MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Jamestown baseball team engaged in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel with Southwest Minnesota State, ultimately edging the Mustangs 1-0 at Legion Field.
Game two saw the Jimmies battle to the final out before suffering a narrow 8-7 defeat to SMSU.
Game One Summary
Payton Hochhalter (1-2) delivered a brilliant performance on the mound for the Jimmies, tossing a complete-game, two-hit shutout over seven innings. He struck out seven batters and walked just two, needing exactly 100 pitches to silence the Southwest Minnesota offense.
Opposing starter Jameson Quinn (3-4) matched Hochhalter pitch-for-pitch for most of the afternoon. Quinn was the hard-luck loser, allowing just one hit and one earned run over seven innings with five strikeouts.
The game remained locked in a scoreless tie through six innings, with Jamestown held hitless over that span. The Jimmies finally manufactured the game's lone run in the top of the seventh inning.
Jett Nelson sparked the rally by getting hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.
Jacob Thomas successfully moved Nelson into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and
Melvin Maldonado followed with a groundout to advance Nelson to third.
Trayson Kostial then broke the tie with the Jimmies' only hit of the game, an RBI single to shortstop that brought Nelson home and gave Jamestown a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Southwest Minnesota threatened after Carter Lang reached on a one-out single. Pinch-runner Jacob Merrill advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting the tying run in scoring position. However, Hochhalter slammed the door shut, striking out Evan Behn looking and inducing a game-ending groundout to third base from Henry Hammrich to secure the victory.
Top Performers
Pitching Lines
- Payton Hochhalter (UJ): W (1-2), 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
- Jameson Quinn (SMS): L (3-4), 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 HBP
Game Two Summary
Southwest Minnesota struck early, scoring two unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning following a fielding error and an RBI double from Carter Lang. Jamestown answered in the top of the third when
Jacob Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to bring home
Mathieu Morin. The Mustangs responded in the bottom of the frame with another RBI single from Lang to make it 3-1.
The Jimmies tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning.
Adrian Warcken scored on a throwing error, and
Grant Chapman subsequently crossed the plate on a wild pitch. However, Southwest Minnesota erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a three-run home run by Levi Lampert, pushing their lead to 7-3.
Jamestown fought back in the fifth when
Ben Patton delivered a two-run single to right center, scoring
Trayson Kostial and
Melvin Maldonado to trim the deficit to 7-5. The Mustangs added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single by Lang.
Trailing 8-5 in the top of the eighth, Jamestown staged a late rally. Pinch-hitter
Benney Benitez laced an RBI single down the left field line to score Patton, and Warcken later scored on a wild pitch to make it a one-run game. In the ninth, Patton doubled and
Dallas Cummins singled to put the tying run in scoring position, but Southwest Minnesota reliever Ryan Dalager induced a strikeout to end the threat and secure his first save.
Top Performers
- Ben Patton (UJ): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
- Melvin Maldonado (UJ): 3-for-4, R
- Adrian Warcken (UJ): 1-for-3, 2 R
- Benney Benitez (UJ): 1-for-2, RBI
- Carter Lang (SMS): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI
- Levi Lampert (SMS): 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB
Pitching Lines
Isaac Hanson (3-3) took the loss for Jamestown, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.
Elias Harris pitched three innings of relief, yielding one run on five hits, and Patton threw 1 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings to close the game on the mound for the Jimmies.
Lincoln Vasgaard (1-2) earned the win in relief for Southwest Minnesota, striking out five over 2 2/3 innings. Tyler Nesheim started for the Mustangs, allowing five runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings.
Up Next
The teams conclude their series on Monday with a single nine-inning game beginning at 12 p.m.
