Baseball: Newman piles on early runs, rolls to five-inning win over Forreston

FORRESTON – Whenever a Newman player lined up to bat against Forreston on Wednesday, you almost expected it to result in a hit.

That’s the kind of game the Comets had against the Cardinals, as they racked up 15 hits in a 16-3 five-inning win.

Newman set the tone with a five-run first inning and didn’t relent offensively until the fourth.

In the top of the first, Kyle Wolfe got the ball rolling, flying a one-out double deep into center field and scoring the first run of the game on a Brendan Tunink double immediately after.

Jaesen Johns hammered a two-run home run to left-center for a 3-0 lead, then Nolan Britt singled, stole second, and scored on a Garet Wolfe double. After an Isaiah Williams walk and a Joe Oswalt single, Wolfe came home on a Hayden Witt fielder’s choice, as Oswalt was thrown out at second base.

“I think it’s a big confidence boost, because when you see a guy go up there and get a hit, it makes you feel like the next guy can do it, and the guy after him,” Johns said. “It’s kind of a chain reaction.”

“It really pumped us up, and made Nolan feel a lot more comfortable on the mound,” Tunink said about the big first inning. “Especially knowing he’s already up 5-0, he can just pound the zone and get it done with.”

Down 5-0 entering the bottom of the first, the Cardinals managed one run in response. Carson Akins drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored after a fielding error on a Brendan Greenfield single to short.

But Newman came right back with seven runs in the second and four in the third.

After a Kyle Wolfe leadoff walk to start the second, Tunink hit his sixth home run in the last six games, a two-run shot to right field. Oswalt had a two-run double, Williams scored on a wild pitch, and Hayden Witt drove in Oswalt on a groundout. Garret Matznick scored on a wild pitch to cap the onslaught.

After taking the 5-0 lead right away, and especially the 12-1 lead after two innings, the Comets were motivated to finish the game in five innings or less.

“Right when we scored five, we were like, ‘We can jump on any pitcher that comes our way.’ And we did that,” Tunink said. “And we should’ve done it in four, but five’s OK.”

“Jumping out there, scoring a bunch of runs, it’s a big confidence boost,” Johns said. “And then once you get them all up on the board, it’s just like, ‘We got this. We want to get it done. Let’s get outta here. Let’s go home.’ And that kind of helped us.”

In the third inning, Britt smashed an RBI triple, then Garet Wolfe had an RBI double and Witt ripped a two-run single to put the Comets up 16-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Forreston scored two more runs. Alec Schoonhoven drew a leadoff walk and stole second, then Kaden Ganz walked, and Brady Gill was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kendall Erdmann was hit by a pitch to force in Schoonhoven, and a passed ball during Akins’ at bat brought in Ganz to make it 16-3.

Eight out of the nine Newman hitters in the starting lineup scored a run, and all nine reached base at least once on a hit or a walk.

“It’s really enjoyable. It makes it a lot more fun than it usually is,” Johns said. “Baseball is a really fun sport, but once everybody gets involved, everybody’s getting hyped, everybody’s talking, bringing the good vibes, all that stuff, it’s really fun.”

“It’s super enjoyable, seeing everyone hit, especially for people that haven’t been hitting that well,” Tunink said. “Seeing everyone out there, just having the best time right now, seeing us hitting – especially the past couple games, we’ve been really hitting good, so it’s just super enjoyable to come out here and play.”

Johns finished 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run homer, Tunink went had a double, a two-run homer and three RBIs, and Witt went 2 for 4 with four RBIs. Kyle Wolfe, Garet Wolfe and Oswalt had two hits apiece; Garet Wolfe and Oswalt had two RBIs each, and both of Garet Wolfe’s hits were doubles. Williams drew three walks. Britt and Garet Wolfe scored three runs each, tying for the team lead.

Britt went 3 for 4 at the plate, including his RBI triple, and also pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run, striking out five and walking five on a very windy day.

Alex Ryia drew two walks, and Patrick Wichman had the only hit for Forreston.

“We just weren’t ready at all. They hit it hard in the first inning, and they’re a good team,” Forreston coach Mike McClellan said. “We had a couple plays we could’ve made to limit the damage, and we didn’t. So when you get behind early like that, in this kind of situation, it’s tough.

“But we’re young. This is the first time that we’ve played a really good team that’s come in and swung the bat, and I think that bothered our guys a little bit. And then we kind of settled in and did OK for a couple of innings, but we’re young and we have a lot to learn. I love our attitudes, I love our kids, we’ve just gotta get better at baseball.”