The Jena Giants stayed hot last week, playing two more games and winning them both, including a huge victory over baseball powerhouse Loyola Prep.
On Monday, March 31, the Giants played a non-district game against Loyola Prep. Loyola came into the game ranked in the top five of Division II Select, which is a higher division than what Jena is in. The game would be an important one for the Giants as they are trying to climb as high as they can in the power rankings.
The top 8 teams in Division III Non-Select get a first round bye in the playoffs. The Giants have been around anywhere from #7 to #9 all season so they have a chance of being in the top 8 and getting the first-round bye.
The Giants would pick up some big RBI hits from Isaiah Todd, Calex Campbell, Jonas Jenkins and Zoyle Gemar. They would also get another good pitching performance from Collin Jensen, who pitched a complete game only giving up 5 runs on 9 hits with 3 strikeouts. Cayden Mursch, Zoyle Gemar, Jacob Belcher and Calex Campbell would all have two hits in the game and the Giants would go on to win 10-5. With the win the Giants improved to 18-7 on the season.
On Tuesday, April 1, the Giants would welcome the Marksville Tigers to town for another district matchup. The Giants were looking to stay unbeaten in district play and setup a big game with Buckeye this week. The Giants would have no problem with Marksville as they would go on to win 15-0.
Calex Campbell would pick up the win pitching 4 shutout innings giving up only one hit and finishing with 7 strikeouts. Isaiah Todd led the Giants hitting going 1 for 1 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
The Giants are now 19-7 overall and 4-0 in district play. They are ranked #7 in the Division III Non-Select power rankings.
This week the Giants played Buckeye on Tuesday (April 8) for the district championship in what was one of the biggest games in the area that night.
The Giants will still have some non-district games scheduled to finish out the season before the brackets are released and the playoffs start on April 15.
