The Newman baseball team blanked Three Rivers rival Morrison 9-0 on Wednesday afternoon in Sterling, as Blake Wolfe struck out six and walked one in a two-hit shutout.
Brendan Tunink doubled, tripled and drove in three runs to pace the Comets’ offense, and Kyle Wolfe added two hits and an RBI. Nine different Newman players scored a run, and eight different Comets had hits, as Newman took control with a five-run first inning. Jake Ackman, Ethan Van Landuit, Nolan Britt and Grant Koerner all added RBIs.
Danny Mouw and Ashton Smith had the Mustangs’ hits. Payton Decker took the loss on the mound.
Softball
Newman 13, Morrison 3, 5 inn.: The Comets cruised past the Fillies in Sterling, led by Ady Waldschmidt’s four doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored.
Carlin Brady added two singles, a triple and three RBIs, and Sophie Ely and Kennedy Rowzee both added two hits and an RBI for Newman, with Rowzee scoring a pair of runs. Madison Duhon and Jordan Morthland each added two hits, with Duhon scoring three runs and Morthland scoring twice.
Morthland picked up the win in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits in three innings, striking out four and walking one. Waldschmidt did not give up a hit while pitching the fourth and fifth innings, allowing one unearned run with two strikeouts and a walk.
College softball
Skyhawks advance to Region IV semifinals: The Sauk Valley softball team won a best-of-three series against Prairie State on Tuesday to open the Region IV Tournament, advancing to the semifinals this weekend in Freeport.
The Skyhawks won the first game 8-0, then saw a late rally fall short in Game 2 in a 7-6 loss. But Sauk bounced back for a 5-0 victory in the finale to move on.
Sauk will play top-seeded Triton in the semifinals at Highland Community College at 11 a.m. Saturday, while No. 2 Bryant & Stratton will play Morton. Those final four teams will play a double-elimination tournament.