Winkleman’s gem leads Newton baseball past PCM

Dakota Winkleman’s complete-game shutout helped the Newton baseball team snap a 12-game skid on Tuesday.

The Cardinal sophomore used three of his four pitches to keep PCM off balance at the plate, and the Newton defense made plays behind him during a 6-0 home win at H.A. Lynn Baseball Field.

“He was in control of his mechanics and stayed in a good rhythm, and the defense played well behind him,” Newton head baseball coach Darin Tisdale said. “When you hit your spots and make quality pitches at the high school level, you can have a lot of success.”

The Cardinals scored twice in the third and finished off the Mustangs with a four-run fourth. Newton is 4-0 against PCM since 2022.

Winkleman navigated through traffic during the first few innings but retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced following a 5-4-3 double play that ended the second frame.

It was Newton’s first shutout win of the season. Winkleman struck out five and induced 12 ground ball outs. He got through all seven innings on only 75 pitches.

“It built the confidence back up and got me out of that jam,” Winkleman said about the double play. “That was one of my best pitching performances. The defense behind was great, too.”

Mason Mendez was hit by a pitch in the first but was erased on the bases by PCM catcher Coby DeRaad. Drew Bauer singled with two outs but was left stranded.

Carson Hansen, PCM’s starting pitcher, registered three strikeouts in his first two innings, including a pair that ended the second.

Landry Rausch opened the third with a single and then Creighton Andrew reached on an infield single. Cade Bauer reached on a fielder’s choice and a Mustang error allowed the Cardinals to go up 2-0.

Hansen loaded the bases with walks to Derek Wermager, Kreytein Wickliffe and Andrew in the fourth and Cade Bauer’s two-run, two-out single on the first pitch he saw pushed the margin to 4-0.

Mendez drew a two-out walk before the final two runs scored following a fielder’s choice ground ball that resulted in another error.

“We have a lot of young guys playing, and they haven’t experienced many wins yet,” Andrew said. “This can help them realize what it takes to win. Getting a win before the playoffs and piling up a few more before the end of next week would be big for us. That can help build our confidence back up.”

Hansen (1-4) allowed six runs — four earned — on six hits, five walks and one hit batter and fanned four in five innings.

Wermager singled and Connor Swihart walked with one out in the fifth, but Hansen got out of the jam with a strikeout and ground out to first.

Jaden Houser walked Mendez in the sixth, but Newton couldn’t add to its lead. Houser also had one strikeout in his only inning.

“He gave up too many free bases, but he threw the ball really well for us,” PCM head baseball coach Brent Fridley said about Hansen. “He got us out of a couple of jams, and the defense didn’t help him out in that big inning. He threw well enough for us to get the win, but we still have to hit the ball.”

Winkleman walked PCM’s Kaleb DeVries in the first and seventh and the only hit he allowed came off the bat of Izaac Bagby in the second.

The inning-ending double play in the second came after Winkleman registered his first strikeout of the night.

Winkleman mostly used three of his four pitches and they all played a part in keeping the Mustangs off balance.

“It helped set up the other pitches,” Winkleman said about throwing consistent strikes with his off-speed pitches. “It set up the fastball and the knuckleball. I didn’t throw my change-up. They were all working really well today though.”

Mendez finished with one hit, two walks and one hit by pitch, Cade Bauer totaled one hit, one run and two RBIs and Wermager tallied one hit, one run and one walk.

Cade Bauer leads the Cardinals (5-24) with 17 runs and 20 RBIs, Mendez has a team-most five hit by pitches and leads Newton with an on-base percentage of .481.

Drew Bauer got the other hit, Wickliffe walked once and scored one run, Rausch contributed one hit and one run and Swihart drew a pinch-hit walk in the fifth.

Andrew moved down to the No. 9 spot in the lineup on Monday against Gilbert and finished with two hits. Tisdale kept his senior in that spot on Tuesday and he came through with one hit, one walk and two runs.

“I don’t really care. It’s different, but it did take a little stress off me,” Andrew said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball lately. I struck out four times against Bettendorf. That was rough, but I was able to make contact again these last few games.”

Winkleman (1-2) allowed no earned runs on one hit and two walks in seven innings.

DeVries led the Mustangs (7-12) with two walks. He has a team-best 20 walks this summer and his .521 OBP also leads PCM.

“We let him get comfortable,” Fridley said about Winkleman. “Our bats were pretty solid early. We hit a couple of balls hard and then he had a quick inning and the double play gave him some momentum. He settled in and was able to locate both his fastball and his off-speed after that. He got us off balance a little bit.”

Notes: While the season has not gone as planned for the Cardinals, Tisdale said there are still two weeks left to make some noise. “We can still get better, and the wins along the way help motivate the kids and help them accept ideas for change,” Tisdale said. “When you have young players and the losses start piling up, they start questioning whether they are doing things right or wrong. We’ve made adjustments on mechanics and we tell them to just keep working on it, and winning tonight helps them know that things are turning.” … Andrew is seeing different pitches from the No. 9 hole than he was batting in the No. 2 spot earlier this season. He’s getting mostly fastballs and taking advantage of it. “I thought (Andrew) would be able to come through for us,” Tisdale said. “We’ve looked at statistics and batting averages and made some changes to the lineup. Mason Mendez makes contact and gets on base and that’s what you want from the second spot, especially with Cade Bauer hitting as well as he is in the lead-off spot.”

Gilbert 5, Newton 3

GILBERT — The Cardinals scored all three of their runs in the second, but Gilbert rallied for a 5-3 victory at home during a non-conference contest on Monday.

The two teams were playing for the first time since 2019, and the Tigers used a three-run fourth to go in front for good and then tacked on one more in the sixth to complete the win.

Newton out-hit Gilbert 7-2, and the Tigers (13-13) committed four errors. The hosts though also drew six walks and were hit by two pitches.

Andrew led the Cardinals with two hits and one RBI. Cade Bauer added one hit and two RBIs, Mendez and Drew Bauer collected one hit and one walk and Rausch totaled one hit and one run and he was hit by one pitch.

Wermager finished with one hit and one run, Wickliffe walked once and stole one base, Winkleman scored one run and Aaden Grimm was hit by one pitch.

Cade Bauer (0-5) took the pitching loss after allowing five runs — four earned — on two hits, six walks and two hit batters in six innings. He fanned two and used 109 pitches.

Tripp Sturgill scored two runs, walked once and was hit by one pitch to lead the Gilbert offense. He also was the winning pitcher after striking out seven and allowing no earned runs in six innings.