Cards sweep No. 5 Grinnell in doubleheader
GRINNELL — When Newton defeated Ankeny at the Cardinal Invitational back on June 20, Cardinal coach Jim Marter said that win wouldn’t be their biggest of the season.
Depending on who you ask, Marter may have been right on with his evaluation after Monday as Newton recorded two solid wins against Class 3A No. 5 Grinnell in Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader action in Grinnell.
Newton pounded out 18 hits — including three home runs — in the opener and rolled to a 17-6 victory. And then the Cardinals rallied from a five-run deficit in Game 2 to win 8-5 following a game-winning 3-run homer by senior Tyler Warner.
“We got a couple really nice wins tonight,” Marter said. “It was great to see our seniors really step up tonight. They really showed some leadership on the field.”
Dustin Brisel and Warner were at the head of Newton’s senior production as they each earned complete-game wins on the mound and also were very productive at the plate.
Warner struck out eight in the opening game and pitched through one bad inning on the mound and also blasted a two-run homer at the plate. Brisel earned a complete-game win in the second game as he struck out a season-high 15 batters and walked just one. He also recorded a two-run double at the plate in Game 1 that was a part of Newton’s six-run fourth inning.
“Tyler did a great job recovering from a tough inning as he locked in and dominated from the third inning on,” Marter said. “Dustin was just as good in the second game. Grinnell came out hard early, but he kept us in the game and got stronger and stronger as the night went on.”
In the opener, Newton plated four in the first, four in the second and six in the fourth to take an early 14-6 lead. All six runs by Grinnell were plated in the third inning, but two two-run homers by Dustin Schelling and Warner gave Newton a lead it wouldn’t give up. The six-run fourth inning featured a Roger Braun two-run homer, a Brisel two-run double, an RBI single by Schelling and an RBI double by Chris Tomlin. Tyler Latcham also had two RBI hits in the game.
The Tigers jumped on Newton (13-11, 8-5 LHC) in the nightcap with three runs in the first and then led 5-0 after two more runs crossed in the third.
But no lead was safe on this night for the home team as Newton began its comeback with three runs in the fourth thanks to two errors by Grinnell and RBI hits by Warner and Braun.
Braun added another RBI single in the fourth as another Grinnell miscue helped the Cardinals tie the game. Grinnell committed four errors in the first game and then had five mistakes in the nightcap. Newton also committed six errors in the two games.
In the seventh, Schelling singled, Brisel reached on an error and Warner sent the Cardinals home with a sweep following his towering 3-run bomb.
The two victories pushes Newton’s overall mark to 13-11, 8-5 in conference play.
Grinnell falls to 13-7 overall and 8-7 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.
Newton hosts Cedar Rapids Washington tonight at Eversman Field before hosting conference leader and Class 3A No. 3 Boone on Wednesday. The week ends with a home doubleheader against Knoxville on Friday.
