Jimtown High School

Jimmies end long dry spell In 10-1 rout of Bremen By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - There is jubilation ringing today throughout Jimtown: The Jimmies have captured their first baseball Sectional title in 18 years. An excellent pitching performance by Dalton Cook and Mason Armstrong, a towering home run by Broderick Kaler and two-run double by Cook spurred Jimtown to this remarkable feat Monday (6.2.25) before a large crowd (estimated at 600) at Booster Field. It was a warm day with the temperature in the low 80s and a hazy sky overhead for this Class 2A, Sectional 34 IHSAA contest. The last title came in 2007. The Jimmies knocked off Bremen’s Lions, 10-1, to advance to the Regional against Boone Grove at a place and time to be determined on Wednesday. The outcome was in doubt for the first three innings (just 3-1 in favor of the Boys from Baugo). In fact, Bremen touched Cook for a run in the first inning when Preston Williams scored on a passed ball. The Lions were shut out the rest of the way, managing just three more scattered singles. But the Jimmies roared back with three runs in the bottom of the first and were never threatened again. Connor Christman led off with a double, but was erased on a strange play at second base when Ty Zartman hit a ground ball. The ball bounced chest-high and grazed Christman, who then was ruled out, while Zartman made it safely to first. He and the next two batters, Cook and Kaler, scored on hits by Cole Dutton and Ben McAllister. The Jimmies erupted for six more runs in the fourth, highlighted by Kaler’s long bomb over the left field fence. A string of six Jimmy batters marched to the plate to begin that frame, and all came around to touch the plate. Included in this rally was Cook’s two-run double to center, Kaler’s long fly to left and Christman’s two-run single to left. Jimtown’s final tally came in the next inning when Zartman’s sacrifice fly to left drove in Colin Davis, who led off with a single to center. “We were able to stay within ourselves at the plate,” Jimmy Coach Brandon Squibb related. “And the defense did a great job.” Jimtown had just one error, the first in the entire three-game set, and that was called when a wide throw to first barely pulled the first baseman off the bag. “Keeping the errors down has been our goal all season,” Squibb said. “We’re on a pace to have the least amount of errors for the season.” With regard to Kaler’s sudden bust-out, he said, “He’s been swinging the bat well, and seems to be saving the best for last. The Junior third-sacker hit homers in each of the three sectional games. “The pitch was an inside curve, a bit up, and I was able to connect,” Kaler said. “I was pretty confident it was going the distance.” Squibb reported that Boone Grove, winner of the Sectional 33 playoff, has an outstanding pitcher, deemed to be potential Major League material. “We’ll have our work cut out for us,” he said. Score by innings: Bremen 100 000 0 - 1 4 2 Jimtown 300 610 X - 10 13 1 Umpires: Ryan Eakins, Luke Kruczewski, Phillip Colburn