JAMESTOWN – Continued great pitching is leading to a great start for 2024 University of Jamestown Softball.

Hope Ransome and Abby Blair earned pitching wins Tuesday as Jamestown swept Minot State 4-2 and 2-1 in the Nelson Family Bubble to improve the Jimmies to 8-2, their best 10-game start since an 8-2 start in 2020.

Game 1: Jamestown 4, Minot State 2

After Minot State scored in the top of the first, Jamestown scored twice in the home first.  Trinity Gregg’s fifth triple of the season was followed by an RBI single by Samarah Martinez.  After Kayla Quintanilla doubled, Gracie Fisher hit a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 Jamestown lead.

The Jimmies improved the advantage to 4-1 in the second.  Ally Battistoni led the inning off with a walk, then Mackenzie Lefebvre homered to left.

Ransome improved to 3-0 with the win, pitching six and a third innings and allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out eight.  With one out in the Minot State seventh and runners on first and second, Bristol Foytik retired the last two hitters for her second save.

Game 2: Jamestown 2, Minot State 1

Blair was brilliant in the circle, allowing just a run and two hits for her second complete game this season.  Blair (4-1), who retired the first 14 Minot State hitters, struck out two and walked one.

Battistoni singled in the first of the two Jamestown runs in the bottom of the first, with the other scoring on an error.

Battistoni had two hits and Martinez was 3-for-3.

Jamestown will meet Tabor on Monday, March 4 in Tucson, Arizona, in the first of 12 games for the Jimmies in the Tucson Invitational Games.  GPAC play will begin with a doubleheader at Briar Cliff on Wednesday, March 20.  The next UJ home games will be a doubleheader with Mount Marty on Saturday, March 23 at “Trapper” Lawrence Field.

photo credit: University of Jamestown Athletics/Molly Dockter