Newton begins playoff run against LHC rival
Newton’s run in the regional softball tournament begins Saturday in Oskaloosa, while Jasper County’s small-school baseball teams kick off postseason play as well. Here is a look at first-round matchups for area teams.
Class 4A Softball
Newton (23-10) vs.
Oskaloosa (17-14)
• Where: Oskaloosa
• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Head-to-head: Even though wrapped up the Little Hawkeye Conference title Wednesday against South Tama, the Cardinals’ battles with Oskaloosa this year have been anything but easy. Newton needed nine innings to beat the Indians in Oskaloosa as Nicole George hit two home runs and had three RBIs in a 4-3 win. At home, Newton got just three hits at the plate and lost 3-1 to Oskaloosa on June 30.
• About Newton: The Cardinals are led by the Meyer sisters — senior Caitlyn and freshman Courtney. Caitlyn Meyer is ranked around the top 10 in Class 4A in batting average (.459), home runs (six) and RBIs (32), while Courtney Meyer is 23-5 in the circle with an earned run average of just less than one run per game. Val Humke also is hitting .356 with two home runs and a team-high 20 runs scored.
• About Oskaloosa: The Indians finished 17-14 overall and were in the middle of the pack in the Little Hawkeye Conference but something about them has given the Cardinals fits this year. Oskaloosa is led by Ashley Jimenez and Jennifer Whitehead at the plate. Jimenez is hitting .390 with three homers and 10 stolen bases. Whitehead is leading the team in hitting with a .397 average. Emily Street has thrown 121 innings in the circle and is 10-9.
Class 2A Baseball
PCM (12-9) vs.
Eddyville-Blakesburg (10-17)
• Where: Albia
• When: Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Head-to-head: PCM and Eddyville-Blakesburg haven’t met this season, but the two teams have some common opponents. Eddyville-Blakesburg beat Bondurant-Farrar 5-3 in a regular-season tournament while also beating Grandview Park Baptist as well. PCM split the season series with the Bluejays and play Grandview Park Baptist tonight.
• About Eddyville-Blakesburg: The strength for the Rockets lies in pitching, with the team using six different players this season. All six have gained at least one win. Offensively, Eddyville-Blakesburg is hitting a woeful .197 at the plate. Preston Strausser leads the Rockets with a .308 batting average.
• About PCM: If PCM can stay away from errors, the Mustangs should be just fine. As a team, PCM has 68 errors this season. Pitching-wise, Hutch Burns has the most wins on the team with an earned run average of 2.07. Leading the team offensively, Gavin Burns had a .390 batting average, Wes Van Wyngarden has 15 RBIs and Drew Vander Beek has 13 stolen bases.
Des Moines Christian (17-9) at Colfax-Mingo (10-12)
• Where: Colfax
• When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Head-to-head: Both teams haven’t played each other this season, but Des Moines Christian and Colfax-Mingo played Colo-Nesco and Roland-Story. The Lions beat both teams, while Colfax-Mingo swept the Royals and lost by a run to Roland-Story.
• About Des Moines Christian: The Lions are a solid hitting team with a batting average of .347. Josh Arment leads the team with a .398 batting average and 23 stolen bases. Josiah Gates has a team-leading 27 RBIs. On the mound, six pitchers have seen substantial time. Luke Finley has seen the most innings this season and has a 4.13 ERA with a record of 3-2.
• About Colfax-Mingo: The Tigerhawks are led on the mound by Nolan Daft, Michael Wilson and Dylan Berkey. Daft has an earned run average of 2.63 but just a 2-6 record to show for it, while Wilson is 5-1 with an ERA of 3.39. Dylan Berkey is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.41. Offensively, Wilson leads the team with a .392 batting average, while Robbie Forschler has a collected a team-leading 22 RBIs.
CMB (8-14) vs.
West Marshall (13-11)
• Where: Story City
• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Head-to-head: Despite a five-win difference in record, the Raiders managed to throttle the Trojans at their own tournament. CMB had 10 hits and won the game 10-3 behind a complete-game pitching performance from Michael Gander. In the win, Josh Benton had three hits, three runs and two RBIs, Dan Samson homered, had two hits and knocked in two runs and Parker Murphy had two hits and scored three runs.
• About CMB: The Raiders are led on the mound by Hansen, who is now 5-3 afer a complete-game victory over Colfax-Mingo on Wednesday. Benton is leading the team with .367 average and a team-high 15 RBIs.
• About West Marshall: The Trojans are led at the plate and on the mound by Joe Disney. Disney is hitting .587 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs this year at the plate and is 4-3 with an ERA of 2.18 on the mound. He has 67 strikeouts in just 35 innings this year. Dillon Watt also is hitting .459.
