Newton baseball opens season with wins over PCM, Bondurant-Farrar

Kacey Sommars had three hits at the plate and struck out three Mustangs in the final inning to earn his first save of the season.

The save helped the Newton baseball team slam the door on PCM during a 6-3 non-conference win on Wednesday.

Tade Vanderlaan pitched six solid innings on the mound and the Cardinals took advantage of six Mustang errors.

It was the first coaching win at his alma mater for Newton alum Derek Wrage, too.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s nice to get it at Eversman,” Wrage said. “Hopefully we have more to come. There’s been a lot of baseball played here, and I am glad I get to be here for the final year.”

The Cardinals scored all six of their runs in the first two innings. They were assisted by a misplayed fly ball in left field and a pop-up at first base.

“We are making way too many mistakes in the field,” PCM head baseball coach Lewis Daye said. “The errors have killed us the past few games.

“There’s been some good, but we have to eliminate the bad stuff, too. If you take away the errors, we may have been in a position to win that game.”

Sommars had half of Newton’s six hits but Turner Williams drew three walks and scored two runs, Drew Thompson hit a two-run double in the second inning and Riley Mouchka tallied one RBI, one run and one stolen base.

The Cardinals also struck out nine times and committed three errors.

“At the plate, we’re getting there. It’s natural that pitchers are going to be ahead of hitters,” Wrage said. “If we want to get to where we want to go, that’s too many strikeouts. We have to be able to adjust.

“We saw improvements today. We can’t fix it in one day of practice. It’s a process and we’ll keep working on our approach. We have to come every day and be willing to work on what we need to work on to improve both individually and as a team.”

Sommars had Newton’s only hit in the final four innings. He was credited with two doubles, scored two runs and stole one base.

The other hits came from Williams and Vanderlaan, who also tallied an RBI. Thompson chipped in a walk and a run and Eli Stewart was hit by a pitch.

On the mound, Vanderlaan earned the win after allowing no earned runs on two hits with nine strikeouts, four walks and one hit batter in six innings. Sommars finished off Vanderlaan’s first pitching win of the summer with a strong seventh inning of work. He struck out three to earn the save.

“I was proud of how he threw today. He’s been hurt a little bit and hasn’t been able to train as much as he would have liked,” Wrage said about Vanderlaan. “It wasn’t his ‘A’ game stuff, but he competed and gave us a shot.”

“Kacey came in and did his job. That’s good to see. It’s a good feeling knowing we can pull the starter because of pitch count and have someone else come in and get the final few outs.

PCM’s lone two hits came from Easton Webb and Will Owens. Webb and Trigg Steenhoek each had one RBI, Kaleb DeVries, Steenhoek, Zeb Padget and Jack Jungling all walked once and Gabe Hobbs was hit by a pitch.

“We’re looking at too many pitches at the plate and are waiting until the third or fourth to actually start swinging,” Daye said. “By that time, we’ve put ourselves in a hole.”

Steenhoek, Carson Hansen and Allias Nolin all scored one run.

Padget started on the mound and took the loss after surrendering six runs — three earned — on two hits with three strikeouts, three walks and one hit batter in three innings.

Nick Farver tossed the final three innings and allowed no runs on one hit with six strikeouts and four walks.

“The positive thing is our pitchers are staying composed,” Daye said. “Jack Jungling is catching at the varsity level for the first time and he’s calling the pitches himself. He’s doing a good job and I’m proud of him.”

The Mustangs did not have the services of Gavin Fenton and Adrien Robbins. They took the night off because of the state track and field meet the next day.

Newton 7, Bondurant-Farrar 5

A four-run inning led the Cardinals to a non-conference home win over Bondurant-Farrar on Friday.

Sommars registered two hits and scored three runs and also allowed one hit and no earned runs over 3 2/3 innings during a 7-5 triumph against the Blue Jays.

The game was tied at 3-all after four innings. Newton plated four in the fifth to take the lead for good. The Cardinals scored seven runs on just four hits because Bondurant-Farrar (4-1) committed five errors and Newton batters drew six walks.

Sommars doubled and added one walk and one steal at the plate. He also allowed two runs — none earned — on one hit and struck out six, walked one and hit two batters in 3 2/3 innings. He picked up his first pitching win of the season after taking over for starting pitcher Mouchka.

Mouchka surrendered two earned runs on one hit and struck out four, walked eight and hit two batters in 3 1/3 innings.

Mouchka tallied one walk, two runs, one steal and one hit by pitch at the plate, too.

Thompson finished with one hit, one run, two RBIs and one walk, Stewart posted one hit, one walk and two RBIs and Brody Bauer chipped in one walk, one run and one steal. Williams also drew a walk.

Hudson Mitchell had two hits, Trent Guthrie scored two runs and stole two bases and Dawson Ehlers drove in a pair of runs and registered two steals in the loss for the Bluejays.

The Bluejays scored five runs on just three hits because they walked nine times, were hit by four pitches and stole six bases.

Saydel 2, Newton 1, 8 innings

DES MOINES — Two strong pitching performances went down in the books as no decisions as Newton and Saydel needed extra innings during the regular season openers on May 15.

The Cardinals out-hit the Eagles 9-3 but could only muster one run. They struck out 13 times at the plate and committed three errors in the field during a 2-1, eight-inning road loss.

Williams had three hits and struck out 13 Eagles over his 6 2/3 innings but didn’t factor into the decision as he was forced to leave the game due to pitch count rules.

Mouchka finished with two hits, but he took the loss on the mound after allowing two earned runs on no hits, two walks and one hit batter. He struck out one in his one inning.

The Eagles (1-0) won the game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth inning. Saydel had only three hits at the plate and committed four errors in the field.

Skyler Milheiser tallied one hit and one run and Bauer, Thompson and Finn Martin all registered one hit.

Williams doubled and drove in one run. He also allowed two hits and walked two in his 6 2/3 innings of work.

Mason Hicks had one hit and two walks at the plate for the Eagles, and he allowed no earned runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.