Cardinals break through against Pella

Seniors Tyler Stanton, Trey Vanderlaan and Reagan Maple played pivotal roles in halting Newton High’s 12-game losing skid. The Cardinals hadn’t marked up a game in the win column for the 2017 baseball season.

Well, they have one now. The Cardinals bounced back after visiting Pella run-ruled them 13-0 in five innings to open the twin bill at Eversman Field. Newton claimed its first win, beating the Little Dutch 4-3.

“Tyler pitched lights out and Reagan called a great game behind the plate. Trey has been our top hitter and he keeps putting the ball in play,” Newton head coach Dustin Brisel said. “We got the monkey off our backs. The first win is always the hardest to get. Now, the pressure is off and our guys can relax and play Cardinal-style baseball.”

Stanton threw a four-hitter. Brisel said Stanton had all of his pitches working, especially the off-speed pitches, to keep the good-hitting Pella squad off balance. Stanton did not yield a walk and struck out one.

Stanton did have back-to-back balks which allowed Pella’s final run in the seventh inning.

“We learned in the first game how good of hitters Pella has, so we changed our approach in the second game. Tyler did a great job,” Brisel said. “In the seventh, I went out and talked to him when they had a runner on. I just told him to relax and not worry about the base runner. If he scored it mattered. We had to concentrate on the batter.”

Newton had a 4-2 lead after the third inning as both teams scored their runs in the frame. Pella’s Caleb Piersma would single and score on the two balks by Stanton in the seventh. Stanton coaxed a fly ball from Pella’s Kaden Miedema and junior Trevor Ergenbright settled under the ball in center field for the final out.

Three of the Little Dutch’s four hits came in the top of the third inning. Pella had two singles to start the inning and with one gone Jaden Rolffs had a two-run triple. Stanton and the Cardinals got out of the inning with no more damage.

The Cardinals took advantage of a struggling Tyler Hillman on the mound for Pella in the bottom of the third. Hillman, who signed to play baseball for North Dakota State University next year, walked Logan Wolfe and hit Blayden Rhone with a pitch. A passed ball allowed the two Newton runners to move up a base.

With one out, Ty Arguello drew a walk to load the bases. Ergenbright ripped an RBI single and Rhone crossed the plate on a Dutch error to tie the game. Vanderlaan, who was 3-for-3 in the game, drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit. Stanton’s groundout plated another run for the Cardinals.

Vanderlaan had three singles in the game. Ergenbright and Wolfe each had a single.

In the opening game, Pella hung five runs on the scoreboard in the second inning and one in the third. The Little Dutch pushed across seven runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a grand slam by Avery Van Zee. Van Zee also had a triple and drove in five runs.

“Our two pitchers were throwing strikes, but we weren’t moving the pitches around. Pella is too good of hitting team to not move pitches and use different speeds on pitches,” Brisel said. “Between games, we talked about things, settled the guys down and went to work.”

Ergenbright was the starting pitcher for Newton in the first game. He worked four innings, giving up nine runs on eight hits and four walks. He had two strikeouts. Josh Gulling pitched one inning, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks. Gulling had one strikeout.

Pella’s Piersma limited the Cardinals to two hits — a single each by Vanderlaan and Ryan Barr. Piersma walked two and struck out three.

Newton is 1-12 on the season and 1-5 in LHC play. Pella dropped to 2-4 in conference action and 5-5 overall.

The Cardinals host BGM for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game Thursday at Woodland Park. A junior varsity game is set for 5:30 p.m.

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