Jimmies Baseball Splits With Briar Cliff, Thurs., JBS

 Brice Foster (SR/Lynnwood, WA)’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the University of Jamestown baseball team a 6-5 win over Briar Cliff (Iowa) University in the first game of Thursday’s GPAC doubleheader at Jack Brown Stadium.

Briar Cliff salvaged a split by winning game two, 6-3. The Jimmies, now 19-11 overall and 6-4 in the GPAC, are at Dordt (Iowa) University on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at noon.

UJ trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, and Grant Okawa (SR/Mississauga, ON) faced an 0-2 count before crushing a solo home run to right field, tying the game and sending it into extra innings. It was the third homer of the season for the Jimmie shortstop and his first since February 27.

The Chargers opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second, but Jamestown came back for three runs in the bottom of the inning. Dirk Eymundson (SO/Parkland County, AB, Canada)’s sacrifice bunt moved Brice Foster to third and Kendall Yackley (SO/Lynnwood, WA) to second with two outs. Chase Hacker (SR/Millcreek, WA) walked to load the bases, and Tayler Cullen (JR/Santa Rosa, Calif.) reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Foster. The throw to force Hacker at second was wide of the bag, and Yackley came across with the Jimmies’ second run. Okawa followed with a single through the hole at shortstop, allowing Hacker to score from second.

Dylan Dudley (JR/Cottage Grove, OR)’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth scored Okawa and gave UJ a 4-2 lead. Briar Cliff tied the game in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs against Jimmie starter Dru Fitz (SR/Gresham, OR) and reliever Andy Reed (SR/Woodinville, WA).

Cameron Jenkins (JR/West Richland, WA) (3-2), the fifth Jimmie reliever, struck out two in an inning and a third to get the win. Okawa finshed 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Foster and Luke Shekeryk (JR/Seattle, WA) each had a pair of hits.

With the score tied 2-2 after four innings in game two, the Chargers rallied for three in the top of the fifth on the way to a 6-3 victory.

Dylan Dudley homered leading off the bottom of the second to cut Briar Cliff’s lead to 2-1, then a pinch-hit double by Matt Meraz (SR/Aurora, CO) in the bottom of the fourth tied the game at two.

Tayler Cullen‘s one-out double in the bottom of the fifth scored Nolan Turin (SO/Sandy, OR) to make it a 5-3 game, but that would be as close as the Jimmies would get. The Chargers added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, then ended a UJ rally with runners at second and third with two down in the bottom half.

Kensaku Akiya (SR/Kawasaki, Japan) (2-3) allowed five runs on ten hits in 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. Eymundson went 2-for-3 and six other Jimmies had one hit each.

Jamestown is now 12-5 against Briar Cliff dating back to 2007.