Cardinal surges forward with pair of wins

Cardinal improved to 8-6 overall and remained in the thick of the conference race with a pair of recent victories in Southeast Iowa Superconference baseball.

The Comets promptly dropped Central Lee 10-6 on Monday and then carried their momentum into Tuesday for a 10-4 victory over Harmony.

Ty Short went the distance on the mound for Cardinal in Monday?s game to keep his flawless record intact. Short gave up four earned runs on nine hits and no walks to improve to 4-0 in 2012.

Sam Schlegal went 3 for 5 from the plate with a triple, and Logan Thorne was 3 for 3 with a two-RBI double in the fourth inning to bust open the game. Short legged out one triple, and Austin Deshler and Charlie Rachford both hit one double.

In all, the Comets banged out 13 hits, and they worked the pitch count well against Central Lee starter Brian Krehbiel, earning six walks and scoring three times off those free passes.

?We had very good approaches at the plate tonight,? said Cardinal head coach Tom Hallgren. ?We didn?t swing at bad pitches, and when we got fastballs over the plate we hit them hard.?

In the second game, Harmony scored three runs in the first inning, but the Comets rolled off a pair of runs in innings two and three before taking the lead for good with a four-run fourth.

?We reacted well to a tough first inning,? said Hallgren. ?We need to continue to shore up our defense, but if we keep hitting the ball like we have been we?ll be in good shape the second half of the season.?

Short led from the plate with a 2-for-4 evening, scoring three runs and knocking in one teammate. Thorne batted in two runs on 1-for-4 hitting. Brandon Potts finished 1 for 3 with a double, and Brennon Elder was 2 for 4. Rachford and Conner McElderry each scored twice.

Dakota Showman earned his second win of the season, allowing four runs over seven innings of work. The Comet struck out nine.

The Comets look to continue their recent success with a pivotal conference matchup at Van Buren Friday.