Know Bull
40th season T-shirts available; Gavin headed to Cali; former Bulls
Only two weeks remain in the regular season for the 40th year of Jackson Bulls baseball.
The Bulls have a single seven-inning game at 4:30 p.m. today (Sunday) at Northrop vs. Fox Lake. First, the Foxes will play Luverne at 2 p.m. The games had been scheduled for Truman but the location was changed.
Jackson has a lead by percentage points in a tightly bunched three-team group atop the First Nite League standings. The Bulls are 7-2 (a .778 percentage), Fairmont is 9-3 (.750) and Windom is 7-3 (.700).
Head-to-head in that group, the Bulls are 2-0 vs. the Martins and 0-2 vs. The Pirates. Fairmont and Windom have split their games.
Windom plays twice today with games at Pipestone and Hadley. Fairmont has one game, hosting Gopher League-leading Luverne.
With the holiday, there are no weeknight games for any of the teams in Region 13C. The schedule continues Saturday.
The Bulls have five games in eight days on the schedule to end the season.
Jackson is scheduled to play two in Luverne on Sunday, July 7, facing Heron Lake and the host Redbirds.
Rounding out the schedule are home games vs. Fox Lake on July 10 and Lakefield on July 12 and a road game at Worthington on July 14.
Standings
First Nite League
Jackson Bulls 7-2 .778
Fairmont Martins 9-3 .750
Windom Pirates 7-3 .700
Lakefield Frogs 4-8 .333
Fox Lake Foxes 2-7 .222
Heron Lake Lakers 2-9 .182
Gopher League
Luverne Redbirds 8-1 .889
Milroy Irish 7-3 .700
Hadley Buttermakers 5-3 .625
Pipestone A’s 3-6 .333
Worthington Cubs 1-10 .091
Sunday, June 30
Windom at Pipestone, 2 p.m.
Luverne at Fox Lake, 2 p.m.
Milroy Irish at Hadley, 2 p.m.
Jackson at Fox Lake, 4:30 p.m.
Worthington at Pipestone, 4:30 p.m.
Luverne at Fairmont, 5 p.m.
Windom at Hadley, 5 p.m.
40th anniversary T-shirts
In observance of the 40-year anniversary, Jackson artist and veteran Bulls player Blaise Jacobsen has designed a commemorative T-shirt.
The cost is $25. Contact Scott Bahr at 507-840-3442. He has a limited supply but will order more as needed.
Headed west
From the looks of his Twitter (X if you insist) account, Jackson County Central graduate and Bulls pitcher Gavin Jacobsen has found a new home for his senior season of college baseball.
He’s headed to NCAA Division I Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
LMU plays in the 11-team West Coast Conference along with Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle.
Among the teams on Loyola’s nonconference schedule last year were Los Angeles rivals UCLA and USC, who will become members of the Big 10 on Monday, as well as Michigan. Also on the schedule were Arizona and Utah, who are joining the Big 12.
Gavin ranked among NCAA Division III leaders in strikeouts the past two seasons.
In 2024 he finished 10th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings as he fanned 60 batters in 39.2 innings, an average of 13.61. In 2023 he was first in the nation with 15.0 per nine.
For this past season, Jacobsen had a 4-1 record with a 2.27 earned run average. In 39.2 innings he allowed 16 runs (10 earned) on 31 hits, walked 21 and struck out 60. Opponents had a .212 batting average.
He also spent the summer of 2023 with the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League.
Great starts
JCC grad and former Bull Alex Bretzman has had a couple of great starts on the mound this month for the Hawley Hawks of the Red River League in Region 10C.
On June 5 he didn’t allow an earned run in eight innings in Hawley’s 7-2 win over the Breckenridge Bucks. He followed that up last Sunday by going all nine innings in an 8-2 win over the Dilworth Raildogs.
Alex also pitched in a 5-4 win over the Fosston Trash Pandas on May 19. No numbers were available for that game.
Hawley is 3-3. A scheduled game today vs. the Fargo Crows was canceled.
Next for the Hawks is a return matchup with the Fosston Trash Pandas next Sunday at the Rodeo Grounds in Hawley.
Don’t sell Hady short
A few weeks back I mentioned that former Bull Tom Hady is playing again this season for the Shakopee Indians of the Class C River Valley East League.
And while that statement is accurate it was also selling him a bit short.
Shakopee is one of three teams that the 54-year-old Hady is a member of.
Tom also plays with the Southwest Outlaws of the Minnesota Senior Men’s Baseball Association.
The Outlaws play their home games in St. James.
He also is a member of the Over-35 Federal League’s Elko Chuggers.
I do have some numbers for him with the Chuggers.
He doesn’t have a decision in three appearances on the mound with an earned run average of 2.80. In five innings he has allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out one.
Bulls coaching
One current and two former Jackson Bulls players are head coaches of high school baseball teams in Iowa that are in the final week of their regular-season schedules.
Two of those players are not only former teammates with the Bulls, but were classmates at North Kossuth High School, where they were teammates on two state championship teams and all-state players.
Andy Wolf is still playing with the Bulls although he does miss an occasional game because he’s the head coach at Okoboji High School and those of he and his wife, Amber.
The Pioneers have an overall record of 9-12 and are 6-8 in the Siouxland Conference.
Okoboji plays Denison-Schleswig Tuesday at Sioux Falls Stadium and hosts Sioux Center Wednesday to close out the regular season. The Pioneers open the Class 2A Substate 1 tournament Saturday vs. Sioux Central at Emmetsburg.
Jared Rahe is also a North Kossuth grad and former Bull and is the head coach at Harris-Lake Park. The Wolves are 9-10 overall and 4-5 in the War Eagle Conference.
HLP plays Denison-Schleswig Monday at Bowden Field at Augutana University and travels to Paullina to play South O’Brien to end the regular season Tuesday.
The Wolves will then host South O’Brien Saturday in the first round of Class 1A Substate 1 play.
In addition, former Bulls player Briar Rowley is the head coach at Emmetsburg. The E-Hawks are 12-7 overall and finished third in the Twin Lakes Conference with a 7-3 record.
Emmetsburg hosts Western Christian Monday and Ridge View Tuesday before opening Class 2A Substate 1 play at home Saturday vs. Sheldon.