Pella’s baseball team had little trouble with their substate finals opponent from a year ago, cruising to a 10-4 victory over Fairfield heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The game started with a big bang, as Gatorade High School Player of the Year Grant Judkins obliterated a 3-2 pitch for a towering two-run homer to give Pella an advantage they’d never let go of. Cleanup man Jaden Rolffs also smashed a majestic blast to left field in the 3rd inning.

Judkins told KNIA/KRLS Sports in the Two Rivers Cooperative postgame show guys like Landon Vander Leest and Rolffs will be big factors in the types of pitches he sees this year.

“If they walk me, it’s great, because I know I have the confidence in the guys behind me that they’re going to step through and hit the ball hard every time,” he says.

Tyler Hillman threw six sparkling frames, giving up two hits, a pair of unearned runs, and struck out seven to earn his first win this season. Pella is 2-1 and hosts Bondurant-Farrar tonight.

OTHER KEY STATS:
Grant Judkins, 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Caleb Piersma, 1-2, 2 SF, 2 RBI
Jaden Rolffs, 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
AJ Kingery, 1-2, BB, HBP