Jackson bashes way to Orem record

Jeremiah Jackson had a night that went down in the Rookie-level Owlz record books.
The fifth-ranked Angels prospect went 3-for-6 with a pair of homers and four RBIs as Orem shellacked Idaho Falls, 13-5, on Monday at Home of the OWLZ. With 17 long balls, Jackson set a single-season record for the Owlz.

The team told the 2018 second-round pick he tied the record with his 15th wallop of the season Thursday, but Jackson said he wasn't pressing at the plate, thinking about breaking it or looking to hit one out.
The 19-year-old led off the first inning, lacing an 0-1 pitch by Nathan Webb to right field for a single. But when Torii Hunter Jr. fanned for the first out of the frame, the righty picked Jackson off second base. After a three-run dinger in the second by Morgan McCullough, the shortstop didn't think Webb would come back with a first-pitch fastball and took a slider up and in for ball one. Expecting a fastball low in the zone, Jackson was fooled by a changeup, but still was able to line the offering over the fence in left.
"I was able to keep my hands back and stay through it and hit it pretty hard," he said.
That tater broke Orem's single-season record set by Luis Jimenez in 2008 and matched by Wade Hinkle in 2012. Jackson was congratulated by teammates after rounding the bases, but the 6-foot right-handed hitter wasn't quite done yet. After striking out in the fourth, Jackson stepped to the plate with two outs the next inning against righty Brad Bonnenfant and jumped on a first-pitch fastball, skying it to center for a three-run jack.
Gameday box score 
It marked the fifth multi-homer game of the season for Jackson, who was named MVP of last week's Pioneer League All-Star win over the Northwest League. He flew to center with the bases loaded in the sixth and struck out to end the eighth.

After getting a feel for the pro game in his first season, Jackson fine-tuned his mechanics at the plate in extended spring training to try help him make better decisions at the plate in 2019.
"Pretty much all I'm concerned with, honestly, is just making good decisions -- being more selective, not trying to guess pitches, see a strike and hit it hard," he said. "And when you make good decisions, good things will happen."
Jackson has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games while going 11-for-31 in August. The Pioneer League leader in homers also broke a three-way tie with Idaho Falls' Michael Emodi and Ogden's Andy Pages for the circuit's lead in RBIs.