March 28, 2024

NHS softball upends ranked Greene County in tournament play

STATE CENTER — Breaking through against a ranked softball team is big for the youthful Newton High Cardinals. They’ve played close games with ranked teams in Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A this season.

On Saturday, the Cardinals put the finishing touches on a 2-1 run through the Rose Festival Softball Tournament hosted by West Marshall with a stunning 7-1 victory over Class 3A’s fourth-ranked Greene County. A four-run fourth inning boosted Newton to the win in the third-place contest.

The Cardinals opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Gladbrook-Reinbeck. They came up short, 4-2, against Grand View Christian before decking Greene County’s Rams.

Collins-Maxwell/Baxter’s Raiders were in the other side of the tournament bracket. The Raiders dropped a 10-2 decision to Cedar Rapids Prairie to open the event. Teams had to wait out a rain delay.

Des Moines Christian beat CMB, 3-2, in the consolation bracket. CMB ended the tournament on a winning note, rolling to a 13-0 victory over Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

In the third-place game, Newton’s eighth-grade pitcher Peyton Maher limited the Rams to five hits. Maher and the Cardinals did not allow a run until the fifth inning. Maher walked one and struck out eight batters.

The Cardinals manufactured a run in the first inning when junior leadoff hitter Sydney Jenkins reached on an error. Junior Fran Lucas laid down a sacrifice bunt, then Maher chased Jenkins home on a sacrifice fly.

Up 1-0, the Cardinals plated four runs in the fourth. All the scoring came after two were gone in the inning.

Freshman Kennedy Leiker drew walk followed by Audrey Lucas hitting a single and Kari Adams loading the bases with another base-on-balls. Freshman Karley Leiker and Jenkins had back-to-back two-run singles.

After Greene County scored to make it 5-1 in the top of the fifth, Newton responded with two runs in its half of the inning. Maher singled and freshman Taylor Ryan walked. They came around to score on sacrifices by junior Bailey Davis and Kennedy Leiker.

Maher was in control from the pitching circle against Gladbrook-Reinbeck. She racked up 10 strikeouts, scattered four hits across seven innings and walked one.

Kennedy Leiker went 3-for-3 at the plate with two singles and a double. Maher connected for two doubles and Davis hit a single and a triple. Jenkins and Ryan had two singles apiece.

Newton scored single runs in the second, fifth, sixth and seventh innings and two runs in the fourth.

Grandview Christian made a three-run first inning stand up against Newton in the semifinals.

Down 4-0, the Cardinals scratched out a run in the third. With one gone, Audrey Lucas walked and Maher singled. Ryan, who was the starting pitcher for Newton, delivered a two-out, RBI single.

They came up with another one in the sixth when Emily Valtman doubled with one out and moved to third on a passed ball. Kennedy Leiker’s ground out drove in the run. The Eagles didn’t allow the Cardinals to get any closer.

Ryan took the pitching loss, working three innings. She was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks and had on strikeout. Karley Leiker pitched three innings of one-hit, shutout ball. She issued two walks.

Valtman had a single and a double for the Newton offense and Maher hit two singles. Audrey Lucas doubled. Jenkins and Ryan had a single apiece.

Newton evened its record to 11-11. The Cardinals are back in Little Hawkeye Conference action Tuesday in a makeup game at home against Class 4A top-ranked Oskaloosa (20-0). The varsity game is at 7:30 p.m. at Berg Middle School.

CMB’s Raiders were even with Cedar Rapids Prairie, 2-2 after two innings. The Raiders gave up two unearned runs in the third. The Hawks plated six runs in the fourth for the final margin.

“Abby Kahler pitched a good game even though the score does not reflect that,” said Troy Houge, CMB head coach. “We had a couple of errors in a rough fourth inning and they had some hits that fell in the right spots.”

Avery Hlavacek and Harlie Durr each had a single and a double for the Raiders. Mackenzie Schmitz, Kahler and Abbey Appelgate had one hit each.

Houge said the Raiders couldn’t get the bats going in the second game against Des Moines Christian, losing 3-2. Sydney Schmidt was the losing pitcher, giving up five hits. Megan Ritter doubled and scored. Payge Jurgens, Hannah Caple and Schmitz had a hit apiece.

An 11-run sixth inning broke open a 2-0 game for the Raiders against Gladbrook-Reinbeck. CMB won 13-0 as Kahler pitched a two-hitter. Caple had two hits and two RBIs. Morgan Hudson drove in three runs and had a hit. Jurgens doubled, scored three runs and had two RBIs.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com