The Newton softball team had a busy weekend of softball to prepare for a postseason run, playing two games on Friday and two on Saturday in a tournament hosted by Mid-Prairie in Wellman.

It was an up-and-down tournament for the Cardinals, as they went 2-2 against quality competition. Newton’s Friday included a big 11-8 win over West Burlington — ranked second in Class 3A — and a 6-0 win over Tipton. On Saturday, the Cardinals fell 11-0 to host Mid-Prairie — ranked third in 3A — and 5-2 to Davenport Assumption.

Newton trailed 6-1 to West Burlington (31-5) before rallying with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and seven in the fifth to go up 11-6. The Cards posted 11 hits and won despite giving up 14. In the win over Tipton (13-22), Newton scored twice in the third, fourth and sixth innings, recording nine hits and holding the Tigers to three. Against Mid-Prairie (27-11), the Cards fell in a big hole early by giving up seven runs in the first inning and three in the second. They were held to one hit in a five-inning game. Against Davenport Assumption (20-20), Newton led 1-0 after the second inning before the Knights scored all five of their runs in the top of the third. The Cards were held to four hits in that game.