Comets out-slug Saints 16-6 in final home game of regular season

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — While playing their final home game of the season, the Charles City Comets had some fun while out-slugging the Saint Ansgar Saints 16-6 in Thursday’s non-conference baseball game.

The game was stopped in the bottom of the sixth after Charles City rallied for 8 runs.

The Comets not only ended the game swinging smoking sticks, they started the game much the same way with their first five batters reaching safely before Charles City took a 7-2 lead after three innings.

The Saints, who had defeated the Comets earlier this season when Charles City hosted a three-team invitational, rallied for 2 runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to close within 2 (8-6) before the Comets answered with their decisive rally.

Ranked several times this season amid the Top 10 Class 1A teams in the state according to polls periodically released by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association, Saint Ansgar scored 2 unearned runs off Comet southpaw starter Lincoln Joslin in the first inning.

But 2 runs were not going to win this game, especially against the hot-hitting Comets who pounded out 16 hits while pulling within one game of .500 (15-16) with two regular season games left before their Class 3A-Substate 3 first-round game against Waverly-Shell Rock on July 7 at Wartburg College.

Senior Reed Peters, who may have the best bat speed in the Comet lineup, was 4 for 5 with a triple and 4 RBIs.

Eighth-grade catcher Carter Cajthaml had three hits; senior Kayden Blunt had an RBI double, yet another RBI “hit-by-pitch” and scored the game-ending run on a wild pitch; freshman Rylan Peters had two hits and 2 RBIs; senior Jack Hanson had two hits including an RBI double; and Joslin was 2 for 3 with an RBI double and drove in 2 more runs with a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk for the Comets, who have two more road games against South Winneshiek (June 30) and Vinton-Shellsburg (July 3).

Joslin also recorded his staff-leading fifth win of the season (5-4) after scattering four hits in five innings.

Drew Powers had two hits and 2 RBIs for the Saints (22-7).