Athlete of the Week: Lincoln Southwest’s Andrew Jackson

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Andrew Jackson, an incoming junior at Lincoln Southwest, accomplished a rare feat Monday: Throwing a no-hitter.

In a Legion baseball game between Pinnacle Bank (LSW) and Judd’s Brothers, Jackson threw a near perfect game, finishing with 7 IP, 5 K’s, and one walk.

“Until the last inning, it was just normal game,” said Jackson. “The last inning kind of hit me, it was awesome.”

Pinnacle Bank head coach Mitch Vernon would have liked to get more runs on the board in a 1-0 win over Judd’s Brothers, but he said he knew it’d be just enough with Jackson on the mound.

“I was super proud of Andrew. He executed pitches all day,” said Vernon. “It felt like we needed more than one run. So, offensively we were kind of kept a bay there. But we also knew one run was probably enough.”

Despite pitching a near perfect game Monday, Jackson credits his team’s defense for backing him up.

“Brennan Vernon is an amazing infielder. He made some outstanding plays. Caison Seymour, third baseman. Another stud. Brandon Clark, senior outfielder. He made some incredible catches,” Jackson said. “And then Landon Sandy, my catcher. He’s an incredible leader on the field, he played amazing. Couldn’t have done it without them.

Right now, Pinnacle Bank is in the hunt of the Nebraska American Legion Baseball Class A State Tournament.

Jackson says he’s glad he could help contribute to prolonging the season for some guys that might play their last game on the diamond this summer.

“It was an amazing way to keep their season going,” said Jackson. “Keep letting people that won’t play high school again, our seniors. Just let them keep playing ball with us and keeping it going.”

Pinnacle Bank LSW is 2-0 in the state bracket, with their latest win over Westview Royal 18U 6-2, Sunday night.

They will face Fremont Monday at 7 p.m.