Cardinals building for another state run

Walking out of Harlan Rogers Park at Fort Dodge with the 2018 Iowa Class 4A third-place trophy, Newton High’s Cardinal softball team had most of the pieces returning for the 2019 season. Confidence was high for another run at the state tournament.

Confidence is still high but some of the pieces have fallen out of place for the Cardinals’ 2019 season. A couple returning seniors are sidelined with injuries — one might be back by mid-season but the other one is out for the season.

“We are fully confident that we will finish our season strong,” second-year Newton head coach Casey Price said. “We have been working hard with our underclassmen and with their strengths, we will be even faster and more aggressive than last year.”

Price guided her alma mater to its best softball season in school history in 2018. The Cardinals were 26-8 and earned a trip to the summer state tournament for the first time since 1983, when it took fourth.

The Cardinals have six seniors back on the roster. They are Peyton Maher, Madi Thayer, Lakin Jenkins, Mackensie Brown, Emily Valtman and Anna Coyle.

Maher pitched all three state tournament games for the Cardinals. She earned Class 4A all-state honors.

Brown also earned all-state honors as an infielder. She was the team’s third-best hitter a year ago.

Jenkins and Thayer return as outfielders for Newton.

Valtman is coming back from an ACL tear during basketball, having surgery before Christmas. Price said the Cardinals are hoping to have the all-stater and Drake softball signee back at some point in the season.

Coyle, who has signed to play softball collegiately at Mount Mercy next year, had shoulder surgery putting her out for the Cardinal season. Price said the senior pitcher went 12-3 in the circle last year.

“Anna is still part of the team and will contribute in other ways,” Price said.

Price said the starting positions haven’t been set yet. She and her coaching staff of Gary Grimes and Caitlyn Meyer are working with the players, preparing for the season opener on Monday.

Newton plays at Knoxville at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The Cardinals’ home opener is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Marshalltown.

Maher was the Cardinals’ top pitcher. She finished 15-4 with an earned run average under 1.00. She struck out 156 and walked 37 in 128 innings pitched. She had four saves and opponents hit around .166 against her.

At the plate, Maher batted .375. She finished with 25 hits, 11 runs, nine doubles and 17 RBIs.

Brown played at second base and third base for Newton last year. She batted .341. She finished with 34 hits, 33 runs, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 17 RBIs, 11 walks and seven steals.

Jenkins was a .241 hitter and Thayer hit at a .204 clip. Thayer hit four home runs during the season. Jenkins went 6-of-7 on stole base attempts.

“Peyton is leading the helm on the mound. We are super excited about our freshman pitcher Kallie Van Kley,” Price said. “She has worked very hard for us over the past two years. Both girls will be a great combo.”

Price said Thayer and Jenkins are great leaders in the outfield and help support the newcomers. She said the team has some great underclassmen to add into the infield with Brown.

“Our catching position will be interesting. We have juniors Kameron Johnston and Malarie Zach working behind the plate. They both will play infield spots also when not catching,” Price said.

Johnston had 14 varsity at-bats a year ago. Zach had one plate appearance, getting an RBI single.

Juniors Jenna Smith and Anna Bebout are back to help in the outfield and infield, respectively. Freshmen Taylor Lust, Kya Butler, Maggie Garrett and Makayla Johnston are vying for varsity playing time.

Newton finished 12-7 in the Little Hawkeye Conference last year for third. Newton was one of three Little Hawkeye Conference teams to qualify for the 2018 state softball tournaments.

“As always, our conference is very tough. We think we should have a great chance to win the conference this year,” Price said.

Valtman was all-LHC at shortstop. She led the Cardinals in almost every offensive category.

Valtman batted .512 and had an on-base percentage of .624. She finished the season with eight home runs, 21 RBIs, 48 hits, 36 runs, 11 doubles, four triples, 30 walks and six steals. She only struck out five times in 90 at-bats.

“We have a great group of girls that work well together,” Price said. “Chemistry is key. I think we will surprise a lot of people this year.”

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