March 29, 2024

Newton, DCG gets 1 of 2 in before weather delay

GRIMES — A Little Hawkeye Conference road trip for Newton High’s Cardinals was cut short on Friday night. The Cardinals were slated to play a conference doubleheader against host Dallas Center-Grimes.

The two teams got the first game in — a 5-3 win for the Mustangs — but only four complete innings of the nightcap were played before severe weather halted action. The game was suspended with DCG up 1-0, and will be completed at a later date.

Newton went scoreless for the first three innings of the opener on Friday. It trailed 4-0.

“We had a couple of errors early, which cost us,” Newton head coach Dustin Brisel said. “We’re struggling to get that clutch hit in innings and in games overall.”

Two doubles and a Cardinal error produced two runs for the Mustangs in the first innings. Back-to-back defensive miscues by Newton led to two more runs in the second inning.

In the fourth frame, the Cardinals came to live at the plate. Ryan Barr and Ben Leal produced back-to-back base hits and Logan Wolfe drew a walk to load the bases. Blayden Rhone hit into a fielder’s choice, retiring Barr at home.

Ty Arguello connected for an RBI single and Wolfe scored on a balk by the DCG pitcher. Trevor Ergenbright’s single drove in a run to close the gap to 4-3. Newton left six runners on base in the game.

DCG tacked a run on in the sixth inning on two singles.

Trey Vanderlaan worked two innings on the mound for Newton, allowing four runs on three hits and on walk. Leal pitched the final four innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks. Leal struck out three.

In the second game, the Mustangs scored a run in the third inning,

Newton is 2-9 in LHC play. It plays at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at Grinnell in conference action.

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