T.J. Oakes is a member of a very exclusive club in the history
of Jordan Hubmen baseball.

Oakes became only the third Hubmen pitcher to throw a perfect
game on Wednesday, May 7, when he blanked Montgomery-Lonsdale 8-0. It was only
15th no-hitter in Hubmen history.

He joins Terry Glynn, who did it on May 8, 1984, against Le Center, Joe Deutsch, who did it on
May 27, 1988, against
Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

“I had a lot of pop on my fastball, a lot of zip on it,” Oakes
said. “I didn’t throw a lot of breaking balls, but when I did, I thought I
threw it well.”

In seven innings, Oakes struck 11 of the 21 batters he faced.

He and the rest of the Jordan
team got a scare with the last batter of the game.

Oakes was one batter away from history, when
Montgomery-Lonsdale's Mike Flicek drilled a pitch to centerfield and it looked
like it might drop and break up the perfect game and no-hitter.

But as soon as the ball was hit Joe Buresh got a good jump and
was able to track it down and catch the ball, preserving the perfect game for
Oakes.

“It was hit well off the bat,” Oakes said. “Joe made a great
play on it. Right away off the bat, I was like, Oh, no.”

As far as the offense goes, Tyler Adamek gave Oakes all the run
support he would need when he scored on Michael Pauly’s single in the first
inning. Adamek led the inning off with a triple. The Hubmen would go on to
score six runs in the first.

From that point on, it was all Oakes and whether he could became
a member of the perfect game club for the Hubmen.

“The day was T.J.’s,” head coach Kyle Johnson said. “He had
great stuff, and it’s an awesome accomplishment to throw a perfect game. A
no-hitter is one thing, but a perfect game means the defense was very good
also.”

Holy Family 13, Jordan
2

The next day against Holy Family, the Hubmen were reminded that
baseball is a humbling game.

The Hubmen lost 13-2 in only five innings.

“When you don’t come ready to play, bad things happen,” Johnson
said. “We were still thinking about yesterday’s game instead of playing today.”

Holy Family scored 10 runs in the first inning. Starting pitcher
James Hyatt was tagged for seven runs in just one-third of an inning. Pauly
relieved Hyatt and finished the game, giving up five runs.

The lone bright spot was Oakes, who in the fourth inning  hit his first home run of the year.

“Hopefully, we can learn of a loss like this and make us a
better team for the playoffs,” Johnson said.

Norwood-Young America

The Hubmen bounced back from the humiliating loss to Holy Family
by sweeping a doubleheader against Norwood-Young America.

Jordan
won 10-2 and 10-0 on Monday, May 12.

“These two wins were very big for our team, since we have four
games in conference left,” Johnson said.

In the first game, the Hubmen were clutch with two outs in the first
inning. Pauly started the rally with a two-out walk. He scored on Oakes’
double, who scored on David Hartman’s single. That was followed by a triple by
Brendan Heitkamp. Heitkamp would score on a balk to make it 4-0.

Norwood scored the
first run of the year off of Oakes with a home run in the fourth. They scored
again in the sixth to make it 4-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jordan
exploded for six runs off of four hits, three walks, and a sacrifice fly.
Hartman delivered the big blow of the inning with a RBI double.

“It was great to get off to a fast start, coming off a loss in
our last game,” Johnson said. “T.J. battled today to get a win and made some
big pitches in key situations.”

In the nightcap, Tanner Oakes was brilliant on the mound, as he
got the victory by giving up only two hits and no walks.

“Tanner is not overpowering but knows how to pitch,” Johnson
said. “He mixes speeds and throws strikes. The defense was outstanding behind
him today.”

Pauly hit his first home run of the year in the first inning to
give the Hubmen a 2-0 lead.

Jordan
had 12 hits in only four innings. Adamek was a spark for the team, as he went
3-for-3 with two doubles, and Pauly went 3-for-3 with five RBI. Tanner Oakes
and Todd Garnhardt each went 2-for-2 with a double in the victory.

Todd Abeln is the sports
editor for the Jordan Independent. He
can be reached at tabeln@swpub.com.

Wednesday, May 7

Vs. Montgomery-Lonsdale

                                                                       R H E

Montgomery-Lonsdale      000 000 0  –   0 0
0

Jordan                             600
200 x  –  
8 5 0

Jordan
batters: Tyler
Adamek 2-3, R, 3B; Danny Lewis 1-2, 2RBI, R; Michael Pauly 1-3, RBI, R; T.J.
Oakes 0-4, R; Josh Malz 1-3, RBI, R; Todd Garnhardt 1-2, 2RBI, R, 2B; Brendan
Heitkamp 1-2, R; Tanner Oakes 0-1; Joe Buresh, 1-1; Tyler Dabu 1-4, RBI, R, 2B;
Jesse Schanus 0-1; James Lucas 1-1. Jordan pitchers: T.J. Oakes 7 IP, 0H, 0R, 11K, 0BB.

Thursday, May 8

At Holy Family

                                                      R H E

Jordan                   000  
40 –      4   6 2

Holy Family            1010
2x  –  
13 14 0

Jordan batters:
Tyler Adamek 1-2; Danny
Lewis 0-2; Michael Pauly 1-2, R; T.J. Oakes 2-2, 2RBI, R, HR; Josh Malz 0-2;
Todd Garnhardt 2-2; Brendan Heitkamp 0-1; Tanner Oakes 0-2. Jordan pitchers:
James Hyatt .3IP, 5H, 7R,
3ER, 1BB, 2WP; Pauly 3.2IP, 9H, 6R, 3ER, 3K, 2BB.

Monday, May 12

Vs. Norwood-Young America

                                                                       R H E

Norwood                                001 001 0  –   2 5
0

Jordan                                   400
006 x  –  
10 9 0

Jordan batters: Tyler Adamek 1-3, R;
Danny Lewis 1-4, RBI, R; Michael Pauly 0-3, RBI, 2R; T.J. Oakes 1-2, 2RBI, R,
2B, R; Josh Malz 0-2, R; Todd Garnhardt 3-3, 2RBI, 2R, 2B; Brendan Heitkamp
2-3, RBI, R; Tanner Oakes 1-2, R; Joe Buresh 0-1; Tyler Dabu 0-2. Jordan pitchers: T.J. Oakes 7 IP, 5H, 2R,  1ER, 11K.

Monday, May 12

Vs. Norwood-Young America
(Game 2)

                                                                     R H E

Norwood                                000 00  –     
0   2 0

Jordan                                   230 5
x  –  
10 13 0

Jordan batters: Tyler Adamek 3-3, 2RBI,
3R, 2 2B; Danny Lewis 1-2, R; Michael Pauly 3-3, 5RBI, 2R, HR; T.J. Oakes 1-3,
2B; Josh Malz 1-3, 2B; Todd Garnhardt 2-2,RBI, 2R, 2B; Brendan Heitkamp 0-2;
James Lucas 0-1; Tanner Oakes 2-2, RBI, 2R, 2B; Joe Buresh 0-1; Tyler Dabu 0-3.
Jordan pitchers: Tanner Oakes 5IP 2H, 0R, K.