Hitting spurs Cardinal baseball to three wins

WOODWARD — A three-game weekend run for Newton High’s Cardinal baseball team ended with an 8-2 win over host Woodward-Granger Saturday in the Woodward-Granger Invitational. The Cardinals were 2-0 in the event, beating Madrid 7-2.

It all started Friday night in State Center with a 5-3 win over West Marshall.

Newton had 18 hits in its first four games, all losses. The Cardinals’ bats came alive over the weekend as Newton collected 28 hits in its three-game winning streak.

Senior catcher Duncan Lee touched it off with a two-out solo home run against West Marshall. Lee was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle Friday night. He was 3-for-3 with a base hit and double along with his homer.

“As I’ve been saying, once we start hitting the ball and finding the gaps out there, the wins will come,” Newton head coach Dustin Brisel said following Friday’s game. Newton had eight hits in the contest.

The hits kept coming Saturday in the Cardinals’ two games at the Woodard-Granger tournament. In the win over Madrid, they collected nine hits off Tiger pitching. The Cardinals followed it up with an 11-hit attack against the W-G Hawks.

“We’re hitting the ball and having fun. I told the guys we just needed to hit the ball, put it in play and good things would happen,” Brisel said after Saturday’s sweep in the Woodward-Granger Invitational. “Our defense was huge again tonight. Yes, we had a couple of errors, but those don’t loom so large when you’re hitting the ball and scoring runs.”

In Saturday’s opener, junior Tyler Stanton was on the mound for his first varsity start for Newton. He didn’t disappoint as he held Madrid Tigers to two hits. He walked four and hit two batters, but also struck out five.

After a hit batter, an error by senior third-baseman Drew Stout and a two-out RBI single led to a Tiger run in the first inning, Stanton and the Cardinals settled in defensively. They went to work at the plate in the second inning.

Junior Trey Vanderlaan singled to lead off the second inning for Newton. Stanton drew a one-out walk followed by a base-on-balls issued to senior Grant Nook to load the bases. Sophomore Trevor Ergenbright reached on a fielder’s choice as run scored and Nook was out at second base.

Stout delivered a two-out RBI single to left field. Junior Brennen Dodd singled to center field and Engrenbright and Stanton scored on the throw in from the outfield.

Newton added two runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two Tiger errors. Ergenbright and Dodd were on base via errors when junior Connor Gholson hit a two-out RBI single and Dodd scored on the throw in on the play.

Madrid put another run up on the scoreboard in the fifth on a walk, a passed ball and a two-out single. The Cardinals answered with a run in their half of the inning.

Sophomore Garrett Sturtz doubled two center field and ended up at third on a fielding error. Nook used a one-out ground-out to drive in Sturtz.

“Tyler pitched a gem for us. We backed him up with nine hits and seven runs along with solid defense,” Brisel said.

Lee threw out a runner attempting to steal second base following an error by Newton in the sixth.

Stout, Gholson and Vanderlaan each had two singles. Sturtz doubled while Dodd and Ergenbright had a single each.

Dodd was on the hill for his second varsity start when Newton played Woodward-Granger. He was able to work out of trouble in four innings on his way to his first pitching victory. In the first inning, he had two on and no one out and Dodd struck out two batters and got a fly ball to end the inning.

Newton led 2-0 after the first inning. Dodd had a one-out single followed by Lee reaching on an error. Gholson drove in a run on a double to right field and Vanderlaan was safe on an error. Courtesy runner junior Keith Steinbach scored.

The Hawks plated two runs in the third — one on an error by Dodd followed by an RBI single. The Cardinals responded with a two-out rally in the fourth.

Ergenbright beat out an infield single, and Stout drilled a base hit to left field. Dodd drew a walk, and Lee delivered a bases-loaded double to drive in two runs.

Dodd got out a two-out, two-on jam in the bottom of the fourth with a ground-out. In the fifth, Gholson, Sturtz and Vanderlaan turned a 6-4-3 double play for Newton. Lee threw out a baserunner attempting to steal second with Sturtz applying the tag.

The Cardinals added two more runs each in the sixth and in the seventh on their way to an 8-2 win. Dodd and the Cardinals retired the Hawks in order in the bottom of the seventh.

“Our pitchers are throwing strikes. That is what we’ve told them to do and allow their defense to work behind them,” Brisel said. “Brennen and Tyler pitched complete games for us tonight and did well.”

Dodd got the win on the mound as he allowed eight hits, walked three and struck out five. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate with three singles.

Lee hit a single and a double with two RBIs. Vanderlaan and Ergenbright each had two base hits. Gholson doubled and Stout singled.

Newton recorded its first win of the season Friday night against West Marshall at State Center. The Cardinals led 2-0 until Trojans capitalized on two Newton errors in the bottom of the second for two runs.

The Cardinals broke the 2-all tie in the fifth. Stout drew a walk, which prompted a pitching change by West Marshall. Lee, who had the solo home run in the first, delivered a double and Gholson’s sacrifice fly drove in a run. Vanderlaan hit an RBI single.

In the sixth, Stanton reached on an error and Nook singled to right field. Ergenbright was issued a base-on-balls and the Trojans changed pitchers. Stout forced in a run when he worked a walk.

The Trojans used a double, a single and a sacrifice fly to push across a run in the bottom of sixth. Sturtz notched his fourth strikeout of the game, walked the next batter then got a fly ball to center field to get out of the jam.

As the seventh inning started, it was halted by a lightening delay. The umpires called the game complete with Newton winning 5-3 in six innings.

Sturtz was the winning pitcher, going the distance. He allowed four hits and walked one. The Cardinals worked around four defensive errors.

Along with Lee’s three hits, Nook had two singles for Newton. Gholson, Ergenbright and Vanderlaan had a single apiece.

“Duncan set the tone for the night with his home run in the first inning. Hitting is contagious and our kids did a good job with the bats. We had base runners and got the hits we needed,” Brisel said. “Yes, we had a couple of bumps defensively, but Garrett kept the West Marshall batters off balance all night.”

Newton (3-4) travels to Grimes Monday for a Little Hawkeye Conference game against Class 3A fifth-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes. The Cardinals are 0-1 in LHC play. The junior varsity game is at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game’s first pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.

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