March 29, 2024

Newton baseball wins again, rallies past South Tama County

Cardinals score nine runs in two innings, down host Trojans in regular-season finale

TAMA — Newton’s baseball team went down in order in five of its seven at-bats against South Tama County in its regular season finale on Tuesday.

In the two innings the Cardinals put multiple runners on base, they scored nine runs and downed the Trojans 9-6 in non-conference action.

Newton scored five runs in the first inning but needed a four-run sixth to complete the victory as the host Trojans led 6-5 after five.

The Cardinals (9-19) take a three-game win streak into the postseason. They have won four of their last five games. It’s the first three-game win streak since Newton won four in a row from June 7 to June 11 back in 2018.

Turner Williams and Kacey Sommars led off the game with back-to-back walks and Braydon Chance reached on an error to load the bases.

Kael Swarts put Newton on the board with an RBI single, Eli Stewart had an RBI hit by pitch and Evan Grimm’s two-run double made it 4-0. The final run scored after Drew Thompson reached on a two-out error.

South Tama (10-24) scored one in the first but rallied with five combined runs in the fourth and fifth. All six runs scored by the Trojans were earned but Newton did commit three errors.

The Cardinals rallied for another win because they scored four runs in the sixth. Grimm got the rally started with a one-out single. Brody Bauer followed with a single and Tade Vanderlaan walked to load the bases.

Thompson’s two-run single scored Grimm and Bauer and then Sommars singled with two outs to load the bases. Chance plated one with an RBI walk and Swarts made it 9-6 with an RBI single.

Swarts was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run and Sommars and Grimm each had two hits. Grimm tallied two RBIs and scored one run and Sommars walked once and scored one run.

Thompson had one hit and two RBIs, Bauer tallied one hit, one walk and one run and Williams, Chance, Stewart, Riley Mouchka and Conner Brain all scored one run.

Williams started on the mound and pitched three innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Vanderlaan tossed the fourth and fifth and allowed five earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts, two walks and one hit by pitch. He earned the win as he was the pitcher of record when the Cardinals plated four in the sixth.

Swarts collected the save after tossing the sixth and seventh. He allowed no earned runs and two hits and struck out three. Swarts stranded a runner on third in the sixth and a runner on second in the seventh.

The Trojans finished with 10 hits and one error. Kyler Smith hit two doubles and drove in two runs to lead the hosts.

Newton opens the postseason against Class 3A No. 7 Solon (27-11) in the Substate 5 quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Friday in Solon.