Cardinal baseball snares first win as bats come alive

Trailing 1-0, Newton High’s Cardinals had been in this position before in their two previous games this season. Those were losses.

Not on Thursday night at home as Newton’s bats became active against visiting Chariton’s Chargers. They Cardinals combined eight hits with eight walks to claim a 13-2 win in five innings.

“Our guys had some really nice quality at bats tonight. They did a good job of driving the first pitch and putting the ball in play,” Newton head coach Dustin Brisel said. “We hit into gaps in their defense. It was fun tonight.”

Newton had just five hits in its first two games of the 2018 season.

After the Chargers used a triple by Brady Hamilton and a single by Dylan Stites to score a run in the first inning, the Cardinals settled in and played well the rest of the game.

Senior Trevor Ergenbright was the winning pitcher for Newton, going five innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out eight.

“Trevor on the hill tonight threw the ball outstanding for us. He put pressure on hitters by putting the ball in the zone,” Brisel said.

Brisel was pleased with the overall play by his team from hitting, pitching and defensive play. He said the Cardinals still have some things to clean up, but it was good to get the win.

Jaron Roush, senior center fielder, went 3-for-3 at the plate, drove in four runs and scored three times. He also threw out a Charger runner attempting to score. His throw from center field to junior Ryan Barr at the plate resulted in an out in the third inning.

The rally began when Barr was hit by a pitch to begin the second inning. Junior Luke Maharry was the courtesy runner for Barr, who was catching the game. Junior Ben Leal reached on an error and senior Jacob Murry’s RBI single tied the game.

Sophomore Taylor Danley was safe on a fielder’s choice bunt then Roush delivered a two-run base hit. A passed ball, a groundout and a Charger error resulted in three more Newton runs.

The Cardinals were up 5-1. They scored four runs each in the third and fourth innings to take a 13-1 lead.

Ergenbright struck out the side in Chariton fourth. Chariton produced its second run in the top of the fifth.

Sophomore Julian Hotchkin hit two singles and had two RBIs. Senior Logan Wolfe, Barr and Murphy each had a single. Maharry scored two runs.

“Luke really did a good job of a base running for us. Jaron had a strong showing all the way around,” Brisel said.

Brisel said he was glad the Cardinals have a day of practice after three straight game nights.

Newton (1-2) plays at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Bondurant-Farrar. It opens Little Hawkeye Conference play at Dallas Center-Grimes on Wednesday.

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