Midgets upended by Blue Jays in 5-4 thriller

May 18—JAMESTOWN — Dickinson High School has benefited from some last-inning, walk-off heroics a few times in the last 10 games of the 2024 season, but this time it was Jamestown that took advantage of late, timely run-production on Friday, May 17 as the Blue Jays scored 2 runs in the final frame to take a 5-4 victory over the Midgets. Game 2 was delayed in the third inning by weather with the score knotted at 0-0 amidst heavy winds and inclement weather.

Jamestown jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning and the Midgets steadily chipped-away at their advantage, scoring 2 runs in the top of the second frame on the strength of a two-out rally as starting pitcher Kyler Kudrna reached first on a fielder's choice and junior catcher Christian Tibor walked before second-base classmate Camden Kubas also strolling to first through a base-on-balls to move Tibor and Kudrna into scoring position. Junior pinch-runner Kevin Olsson scored on a wild-pitch for Kudrna and then another courtesy-runner — Aidan Dahmus in for Tibor — stole home to make the score 3-2 and raise the tension in the game.

DHS scored a run in each of the next two frames while Kudrna locked-down on the Blue Jays through the next five innings. The Midgets' third-inning score came from a walk to junior third-baseman Jack Price and another to senior left-fielder Jeremiah Jilek before senior first-baseman Kaeden Krieg loaded the bases on a single and right-fielder Will Easum drove Price across the plate on a sacrifice-fly to tie the score at 3-apiece. Then Kudrna reached on an error in the top of the fourth and came home on an error during a double to right-field by Tibor and give the visitors a slim, 4-3 lead through the next three innings as the bats went silent for Dickinson outside a double from Easum and a bases-loaded situation in the fifth.

Jamestown's final-inning fireworks put the game to bed with 2 runs, but Kudrna took the 5-4 loss on 7 hits and only 2 earned runs with 5 strikeouts while surrendering 4 walks. Easum ended up with a 2-for-3 night, featuring an RBI and 3 total-bases, but no other Midget athlete had a multi-hit game and DHS stranded 8 runners in the away-affair.

For more information about Midget baseball, please keep reading The Dickinson Press and/or visit their website at

https://www.dickinson.k12.nd.us/schools/dhs/athletics/index

. For more information about baseball in North Dakota, you find it at

https://ndhsaanow.com/tournaments/baseball

.