Newton softball falls to Boone, conference rival DCG

It was a tough few days for the Newton softball team. And it came after the Cardinals finished last week with a pair of blowout losses, too.

The latest defeat came at the hands of Boone. The Toreadors scored at least two runs in each of the five innings and downed the Cardinals, 14-5, at the H.A. Lynn Softball Field.

“They have to do some soul searching the rest of the week and figure it out because the season is not going to slow down,” Newton head softball coach Kory Leiker said. “It’s focus. It’s showing up to the ballpark ready to play.”

Newton finished with 11 hits but only two went for extra bases, and the Cardinals committed three errors.

Boone (9-4) smashed a pair of home runs and laced six doubles in the win. The Toreadors also did not commit an error.

Newton is batting .288 as a team and only 16 of its 90 hits have gone for extra bases.

The Cardinals also have committed 33 errors in their 14 games this summer.

“Any team can hurt you if you give them more than three outs in an inning,” Leiker said. “We have to start stringing some hits together and be smart on the bases, too.”

Boone plated three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the game. The first four batters reached in the frame against Newton starting pitcher Leileigh Hammons, but three straight outs minimized the damage on the scoreboard.

The Toreadors’ lead grew to 7-0 after a four-run second. Each of Boone’s first two at-bats included one walk and one double and an error in the second gave the visitors another run.

Newton (5-9) got on the board in the bottom of the second. Hammons singled after Sloan Brodersen drew a one-out walk but a fielder’s choice retired Brodersen at third base.

Mack Sims’ two-run double made it 7-2, but a fly ball to left field ended the Cardinals’ threat.

Carly Busch’s two-run home run in the third extended Boone’s lead to 9-2 and Brooke Weisbrod also belted a two-run homer in the fifth.

The first three Newton batters in the third singled, but the Cardinals only scored one run after three consecutive outs.

Chloe Swank and Viana Vasseau started the rally with singles and then Emerson Ray’s RBI single tacked on another run for the Cardinals.

Vasseau and Ray recently moved up in the lineup, and they rewarded the coaching staff with that decision. Ray finished with two hits, one run and one RBI in the loss, while Vasseau reached base twice with a single and a walk.

“We’re trying to find a combination where you have a good balance in the lineup,” Leiker said. “Right now, we’re having trouble stringing hits together to produce runs. Some of the kids who are hitting better have moved up in the lineup, but we’re still trying to find that happy medium.”

Sims belted a solo homer with one out in the fourth. She leads Newton with four long balls, 16 runs and 32 total bases and has a team-best .529 batting average and .628 on-base percentage.

Her day included a homer, a double and three RBIs from the lead-off spot.

“She’s amazing. To have a player like that on your team is irreplaceable,” Leiker said. “She can do every phase of the game and do it well. She has a competitive fire that drives her, and she wants her teammates to match that. Sometimes, it’s hard to match that type of intensity.”

The Cardinals needed three runs in the fifth to avoid the new eight-run mercy rule. And it seemed promising after the first four batters reached base.

Ray and Paige Benson had back-to-back singles with one out. Brodersen brought Ray home with an RBI single and Hammons got her second hit one batter later.

But back-to-back outs ended the threat and the game early.

Sims, Swank, Hammons and Ray all had two hits, while Vasseau, Benson and Brodersen each tallied one hit.

Swank scored one run, Vasseau drew one walk, Ray totaled one run and one RBI and Brodersen drove in one run and walked once.

BrookLynn Britton and Ashlyn Wallace both scored one run, too.

Hammons (5-4) took the pitching loss after allowing 14 runs — nine earned — on 12 hits and four walks in five innings. She struck out two.

Boone scored three runs in the first and fourth, four in the second and two in the third and fifth to end the game early.

Weisbrod led the offense with three hits, one homer, one double and three RBIs and Busch homered, scored three runs, had two RBIs and drew two walks.

The Toreadors scored their sixth straight win over Newton. It was Weisbrod’s third homer of the season and she’s batting .515.

Notes: Boone’s four losses came against Class 4A No. 7 Carlisle, 4A No. 14 Grinnell and 4A No. 9 ADM. The Toreadors split with ADM, defeated Oskaloosa 10-2 and edged Des Moines Christian, 11-10.

Dallas Center-Grimes 17, Newton 0

The Cardinals had more errors (5) than hits (3), and Dallas Center-Grimes scored 13 runs with two outs in the fourth to defeat Newton 17-0 on Monday.

The 4A No. 5 Mustangs out-hit the Cardinals 15-3 in the Little Hawkeye Conference contest.

“I’ll put this loss on me,” Leiker said. “I need to do a better job getting the team ready to play. We are lacking focus.”

Swank, Vasseau and Ray had the team’s three hits and Makenzly Brant walked once.

Hammons took the pitching loss after surrendering 13 runs — eight earned — on seven hits and seven walks in 3 2/3 innings. She struck out three.

Lexi Frehse got the final out but not before allowing four earned runs on six hits.

DCG (14-0, 7-0 in the conference) registered its 10th straight win over the Cardinals.

Addie Abens led the Mustangs with three hits, one homer, three runs and three RBIs.

Tessa Jones fanned 10 and allowed just three hits in her four innings in the circle.

Newton, which fell to 2-7 in conference play, has dropped four of its last five contests. The Cardinals have been outscored 53-6 in those losses.