Jamestown scores late to get past Prairie Home

ST. ELIZABETH, Mo. - As the No. 1 seed, Jamestown went into the Class 1 District 9 Tournament an undoubted favorite to win it.

But nobody told Prairie Home, who had already lost twice to Jamestown this season. The Panthers weren't going to go away quietly.

Jamestown broke a tie at 2 with a run in the sixth inning, then Garrett Wolfe held the Panthers in the seventh to earn the win the semifinals of the tournament.

"We didn't play our best game today," said Jamestown coach Jordan Hoecker. "We played a little sloppy and give credit to Prairie Home, they played a nice game. Overall we came through when it counted, and that's what matters in district time."

Wyatt Hunziker's infield single pushed the go-ahead run across in the sixth. The second baseman made a sliding stop up the middle, but Hunziker beat the throw by a half-step to allow Christian DeVore to score from third.

"I saw it go up the middle so I thought I had a good shot and I just took off running as fast as I could," said Hunziker, the Eagles' left fielder. "I got to the base and wasn't sure if they called me safe. If I was going to be out, I wanted to make sure it was on me giving 100 percent."

DeVore singled to lead off the inning, then moved to second when his brother, Colton DeVore, doubled to right-center field. After a shallow fly out for the second out, Hunziker connected on the 1-2 pitch.

"It's always good to see different guys contributing," Hoecker said. "Wyatt has been getting hot as of late and it was really good to see him get that game-winning hit and a lot of hustle to get down there."

Jamestown scratched the first run across in the first inning, then with the same formula, scored again in the third. Austin Flippin led off the first with a single to shortstop, then stole second and third. Alex Gerlach hit a popup to center and an error allowed him to reach base and score Flippin.

Flippin again got things started in the third, as he singled to left. After stealing second, Gerlach moved him to third on a ground out, and another groundout by Wolfe brought him home and gave the Eagles the 2-0 lead.

"That's why we have him at the top (of the lineup)," Hoecker said. "He can be a difference-maker moving around the base paths. He did a great job and it was huge today."

Gerlach ran into some trouble in the fifth inning. Prairie Home loaded the bases with two outs, then scored two runs to tie it at 2 with a single to center. Kody Simmons took the first pitch he saw to shallow center field to plate one run, then the center fielder mishandled the ball to allow the tying-run to score.

Gerlach finished with two runs allowed - one earned - on three hits and six strikeouts in five innings of work.

"Alex did a good job," Hoecker said. "He hasn't pitched in a couple of weeks, none of the guys really have, but he did a great job holding them."

Jamestown will now play second-seeded St. Elizabeth at 6 p.m. today for the district championship.