Comets roll past Saints 11-2

So it would be nice to depart with some victories for history’s sake.

The Comets took the first step in achieving that with a convincing 11-2 win over Top of Iowa Conference perennial power Saint Ansgar on Wednesday.

Charles City junior Tait Arndt took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before a swinging bunt from starting pitching counterpart Jack Sievert spoiled it.

Adam Williams followed with another infield hit before Collin Kramer drove in a run with a more-legitimate single to the outfield to put the Saints on the board after Charles City had taken an 8-0 lead.

Other than those three straight hits, Arndt was in control during his six innings of work while yielding only one more hit and one more run for the win.

Cole Reams pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to close the game.

Jace Cajthaml had two doubles and scored twice, and Ian Collins had two hits with a 2-RBI double for the Comets, who improved to 14-15 for the season.

Collins also chased home 2 more runs in the sixth when his hard-hit line drive was misjudged by the Saints’ center fielder — as of press time, the ruling was still pending on whether to credit Collins with his second double of the game, or assess an error to the Saint outfielder.

Winning pitcher Arndt had two hits and 2 RBIs, and Colton Slinger and Atticus Parrott each had two hits for the Comets, who will host Denver in a doubleheader on Thursday.

Though an official announcement has yet to be made, there will likely be a check presentation between games for the pending new Charles City Sports Complex.

For the Saints, which lead the TOIC with a 17-1 record, the loss dropped them to 22-8 overall.