some batters ,” Kruer said . “ I would go out and talk with him and tell him , ‘ If you throw strikes , then they ’ re not going to be able to touch you .’ I think he took that to heart and he was able to throw strikes .”
Of the 96 pitches Jackson threw , 61 went for strikes . However , he did have a few bumps in the road .
In the top of the third , Jackson walked Spencer Bandstra and hit Luke Smith to put runners on first and second with one out . That ’ s when Providence head coach Tre ’ Watson walked out to the mound to have a quick talk with his pitcher .
“ I just wanted to calm him down , because we had the ( 3-0 ) lead and I knew there was no reason to press ,” the coach said . “ He just needed to regroup and calm himself . It was about trying to get ahead of the next
batter , which he did , and he ended up getting out of the inning .”
Jackson struck out Aaron Guwens before inducing Isaac VanderWoude to fly out to Jack Beyl in center field to end the Vikings ’ threat .
“ They were a hard-hitting team and they had deep flyouts ,” said Beyl , who finished with five putouts . “ But I had all of my confidence in Gavin . It was through the roof .”
Jackson faced his final hurdle in the seventh . After sandwiching a walk and a hit batter around a strikeout , he buckled down . Jackson struck out Luke Passo looking , then did the same to Bandstra to end the game .
“ I got a little shaky , then I got locked in ,” he said . “ I threw a lot of fastballs and pounded the zone .”
It ’ s something that I will tell my grandkids about .
For the season , Jackson finished with a 7-2 record , two saves and a 2.28 earned-run average in 16 appearances . Over 58 1 / 3 innings , he allowed 30 runs ( 19 earned ) on 42 hits while walking 27 and striking out 78 . He totaled 17 1-2-3 innings , including four in his unforgettable state finals performance .
“ That ’ s something that will be in the record books forever and it ’ s something you can ’ t redo ,” Watson said of Jackson ’ s outing . “ He has been consistent on the mound for us . Today it was his day on the mound .”
12 PROVIDENCE PIONEERS | BASEBALL | IHSAA CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPS 2024 NEWS AND TRIBUNE