Sims’ homer helps Cardinals salvage split against Oskaloosa

OSKALOOSA — A two-run homer in the fifth inning by Mack Sims rallied the Newton softball team past Oskaloosa in the nightcap of their Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader on Friday.

The Cardinals split the two games after the host Indians scored three runs in the final two innings to walk off Newton, 5-4, in the opener at Jay Harms Field.

Newton led 4-3 after six innings in game one and trailed 1-0 through four innings of game two. Each team rallied from behind to win.

“We just need to keep competing and eventually we will end up winning more of these close games,” Newton head softball coach Kory Leiker said.

Leiker put some of the blame on himself for the game one loss. The Indians out-hit the Cardinals 10-6 and Newton had just one error.

“We had the lead but couldn’t hold on to win,” Leiker said about game one. “With girls on second and third, I should have walked the next batter to load the bases and force an out at home. I didn’t make the call, and it ended up costing us.”

Oskaloosa scored its lone run in the nightcap in the first. Newton took the lead for good when Sims belted her team-best third homer of the season in the fifth.

Newton (8-6 overall, 4-4 in the LHC) was out-hit 6-5 in the nightcap, but two of those hits went for extra bases. Oskaloosa stranded the tying runner on second base in the seventh.

Kadance Ahn registered two hits, doubled and scored one run, Haylie Ryan added one hit and one walk and Hailey Sumpter collected the other hit.

Tallyn Seitz (1-0) pitched the first four innings and earned her first career varsity win in the circle. She allowed one earned run on three hits with three walks and one hit batter.

Sumpter tossed the final three frames and collected her first save of the season and the third of her career. She surrendered no runs on three hits and struck out one.

Newton led 1-0 after one and 4-2 after five in the opener. Oskaloosa (6-9, 3-4) plated one in the sixth and then walked off the Cardinals when it scored two runs with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

Sumpter (6-5) started in the circle and pitched the complete game. She allowed five runs — four earned — on 10 hits and struck out seven, walked three and hit one batter in 6 1/3 innings.

Sims led the offense with one hit, two runs, two walks, one RBI and one steal. She leads the team with 17 runs and eight steals and is tied for the team lead with eight walks.

Sumpter, Peyton Durr and BrookLynn Britton all doubled, Sumpter and Durr each had one RBI and Britton walked once and scored one run.

Katelyn Lambert had one hit and one run, Chloe Swank collected one hit and Ahn and Sloan Brodersen each walked once.