Jimmies working to return to the NAIA national tournament

Sep. 16—JAMESTOWN — With an extra-innings loss in the conference championship game fresh on their minds the University of Jamestown heads into the 2022-23 season reloaded and looking to win their first conference championship since 2019.

"We're very excited," Jimmies head coach Tom Hager said. "This team has a chance to be special. We ended last season on a great run, we have a lot of guys back and we have a lot of new faces that can play. So the coaches are excited to see how this team can come together this fall and continue to make strides throughout the year."

While the Jimmies lose their top two hitters in terms of average, they return five of their top 10 hitters in that category. One of those returners is senior infielder Xander Orejudos who hit .276 last year but hit .317 for the Wenatchee Apple Sox of the West Coast League over the summer.

"I think like I told you last time, hit balls hard," Orejudos said. "The average will find itself, later on, the more hard balls you hit, the better chance you have of getting a base hit or a double."

Orejudos is one of 15 returners to the Jimmies roster and is one of three seniors on the squad alongside pitcher Payson Mills and shortstop/pitcher Kendall Yackley.

"I haven't really been here as long as some other guys but if they see me that way I'll step into that (leadership) role," Orejudos said. "I'm the type of guy that doesn't like to tell you what to do as much as help them through what they are doing."

Despite the returners being ready to step up as leaders, Hager said he wants more of a leadership by committee.

"We expect that Payson Mills and Trei Hough are going to set the tone at the front end and guys like Ethan Krupp and Eric Kessler are going to get it done at the end. In terms of offense, when you have a guy like Xander Orejudos back and Kendall Yackley back up the middle who have a lot of experience and who had great summers then I think great things can happen."

The players that are returning are not the only players that know what it is like to fall short of their goals as freshman Troy Berg was part of a Dickinson High School team that finished in third in the state tournament at Jack Brown Stadium. Berg said the loss has made him want to get to college and help the Jimmies win the conference tournament.

The amount of depth behind the plate, excites Hager heading into the season. The Jimmies have five catchers on the roster, including sophomore Triston Madison who hit .304 with three home runs and 22 RBIs at the plate with 293 putouts and 22 runners caught stealing during his true freshman season.

During the 2021-22 season, the Jimmies struggled to find their footing as they went 12-17 in their first 29 games before finishing the season winning 17 of their last 23 games including the postseason.

"That was difficult because we did see those growing pains and inconsistencies last year but we also saw growth and by the end of the year we had a team that had grown a lot," Hager said. "I'm hoping that this year's team learns how to win and learns how to win quickly and that's Jimmie baseball."

While Berg admitted the adjustment from high school baseball to collegiate baseball was tough, he gave credit to his teammates for helping him get settled on and off the field.

The Jimmies continued to dip into the transfer portal to help build their roster as they have eight incoming transfers.

"Alex Tolbert at first base, he's an incoming transfer who has a lot of pop in his bat, he has a chance to help us at first and (designated hitter)," Hager said. "Jordan Singleton is a very talented catcher who has a chance to pair up with Triston Madison but he also has a chance with some pop in his bat to be a designated hitter. With Chase Burke in center field, he's going to be a guy that's going to be our energy guy, he plays the game hard, he runs baseballs down, he's got a good arm, and he's certainly going to add something to our lineup."

The Jimmies open their fall season at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, when they go to Dickinson State for a doubleheader.

"You want what took place in the conference championship game last year to fuel you but this is also a new team and every new team writes its own page and hopefully that will start happening on Friday," Hager said.