North Central senior Brooks Castle swongs at a pitch against Superior Central on May 23, 2026 at Superior Central Baseball Field/ (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

EBEN JUNCTION — The North Central Jets and Superior Central Cougars each got a taste of victory and defeat here Thursday as the Cougars defeated the Jets 14-2 in game one and fell 3-2 in game two.

Jaykob Dahm was in complete command in game one as he allowed two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

“I put in a ton of work in the off-season,” Dahm said. “All that extra work is starting to show and my teammates are making big plays behind me and they have my back.”

The Jets got on the board first in game one as senior Daunte Sandoval hit a two-run single to put the Jets up 2-0.

The Cougars responded in the bottom of the third inning as they posted five runs in the inning three of them coming on a three-run single by Ryder Kroupa who advanced to third base on a pair of throwing errors by the Jets.

“Jaykob is our most dependable pitcher,” Cougars coach Greg Mannisto said. “Even in the games he didn’t come out with a win he put us in position to have a chance to win and that is big for us.”

Nathan Pipkorn took the loss for the Jets, allowing five runs on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

In the second game, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead as Brandon Boyak singled on a line drive to right field to put the Cougars up 1-0.

The Jets answered as Braiden Wolsker stepped out of the way of a wild pitch allowing Ty Veeser to score and tie the game at one.

The Jets took the lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by senior Brooks Castle to take a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning with runners on second and third, Ryder Kroupa smashed on to right field but a diving grab by Veeser ended the inning and preserved the Jets lead.

“I saw it was a straight line drive in the gap,” Veeser said. “I knew I had to book it straight to it and made a nice slide and came up with it and it felt good.”

The Jets added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning as Kaden Malone reached on an error to score a run putting the Jets up 3-1.

Boyak singled in the bottom of the third to bring in a run and cut the deficit to 3-2.

Malone picked up the win allowing two runs on five hits with 11 strikeouts and four walks.

“We started the second game with great energy,” Malone said. “When we’re firing on all cylinders and when we do that usually we are in a good situation.”

The Jets used timely hitting and the ability to play small ball as Brady Trudgeon had one of the best bunts of the season.

“Ty made a big catch for us and Kaden pitched well,” Jets coach Ben Snyder said. “Brady also had a big bunt and Brooks scored a run on a sacrifice fly. We did the little things right and we got a win.”

The Jets will travel to Norway to face the Knights in district action.