Kayden Blunt hits Comets’ first HR of season in loss against K-Hawks

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Foul-ball retrieval duty can be hazardous to your health.

Just ask the poor soul assigned to their-side-of-the-field task by the Kee K-Hawks during their Cedar Rivers Classic baseball game against tourney host Charles City on Saturday.

Comet sophomore Kayden Blunt had just drilled consecutive shots that cleared the left-field “Orange Monster” but were just left of the foul pole.

While the K-“Ball”-Hawk was collecting the two long strikes, Blunt hit another “Monster”-clearing foul ball that nearly brained the retriever.

Thankfully, no one got hurt. And thankfully for Kee starter Jaylen Drape, the only damage was an eventual walk to Blunt.

Drape didn’t get off so easily during a previous encounter with Blunt. While keeping his hands and weight back on one of Drape’s curveballs, Blunt lifted a flyball into the wind which carried over the said Monster for a 2-run home run that put the Comets up 2-1 in the fourth inning.

It was the Comets’ first home run of the season.

In the previous at-bat, Tino Tamayo almost earned that honor when he doubled high off the Monster.

Blunt, who had pitched a complete-game 1-hitter the week before against Oelwein, was again throwing well in his starting role against K-Hawks. But he was touched for 2 unearned runs in the fifth inning before being pulled after the sixth.

Kee added 3 more runs in the seventh to win 6-2.

Drape got the complete-game win while striking out five, walking three and yielding six hits.

Tyson Cota was 2 for 3 with a double, and Dalton Dibert and Damon Weber each had two hits for the K-Hawks.

Jaxon Daniels had 2 hits including a double for the Comets.

Charles City lost the previous morning game against Saint Ansgar 13-1.

Justin Horgen went the six-inning distance for the Saints, while striking out five, walking two, and yielding one earned run and four hits.

JJ Ritter and Kaden Barry each had two hits for the Comets. Ritter doubled and scored the team’s lone run on Barry’s RBI single in the first inning.

In the other game of the Classic, Kee rallied for 3 runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Saints 7-4.