Blue Jays end season with 4-2 win over Century in state tourney
Jun. 4—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Blue Jays threw freshman Thomas Newman on the mound in the fifth place game of the 2022 NDHSAA State Tournament against the Bismarck Century Patriots on Saturday, June 4. The first-year hurler delivered, pitching a complete game and only giving up two runs in a 4-2 win.
"(It) feels good because I'm one of the youngest kids out here so to compete with these older guys is really fun," Newman said.
The Patriots (14-12) had a chance to get on the board early in the bottom of the first when Carter Krueger grounded to Gage Orr at second who flipped the ball to the shortstop Peyton Hochhalter who dropped the ball on the transfer, and Joe LaDuke got caught in a rundown around third to end the inning.
"Jamestown made a good play on that, took a run away from us," Patriots head coach Kent Schweigert said. "Maybe it would've sparked us a little bit. It ended an inning where we had another guy running in scoring position."
The Blue Jays (14-12) opened the scoring in the top of the second when Mason Lunzman lined a double past a turned-around left fielder, Hayden Ritter, to score Gage Orr and Max Fronk and make it a 2-0 game.
The Patriots immediately responded in the bottom of the second when Noah Reidinger hit a ball that kept carrying and went over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Patriots tied the game up when Max Vigg grounded into what the Blue Jays thought was an inning-ending double play, but the umpire ruled that first baseman Carson Orr took his foot off the bag. In response to the presumed double play, Orr threw the ball to the pitcher's mound, allowing Hayden Ritter to score and tie the game up at two.
The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the fifth when Jackson Walters hit a single up the middle to score Lunzman to make it a 3-2 game. THe Blue Jays weren't done though as Reagan Sortland roped a double off the base of the wall in right-center to score Walters and push the lead to 4-2.
"They stayed the course," Blue Jays head coach Jack Bowman said. "We haven't beaten these guys this year. We were 0-3. They kept on it and we did what we needed to do. It's always good. You always want to win your last game. Hopefully it's the state championship. We've won two in a row here and we send these boys into legion ball and hopefully that momentum will carry them in their summer."
JHS 4, CHS 2
JHS: 0 2 0 0 2 0 0—4 8 0
HS: 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 7 2
WP: Thomas Newman LP: Gavin Lill
Full Bracket below:
06/02
G1: W1 Bismarck Century 1, E4 Shanley 4
G2: E2 Wahpeton 3, W3 Dickinson 6
G3: W2 Minot 10, E3 Fargo North 5,
G4: E1 West Fargo Sheyenne 10 W4 Jamestown 3
06/03
G5: W1 Bismarck Century 3, E2 Wahpeton 1
G6: E3 Fargo North 3, W4 Jamestown 4
G7: E4 Shanley 5 W3 Dickinson 2
G8: W2 Minot 0, W4 West Fargo Sheyenne 2
06/04
G10: W1 Bismarck Century 2, W4 Jamestown 4
G11: W3 Dickinson vs. W2 Minot, 1:15 p.m.
G12: E4 Shanley vs. E1 West Fargo Sheyenne, 4:30 p.m.
