Washington Evening Journal
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Tigers tame Comets in Eldon
Andy Krutsinger
Jun. 17, 2020 12:19 am
ELDON - New London and Cardinal traded punches for the first two innings of Tuesday night's Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division showdown, but New London exploded for six runs in the top of the third and eventually got out of Eldon with a 12-5 victory.
New London took an early lead when Carter Allen smacked a two-RBI double to left center field. Cardinal's Logan Chickering answered with an RBI single in the bottom half and New London's lead was 2-1 after one.
The Tigers got some short-lived separation in the top of the second. Kooper Schulte scored on an error and Josh Catala brought in a run on a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 4-1. Cardinal, however, would get right back at it in the bottom half, tying the game up on a bases-clearing triple from Peyton Johnson.
Things began to unravel for the hometown Comets in the third inning. New London capitalized on some shaky Comet defense. The Tigers scored six runs in the inning, including three runs on RBI singles from Jaxon Allen, Seth Bailey and Carter Allen, and the Tigers chased Cardinal starter Gentry Arbogast, forcing Beau LaRue into the game in relief. New London held a 10-4 lead in the middle of the third inning.
Cardinal once again started to climb back in the third. Dawson Lewis plated a run on an RBI-double to cut the lead to 10-5, that would be the last Comet run of the game.
The other dugout stayed relatively quiet as well, scoring just two more runs after the third inning, but it was more than enough. Shea Summerfield knocked in a run in the top of the fifth and Ryan Richey jogged home on a balk in the sixth.
'I thought we did a really god job of hitting at the plate,” New London coach Brad Helmerson said. 'We took good at bats, made them make a lot of pitches, stayed within ourselves, and hit the ball pretty well. We got by a good team last night in Pekin, and got by a good team tonight.”
Both Carter and Jaxon Allen saw time on the mound for New London. Carter threw the first three innings and picked up the win, and Jaxon relieved him for the final four frames.
New London moved to 2-0 on the season. Cardinal dropped to 0-1 with the opening-night loss.
'They jumped out on us, and I thought we fought back really well,” Cardinal coach Rick Scott said. 'Gentry struggled a little. He had a rough outing tonight, but he'll bounce back. I thought our guys hit the ball OK but it seemed like, at times, we were hitting it right at them.”
New London will play at Winfield-Mt. Union today (Wednesday), in a game beginning at 6 p.m. Cardinal has a quick turnaround, hosting Hillcrest Academy in a day game today, at 1 p.m.
Carter Allen hurls a pitch toward the plate early in New London's win on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
New London's Kooper Schulte dashes home on a Cardinal error in the third inning. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Cardinal third baseman Logan Chickering fires the ball to first base after making a stop on a ground ball. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)