Jamestown will need to win its way into the West Region baseball tournament.
The Blue Jays scored just one run in two losses to Mandan on Friday in beautiful conditions for January, but miserable for mid-May.
Levi Gaunska and Ben Walker fired back-to-back complete games for the Jays, but the Braves scored twice early in the opening game in a 2-0 win, and then got a gift for their two runs in the second to finish off the sweep, 2-1.
“Obviously, one run in a doubleheader isn’t going to get it done,” JHS coach Cory Anderson said. “In close games, timely hitting is the difference. They capitalized on their chances and we didn’t.”
The Jays, seeded seventh in the West, host winless Turtle Mountain in a play-in game Saturday at 2 p.m.
“Our goal to play on the last day of the season is still there for us,” Anderson said. “Our path getting there is a little tougher now, but it’s still possible.”