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Washington Evening Journal
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Pekin starts, Cardinal finishes in substate baseball opener
Comets fight back from 4-0 deficit to knock out rival Panthers
PACKWOOD — Monday night saw an exciting chapter in the Cardinal-Pekin rivalry as the Comets and Panthers met in the first round of the Class 2A Substate 6 baseball tournament. After a strong start by Pekin, Cardinal stormed back to win the game 6-4.
The Panthers jumped on the Comets early. Pekin scored one run in the first inning and three in the second to take a 4-0 advantage, helped out by a pair of RBIs from third basemen Mason Juhl.
Cardinal starting pitcher Landon Becker settled down after the first two innings. He shut the Panthers out over the next four frames to buy the Cardinal offense some comeback time.
The Comets finally broke through with a run in the third inning. They followed that with one in the fourth, and scored three in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.
The game stayed 5-4 until the seventh frame when Cardinal put up one insurance run to make it 6-4.
Cardinal’s rally was helped by a pair of long balls. Tristan Cloke finished the day 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, and Becker went 1-for-4 with a solo blast. Dawson Lewis finished the day 1-for-3 with an RBI and Kaleb Figureroa knocked in one.
Becker earned the win on the mound, giving up four runs (one earned) on four hits and five walks, while striking out eight Pekin batters. Dawson Lewis threw one inning of relief to get the save.
Juhl finished the night 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs to pace the Panthers. Cael Baker was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Brady Latcham went 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Chase Stansberry went 2-for-4 with a double.
Stansberry took the loss on the mound for Pekin, giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits and four walks, while striking out 10 Cardinal batters. Jaedon Wolver gave up just one run in three innings of relief.
Pekin ended its season 14-10. Cardinal (13-9) earned a spot in Tuesday night’s substate quarterfinal against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. Results from that game will be in Thursday’s edition of the Southeast Iowa Union legacy papers.
Cardinal’s Keysean Moore takes a swing at a ball during a Comet home game earlier this season. On Monday, Moore and the Comets knocked out rival Pekin in the Class 2A Substate 6 tournament. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
