Jamestown was simply on the wrong end of a compelling pitcher's dual.
Despite registering 12 strikeouts, 10 of which came from starter Garrett Wolfe, the Eagles fell 2-1 against Pilot Grove on Monday night.
"We hadn't played in about a week and a half, so I was excited to see that we hit the ball really solid," said Jamestown head coach Jordan Hoecker. "(Pilot Grove) made a couple good plays, but usually in those games, if we hit the ball like that, we're usually going to win them."
Though the Eagles did make consistently solid contact off Tigers starter Brady Rentel, only one of Jamestown's six hits went for extra bases. The biggest reason Jamestown was able to basically match Pilot Grove's defense inning for inning was becasue of Wolfe. The right-hander went six frames, only allowing five hits and three walks to go with his 10 strikeouts.
"I thought (Garrett) did really well," Hoecker said. "Usually you can see more control from him, and that's not a knock on how he pitched today, it's just normally we can see him be a little sharper. But he was impressive today and I thought he did a really good job out there."
Both Wolfe and Rentel were dialed in from the get-go in this one. Strikeouts were frequent the first time through the lineup as the hitters from both sides were constantly off-balance. Pilot Grove finally broke through first in the top of the third when an error to the leadoff hitter led to a 1-0 Tigers advantage.
Wolfe bounced back nicely after surrendering the unearned run to strikeout the side in the fourth. Jamestown then tied it up in the bottom half when Cole Thiessen led off the frame with a single and the Eagles manufactured the run to get him in and even the score.
However, Pilot Grove would regain the lead the very next inning as a leadoff walk, combined with a bloop single and some smart baserunning plated the eventual game-winning run for the Tigers.
Pilot Grove had a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the sixth when it had a bases loaded, no outs situation. Fortunately for Jamestown, a comebacker to Wolfe led to a 1-2-3 douple play, and then Wolfe struckout the next hitter to tightrope out of danger.
But for every great pitch Wolfe made, it seemed that Rentel was able to match him once Pilot Grove forged a one-run lead. Rentel finished with a complete game, nine-strikeout, six hit performance while only allowing one earned run in the win. Jamestown first basemen Austin Maslen was the only Eagles hitter to solve him, as he had two of the team's six hits.
Though Rentel was on cruise control after the fourth inning, facing the heart Jamestown's order with two outs in the seventh made for a dramatic finish. Austin Flippin, who pitched a perfect seventh frame with two strikeouts, belted a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Next to the plate was the potential winning run in Wolfe, whose deep fly ball to right field was hindered a bit by blustery winds and corralled at the warning track to seal Pilot Grove's win.
Jamestown is off to an 0-3 start, but for Hoecker's sqaud, Monday night was an invaluable game in an early season schedule that has been partially wiped out by inclement weather. With a busy week to follow, the Eagles will have several opportunites to notch their first win of the season coming up.
"The practice for this game was really the last week and a half when we weren't playing," Hoecker said. "We're just really focusing on making one play at a time, making sure we can keep our focus and to focus on what we can control."