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Kendall Yackley (JR/Lynnwood, WA)’s two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the University of Jamestown baseball team a 9-7 victory over Dickinson State University and a sweep of Monday’s doubleheader.
The Jimmies trailed 7-6 going into their final at-bat, but Tanner Shepard (SR/Grand Rapids, MN) took the first pitch thrown by Alberto Nieto over the fence to tie the game at 7-7. With one out, Tayler Cullen (SR/Santa Rosa, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, and Yackley delivered with a home run on an 0-2 count for the winning runs.
Andrew Kupec (SO/Peoria, AZ) homered to lead off the bottom of the first, and Shepard hit a two-run shot to put UJ ahead 3-0 just six pitches into the game.
DSU rallied to tie the game at 3 in the top of the third but the lead was short-lived as Cullen singled in Ben Patton (FR/Bismarck, ND) for the go-ahead run.
The Blue Hawks put up four runs in the fifth to retake a 7-4 lead. Quade Peters (FR/West Fargo, ND) hit Jamestown’s third homer of the game in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one-run game.
Eric Kessler (FR/Dallas, OR) (1-0), the fourth Jimmie pitcher, worked the final two innings to earn the win. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Shepard was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI, while Kupec was 2-for-4 and Cullen 2-for-3.
An eight run second-inning in game one gave Jamestown all the offense they would need in an 11-2 win in Monday’s opener.
After the Blue Hawks took a 1-0 lead after the top of the second, Cullen led off the bottom half with a home run to tie. Kupec singled in a pair of runs and came home on a passed ball, then Cullen doubled home two more runs. After a pitching change, Yackley doubled another two, making it 8-1 in favor of the Jimmies.
Kupec hit a three-run home run for insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-2. He finished the game 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored. Cullen was 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Payson Mills (JR/Blackfoot, ID) (1-0) was the beneficiary of the run support, working five innings for the win. He gave up two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out three. Cameron Multer (SO/Greeley, CO) pitched two scoreless innnings in relief, striking out two.