Jimtown High School

Opportunities galore help Jimmies to big win By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - Casey’s cash cow took a mighty jolt to the udder Friday night. Jimtown High School’s baseball squad used six walks and five hit-batsmen to run up the score against neighboring Concord, winning the contest, 11-1. A good-sized crowd was on hand for the game (5.22.26) with the game-time temp at 69, cloudy skies and a stiff breeze blowing toward leftfield. “That was the most complete game of the season,” related Jimtown coach Brandon Squibb. “We came out hard against a good team that’s well-coached.” The Jimmies (11-12) starting pitcher, senior Dalton Cook, “had a good outing,” Squibb said, "throwing just 64 pitches.” The “hard start” was highlighted in the first inning by a two-strike homerun for Brodric Kaler, the Jimmies’ senior third-baseman. “I sat back on the pitch, expecting a slower pitch,” Kaler said. “It was a curve up in the zone.” That round-tripper tied the score at one, then Cook followed with a single to center, stole second, went to third on an obstruction call, and scored on a hit by Brayden Presley, for a 2-1 lead. Concord (16-7) drew first blood in the game in the first frame on a double by lead-off man Jordan Flores and a two-out single by Myles Jones. Lucas Ulfig’s ensuing double went for nought. The Jimmies put the game out of reach when they batted around+4 in the fifth frame. Five batters got a free pass to first when they were hit by the pitch: Kaler, Cook, Colin Rivers, Owen Biggs and Kamden Flores. Casey’s convenience store has agreed to award a chicken sammy to anyone who gets plunked by a pitch. They may want to negotiate that for next season. Cook may find it a bit painful to sit, taking a line drive to the buttocks by Ulfig in the fourth. He told Squibb he was all right. Those freebies were augmented by three walks and singles by Biggs, Carter Poole (a pinch-hit) and Collin Davis. Flores’ HBP came with the bases loaded and sent in the 11th run, causing umpires to declare the “slaughter” rule and end the game. Greg Hughes, head coach for the Minutemen, told his guys, “We’ve got to fix this. We’ve got to get better.” He bemoaned the fact that some of his players had other school commitments and couldn’t play. Concord travels to Lakeland on Saturday, while the Jimmies take a few days off before visiting Wawasee on Tuesday (5.26.26). Scoring by inning: Concord 100 00XX 1 6 0 Jimtown 200 18X 11 8 0 Umpires: Art Smith and Mike Albert.