Trailing 5-1 after four innings, the Pella High baseball team rallied for an 8-6 win last night against Bondurant-Farrar in its first road game of the season.

The Little Dutch took advantage of three fifth inning errors by the Blue Jays to score five runs, then got insurance on a Tyler Hillman two-run homer in the sixth.

Landon Vander Leest and Jaden Rolffs each had two hits for Pella, and Hillman got the win on the mound, allowing two earned runs in five innings of work while striking out seven.

The Little Dutch are 2-1 in the P.G. era of the program. That’s Post Grant. As in Grant Judkins, the reigning Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year, who graduated last spring and is in his first season at the University of Iowa.

While there is a load of talent returning from last year’s state semifinal team, the first three games of the season have seen three freshmen and two sophomores take the field for the Little Dutch.

Coach Jesse Jablonksi says that he can see the impact a player like Grant left behind in the young players who are now getting their shot.

“That’s the biggest thing that Grant really left behind was, how to do I handle my business every day out on the field to be successful. And it’s not just going out and hitting home runs, it’s how do I prepare myself every day in practice and what’s the work ethic that I need to put forth. Some of those younger guys have seen that and you can see that coming out in their own games now as they get older and continue to mature and prepare themselves for their turn at the varsity level.”

After three games in three nights to start the season, the Little Dutch will take a break for the Memorial Day weekend and return to action next Wednesday night at home for the Little Hawkeye Conference opener against Pella Christian.