March 28, 2024

Cardinal baseball takes one from top-ranked Pella

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The Newton baseball team has proven it can play with some of the best teams in the state this season

The Cardinals proved it once again during a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader Wednesday against Class 3A No. 1 Pella at Eversman Field.

Jordan Travis hit a solo home run at the plate and tossed a complete-game on the mound to push the Cardinals past the Dutch, 3-1, in the opener, and then Newton nearly got the sweep before coming up just short, losing 3-2 in the nightcap.

“That first one was big for us,” Newton coach Dustin Brisel said. “All three games we have played against them this year have been close. I am very pleased with how we played tonight.”

Travis’ solo home run came in the two-run third inning. Drew Stout also had a hit and scored a run, while Mike McCormick doubled and drove in a run. The other hits came from Duncan Lee, who also had an RBI, Tyler Wood, Jeff Stanton and Michael Barr. Connor Gholson scored a run, too.

On the mound, Travis struck out five and walked two while allowing no earned runs on eight hits.

“Jordan’s been big for us all year,” Brisel said. “He got ahead in the count on the mound and he got us going offensively with the home run.”

He also got some help from his defense.

In the bottom of the second, Pella had the bases loaded with one out when Wood made a catch on the grass behind second base and finished off a double play when he gunned down a Dutch runner at the plate.

Travis had to navigate through base runners in the third, too. Lee erased one runner when he gunned down an attempted base stealer at second base. Travis got out of the jam when he induced a 4-6-3 double play.

“I always tell the guys that if we make the routine plays, we’ll be in every game,” Brisel said. “We have been making plays in the field all year long.”

The Cardinals’ starter didn’t run into any more trouble until the bottom of the seventh inning. Two of the first three Dutch batters in the inning singled and then Tanner Wood made it 3-1 with an RBI single.

But Travis stopped the bleeding with back-to-back strikeouts, including Grant Judkins, who homered in Pella’s game two win.

McCormick’s RBI double put Newton up 1-0 in the second inning. After Travis’ solo shot to right field put Newton up 2-0, Stout

singled and went to second on a Stanton sacrifice bunt. He came around to score on the next play as Lee delivered a one-out blooper to center field to make it 3-0.

“Every win is big,” Brisel said. “This is a fun group to coach and seeing them have success is what makes me happy. We’ve had some good wins this year, but this one ranks up there at the top.”

Judkins blasted a two-out solo home run in the first inning of the second game to give Pella (21-4 overall, 13-3 in LHC) an early lead.

Newton came right back to tie in the bottom of the second as Brennen Dodd delivered a two-out RBI double to left field that scored Barr.

Judkins powered the Dutch to another lead with an RBI single in the fifth and another run crossed to make it 3-1.

Newton had runners on first and third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh but managed just one run. Connor Gholson led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch to close the gap to 3-2 but that’s as close as the home team would get.

The Cardinals (14-8, 8-5) are back in action at 1 p.m. Friday at 4A No. 7 Southeast Polk.

Notebook

Pella was the home team in game one and Newton batted last in game two. ... Newton’s other game against Pella this year ended in the sixth inning because of rain and the Cardinals lost 2-1.