Cardinal opens season with 4-3 home win

ELDON ? Ty Short threw a complete game and allowed one earned run, and the Cardinal baseball team edged Harmony 4-3 in its season opener Monday in Eldon.

?Ty threw a fantastic game and commanded the plate well,? said Comet head coach Tom Hallgren. ?If we get consistent pitching performances like that we?ll have a chance to win a lot of baseball games.?

Harmony was held to six hits in the game, and Short struck out eight while issuing just three free passes.

Harmony starter Kory Neely went toe-to-toe with Short most of the game, recording his first eight outs via the strikeout and whiffing 16 batters overall. It wasn?t until the sixth inning that Cardinal grabbed the lead for good against Neely and the Rockets.

Conner McElderry led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, and Short sacrificed pinch runner Brandon Eklofe to second base, who then took third when no one covered the bag. With two outs in the inning, Logan Thorne drove in the go-ahead run with a single.

Harmony scored in the first inning after Neely reached on an error, followed by back-to-back singles. Cardinal scored two runs in the bottom of the first after Charlie Rachford led off with a walk. Tanner Chance hit Rachford home with a single, and McElderry hit Chance in with an RBI double.

Chance and McElderry both went 3-3 from the plate for the Comets. McElderry had two RBI and Chance scored two runs to go with five stolen bases.

?It was great to get an opening night win at home,? added Hallgren.

The Comets (1-0, 1-0 SEISC south) continue their homestand Tuesday against area rival Van Buren.

Cardinal vs. Harmony

HARMONY? 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 ? 3 6 2

CARDINAL ? 2 0 1 0 0 1 X ? 4 7 3

CARDINAL ? Chance 3-3, RBI, 2R; McElderry 3-3, 2B, 2RBI; Thorne 1-3, RBI; Charlie Rachford R; Brandon Eklofe R

Pitching ? Short (W) 7 INN, 6H, 3B, 3R, 1 ER, 8 K