field making it 4-1 Jimmies.
David Demeter led off the fifth with a solo homer cutting UJ’s lead to 4-2.
The Vikings tied the game in the seventh on a two-run single by Drew Nixon.
In their next at bat, the Jimmies rallied for the go-ahead and eventual winning runs. Matt Meraz (SR/Aurora, CO) doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning. With one out, Hacker walked. Yackley doubled to deep right-center off Marcus Niemann to plate Meraz and Hacker and give Jamestown a 6-4 lead.
Austin Pesicka (SR/West Linn, OR) (1-0), who surrendered the game-tying single in the seventh, retired five of the next six hitters and got the win. Aaron Pugh (SR/Boissevain, MB, Canada) set down the side in order in the ninth for his first save.
Brian Rice (JR/Vancouver, WA) and Connor Mormon (SO/Las Vegas, NV) also had hits for Jamestown.
UJ and VCSU will meet again on September 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Valley City.
