– Saturday UJ Jimmies Sports Scores

Women’s Golf

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (UJ) The University of Jamestown women’s golf team finished second out of 12 teams at the GPAC Championship, which concluded Saturday at Bent Tree Golf Course.

The Jimmies had a team score of 327 Saturday, finishing at 218-over 1378 (363-352-336-327). Morningside (Iowa) College won the team title at 87-over 1247 (316-313-305-313). Concordia (Neb.) was third at 233-over 1393 (368-359-327-339) and Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University fourth at 240-over 1400 (361-359-339-341).

Paige Argent (SR/Minot, N.D.) placed ninth after a final round score of 80. She finished at 41-over 331 (85-84-82-80). Izzy Marchino (JR/Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was 10th at 44-over 334 (90-81-83-80). Argent and Marchino earned GPAC All-Conference honors for their top ten finishes.

Jayme Carlson (SO/Hartford, S.D.) tied for 20th at 69-over 359 (99-93-86-81), Faith Justesen (FR/Hawley, Minn.) was 22nd at 70-over 360 (95-94-85-86), and Teagan Fee (SO/Havre, Mont.) shot a final round 93.

Sam Knight of Morningside was the individual winner, finishing at 15-over 305 (76-79-73-77). The Mustangs earn the GPAC’s automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship, set for May 25-28 at Rose Creek Golf Course in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Baseball

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (UJ) — A five-run fourth inning helped give the University of Jamestown baseball team a 5-1 win over Morningside (Iowa) College in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Mustangs had a five-run rally of their own in the seventh inning of game two, winning 8-4 to gain the split.

Morningside led 1-0 going into the top of the fourth when the Jimmies began their comeback. With Grant Okawa (SR/Mississauga, ON) at third and Lincoln Trujillo (SR/Cheyenne, WY) at first, Matt Meraz (SR/Aurora, CO) singled to drive in Okawa to tie the game. Brice Foster (SR/Lynnwood, WA) followed with a single of his own, scoring Trujillo and moving Meraz to third. A squeeze bunt by Kendall Yackley (SO/Lynnwood, WA) pushed home Meraz and sent Foster to second. Pinch-hitter Michael Asahara (SO/Spanaway, Wash.) singled to score Foster. Blake Arritola (SO/Salem, OR) came in to run for Asahara and took second on a Chase Hacker (SR/Millcreek, WA) single. Arritola and Hacker pulled off a double steal, then Arritola came home on a throwing error by the Morningside catcher.

Five runs was more than enough for Dru Fitz (SR/Gresham, OR), who went the distance on the mound. He allowed one unearned run on four hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

Meraz had a triple in addition to his RBI single, and Tayler Cullen (JR/Santa Rosa, Calif.) laced a double.

In game two, Morningside scored twice in the bottom of the first for an early 2-0 lead. Dylan Dudley (JR/Cottage Grove, OR)’s one-out home run in the fourth cut the deficit to 2-1, then a sacrifice fly by Grant Okawa made it 2-2 in the fifth.

Brice Foster came home on a double steal with Matt Meraz advancing to third for a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Meraz came home on a single by Kendall Yackley to push the lead to 4-2.

The Mustangs made it a one-run game with a single run crossing the plate in the bottom of the sixth.

A pair of RBI singles, a two-run double, and a wild pitch accounted for the scoring as Morningside came back from being down 4-3 to ahead by an 8-5 score. Jamestown had runners at second and third with one out in the ninth, but the final two batters struck out to end the rally.

Tayler Cullen and Chase Hacker both had a pair of hits. Luke Shekeryk (JR/Seattle, WA) and Brice Foster had the other Jimmie hits.

Kensaku Akiya (SR/Kawasaki, Japan) started for the Jimmies and went five innings, allowing three runs (two earned), on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Cameron Jenkins (JR/West Richland, WA) was the losing pitcher, giving up two runs on two hits in an inning and a third.

Jamestown, now 26-16 overall and 12-9 in the GPAC, play at Concordia (Neb.) University on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Softball

HASTINGS, Neb. (UJ) — The University of Jamestown softball team broke out of its recent offensive slump Saturday, scoring 31 runs on 38 hits in a sweep of Hastings College.

Jamestown won game one 11-6 then took game two by a final of 20-4 in five innings. UJ, now 29-11 overall and 12-6 in the GPAC, return home to host Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University on Tuesday.

The Jimmies held a 2-0 lead going into the top of the fifth in the opener, then erupted for nine runs in the inning. Kassi Ward (JR/Olympia, Wash.) hit a two-run home run to deep left field, then Sydney Prussia (JR/Detroit Lakes, Minn.) homered to center. Following a Santina Zito (SO/Boise, Idaho) single, Katie Merchant (SO/South Haven, Minn.) smashed a two-run homer to left to make it 7-0. Gracie Fisher (FR/Bemidji, Minn.) also went deep, taking a 3-2 pitch to center for an 8-0 lead. Ward doubled home Morgan Geiszler (JR/Horace, N.D.), who had reached on a fielder’s choice. Leading 9-0, Zito singled in Jenna Remenar (FR/Vancouver, Wash.) and Ward to make it 11-0.

Hastings rallied for six runs in the bottom of the fifth against Katie Merchant and Lucy Sinkkonen (FR/Cloquet, Minn.), all with no out. Kat Miska (JR/Pequot Lakes, Minn.) started in the circle and went the first four innings, then returned to pitch the sixth and seventh innings. She struck out 12 in six shutout innings, allowing five hits and no walks.

Remenar went 3-for-5 and scored three times. Ward was 3-for-4 and Prussia, Zito, Merchant, and Fisher all had two hits.

The bats especially came alive in game two, as UJ pounded out 23 hits in just five innings, and scored 15 of its 20 runs in the final two frames.

Jenna Remenar homered with one out in the first to give the Jimmies an early lead, then a two-run double by Morgan Geiszler brought in Gentrey Turin (FR/Sandy, Ore.) and Lauren Diemert (FR/West Fargo, N.D.) to make it 3-0.

Kassi Ward led off the third with a solo homer, and Santina Zito‘s single scored Sydney Prussia, increasing the lead to 5-0. The Broncos came back with a pair of runs in the bottom half to cut the gap to 5-2.

The fourth inning saw Jamestown break the game open, scoring 10 runs on nine hits and three walks. Remenar, Ward, Zito, Gracie Fisher, Geiszler, and Camryn Schwab (FR/Thief River Falls, Minn.) had run-scoring hits, with Geiszler’s pair of doubles plating five.

UJ’s offensive barrage continued in the top of the fifth. Mariah Wick (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) singled home Lorigan Steuben (SO/Yacolt, Wash.), then came around on another double by Geiszler. After Remenar singled, Ward hit her second homer of the game, a three-run shot that made it 20-4.

Merchant retired the Broncos in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via the run rule. She went all five innings, scattering six hits, walking three and striking out five.

Geiszler, Remenar, and Ward each had four hits and combined to hit 12-for-14 with 10 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBI. Wick was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, giving the Jimmies 9-1-2-3 hitters a 15-for-18 day at the plate. Geiszler’s four doubles is believed to be a single-game record, and her six RBI is third-most in UJ history.

Fisher finished 2-for-3 and joined Zito with a pair of runs batted in.

The 23 hits was a season-high for the Jimmies, and the 20 runs is the most since scoring 22 in a 22-3 win over Bethel (Ind.) in Tucson, Ariz., on March 7, 2019.