Nothing has come easy for Knoxville Baseball during 2016, and a hard fought 7-5 regular season finale at Newton was no exception. Knoxville jumped to a 4-1 lead in the 4th inning behind a short but effective start by Jacob Zuck who was pulled after 3 1/3 innings with the bases loaded and one out. Justin Little would eventually give up that lead as the Cardinals jumped ahead briefly 5-4 in the 5th. However, it would be Little who earned the win when the Panthers rallied for 3 runs in the 6th take the a 7-5 lead. Freshman Kaleb Streigle would record the final six outs for his team leading 5th save of the season. The five saves for Streigle is the third most ever in one season for Knoxville Baseball.
Knoxville outhit the Cardinals 10 to 5 in the game with Ben Wallace, Jacob Zuck and Rylan Cox leading the way with two hits each. Knoxville scored first when Trent Davis crossed the plate in the 2nd inning on an RBI ground out by Patrick Crawford. Wallace would drive in Blake McClung in the 3rd inning to give Knoxville a 2-1 lead at the time. In the 4th inning, courtesy runner Chase Larson scored on a double steal and Cox scored on an RBI single by McClung. The three run 6th inning was punctuated by a Calyn Bumgardner bases loaded walk, then a Wallace RBI double for the final two runs.
Knoxville Baseball concludes the regular season with an 18-17 overall record. They are off until Friday night when the open the postseason with a first round District game against Chariton at Pella High School.
at Newton
Kville 011 203 0 – 7 10 0
Newt 010 310 0 – 5 5 0
WP – Justin Little (1-0)
LP – Garrett Sturtz (4-6)
SV – Kaleb Streigle (5)
Knoxville (18-17)
Newton (9-19)