The Newman Comets strive to do three things well every time they step onto the ball diamond – hit, pitch and play good defense.
They did all three en route to a 9-1 win at Princeton in a Three Rivers East tussle at Prather Field.
“Our three things is nothing fancy … throw strikes, make plays and put the ball in play. In high school baseball, you do that, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Newman coach Kenny Koerner said.
The Comets have won a lot of games this season, improving to 19-1 overall, 8-0 in the TRAC East with two games with Kewanee remaining on Thursday, including the resumption of a game they lead 8-1 in the sixth inning.
“It was a great win. A conference win. Going to help in the postseason with rankings and all of that. I’m proud of us,” winning pitcher Evan Bushman said.
Newman’s Michael Morris had a two-run single and Liam Nicklaus added a three-run double to break the game open in the sixth. That was more than enough for Bushman, the Comets ace, who went the distance, scattering three hits for the win.
“We know (Bushman is) going to throw strikes and make them put it in play. And so we just know we’re going to have to work and he’s not going to give them any good ones,” Nicklaus said.
“Evan did really well on the mound. Threw strikes. That’s the key for us. Throw strikes and make plays. Thought we did a nice job of that,” Koerner said.
The Tigers (7-11, 5-3) didn’t do themselves any favors, committing six errors in the game, leading to seven unearned runs.
“I thought our guys on the mound did a good job of throwing strikes and didn’t give up a lot of hard contact. We need to back them up better than we did tonight,” Tiger coach Patrick Smith said.
Nicklaus put the game out of reach with his bases-clearing double to right in the sixth following singles by Drake Cole and Garret Matznick to put the Comets up 8-0.
“I mean, 3-2, I was just looking for a fastball and got it,“ Nicklaus said.
“I don’t really doubt anyone in our lineup. Everybody can hit. I’m confident with everybody. Everyone does their part,” Bushman said.
Two Tiger errors led to another Newman run in the seventh.
Princeton got on the board when Braden Shaw was hit by a pitch and raced around to score on a double to center fielder by Jack Oester.
Morse made his way to second on a throwing error to lead off the second, went to third on a single by Jameson Hanlon and scored on Garet Wolfe’s sac fly to right. Hanlon scored on Bushman’s groundout to first.
Newman scored three runs on two hits and the help of three Tiger errors in the third. Minor doubled ahead of Morse’s two-run single to right to make it 5-0.
Matznick and Hanlon led the Comets with two hits each.
Tiger starter Ryan Jagers took the loss, scattering five hits and a walk while allowing five runs, three of which were unearned. Hayden Sayler pitched three innings, giving up three hits and three runs (none earned) with Abe Longeville following up with one scoreless inning in relief.
After three straight state tournament appearances, the last two in 2A, the Comets have been bumped up to 3A this season due to the multiplier and success factor. They’re up for the challenge.
“If we continue to play how we’ve been playing and winning games, we should be a pretty high seed for regionals and that’ll give us a lot of confidence and we’ll see how far we can take it,” Nicklaus said.
“I think we can go as far as we want. It’s just a matter of making plays, putting the ball in play and just having confidence in ourselves,” Bushman said.
