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Magic halt Newts win streak
NEW CARLISLE - It was another soggy Sunday in New Carlisle, and the only thing sloppier than the Migley Field turf was the Newts' play on it. The Maple City Magic (17-1) easily swept away the Newts, 10-2, 8-3, 13-3.
With recently named All-Star Garrett Curless sidelined with a back injury, things never looked promising for New Carlisle as Maple City never trailed the entire day.
Maple City took an early four run lead in the second inning of the series opener. Noah Shail immediately cut that lead in half with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning, which scored Matt Soos.
Soos, who started the game on the mound, did his best to keep the Newts in the ballgame, but the sputtering New Carlisle lineup could not provide any more run support.
Maple City tacked on another five runs in the sixth inning to give game one its lopsided final score, 10-3.
The second game was much of the same. After Caleb Jonkman and Scott Soos traded solo home runs in the first inning, the Magic again scored four runs in the second as some poor Newts defense created a messy traffic jam on the base paths.
Shail would homer twice, but the Newts didn't score after the third inning. The Magic once again added a couple insurance runs in the sixth inning to make it 8-3.
Desperately trying to salvage something, the series finale ended up even worse. For the third consecutive game, the Magic scored four in the second inning.
Sticking to the script of the previous games, Shail homered twice but the Newts offense couldn't add much more. Scott Soos drove in a run on a single in the fifth inning.
The lone highlight for the Newts, Shail went 7 for 15 on the day and was the only Newt to record a hit in all three games.
The sweep erases New Carlisle's lead in the division race for the National League East. Olive Township swept the County Line Kings to also hit the 11-7 mark. The Mechanics hold the tiebreaker over the Newts via an Opening Day series victory.
After breaking for the All-Star Game this weekend, New Carlisle will head to Elkhart on June 23 for a three-game series. Along with Curless, Scott Soos was selected to represent the Newts on the National League team.
