Prep baseball: Comets walk away with win at EBF

EDDYVILLE, Every baseball player would love to connect on a big hit at the plate.

The Cardinal baseball team proved on Thursday that true discipline can result in just as much success without having to swing a bat. The Comets drew eight walks, including six in the fifth inning that helped put away a South Central Conference road win at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, scoring seven times in the final frame to secure an 11-1 win.

"We've got a lot of young baseball players that are growing up," Cardinal head baseball coach Nik Coble said. "Everybody wants to have a big hit. We had quality at-bats. That led to us getting to where we were."

Bode Ferrell polished off the win on the mound on Thursday, setting down the final EBF batters of the game including three of the four batters on strikes. Ferrell racked up eight strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits over five innings, improving to 4-1 on the season.

Matthew Blomme went the distance on Friday afternoon for the Comets in a windy 3-0 conference win over Davis County. After allowing a one-out base hit to Dexter Scott in the opening inning, Blomme set down the next 20 Mustang batters in the row finishing with 13 strikeouts in the complete-game shutout.

"We've been a little bit up and down offensively lately, but I wasn't really worried. I knew we'd come around and put some runs on the board if I kept doing my job on the mound," Blomme said. "My fastball was definitely working for me. With the wind, I had a lot of natural run on batters."

"I tried staying outside as much as I could," Ferrell said. "My change-up was working really well. They were hitting my slider pretty well, so I was living outside. Our coaches did a good job calling the pitches. We lived outside and high and kept getting the calls."

Ferrell hoped his own cause at the plate, bringing in Cardinal's first run with a two-out RBI double in the opening inning. The Comets scored their first four runs of the game with two outs.

"You've got to trust your teammates and know that your teammates have their trust in you," Ferrell said. "It's very important to take advantage of your opportunities to put runs on the board. To put up runs with two outs calms me down and calms everyone down."

EBF tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first with a two-out rally of their own. After doubling off the fence, Emmett Holohan came around to score on an RBI single to right by Carter Fisher.

"Give credit to Eddyville. They came ready to play and they battled with us all night," Coble said. "We had to take a step up to meet that challenge."

While EBF had the fight, mistakes ultimately cost the Rockets a chance at avoiding their sixth straight loss. Alijah Frase's deep fly ball to right that would have been the final out of the second inning instead dropped over the head of Rocket outfielder Kastor Ford, who slipped going back to make the catch.

On the very next pitch, Zach Luedtke lined a hard grounder off the glove of EBF shortstop Kayden Nichols, bringing Frase home with the go-ahead run. Weston O'Leary extended the rally legging out a swinging bunt up the first base line to drive in Luedtke before stealing second and coming home to score on a dropped fly ball in shallow right, giving the Comets a 4-1 lead.

"That's why you hustle everything out. You never know what might happen," O'Leary said. "We practice every day hustling hard in hopes of sneaking by a few extra runs."

Ferrell six straight EBF hitters after issuing a lead-off walk to Keller Little in the bottom of the second before pitching around a Rocket threat in the fourth, striking out Dalton Brinegar with two runners on base. Gavin Spaur, who pitched around Comet scoring threats in the third and fourth innings, came off the mound after issuing a pair of walks to open the fifth as the Comets walked their way to game-clinching rally with Frase, Luedtke, O'Leary and Ryan Eakins drawing bases-loaded walks giving Cardinal an 8-1 lead.

"We're just not throwing strikes right now. It's hurt us all season," EBF head baseball coach Rick Scott said. "It's discouraging, but we'll just keep working at it."

The fifth inning proved to be the decisive inning for Cardinal on Friday against Davis County as Blomme and Mustang starting pitcher Peyton Schooley locked up in a classic pitcher's duel that was scoreless after four innings. Following a lead-off single by Frase that brought an end to Schooley's day on the mound, Luedtke and O'Leary drew walks off relief pitcher Dexter Scott to load the bases setting up Ryan Eakins for a go-ahead two-run single to center that put the Comets on top.

Both Cardinal (15-5, 13-5 SCC) and EBF (5-18, 3-15 SCC) wrap up regular-season play next week. The Rockets head to Centerville for a doubleheader on Monday before taking on the Big Reds next Friday in Chariton in the Class 2A, District 10 quarterfinals.

The Comets wrap up the regular season with three conference games, making a trip to Clarke for a doubleheader on Monday before hosting Centerville on Thursday. Cardinal hosts their postseason opener against either West Burlington or Albia in the Class 2A, District 9 semifinals on Tuesday, July 7.

"I think we're a lot more calm this year and lot more loose going into the postseason," Ferrell said. "We were a little tight last year when we made it to the substate finals because it was our first time playing in a game like that. Everyone was a little tight. This time, I think we'll be really relaxed.

"We cannot be one game short again because we really want to go to state."

The loss was the latest in a series of close games this week for the Mustangs, including Monday night's dramatic split at Albia in which Davis County rallied after falling 4-3 on a walk-off RBI single by Jaxon Strickler in game one to earn a 4-3 win in the 10-inning nightcap. Davis County also walked off with a 2-1 non-conference win at home on Tuesday over Fort Madison, scoring the decisive run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI hit by Noah Sizemore.

"I just told the boys that we just had to stay to the plan and just keep working. We've been preaching that," Davis County head baseball coach Todd White said. "They've been getting mentally tougher. Their willingness to compete until the game is over is there. This is the time of the year where it needs to be that way."

Davis County wraps up the regular season, and conference play, next week with a doubleheader at Chariton on Monday and a home date with EBF on Tuesday. The Mustangs will be home to open postseason play next Friday facing Pella Christian as part of a 2A district opening-round twinbill starting with Albia facing West Burlington at 5 p.m.