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Newport Bulldogs pounds Wittenberg in non-conference tilt
Iles droves in five runs in 16-8 win
October 9, 2011
Senior catcher Mobi Gray ripped four hits in Newport's win at Wittenberg.
SPRINGFIELD — Jason Iles drove in five runs and Ben Butler had four of Newport’s 15 hits as the Bulldogs pounded Wittenberg, 16-8, in non-conference action Tuesday night. The win is Newport’s second straight and moves the Bulldogs to 15-12 on the season. Wittenberg drops to 18-14.
The offensive outburst comes on the heels of last Saturday’s 24-hit performance by WC in a doubleheader at Baldwin-Wallace.
“It seems like we’re just hitting it better on the road,” Newport head coach Tony Haley said. “It’s strange. You want to take care of your home field, but we’re just playing very relaxed on the road, going out and having fun. Hopefully, we can carry it over Wednesday against Capital.”
Newport scored five times in the second inning as Iles (Fayetteville) drove in two runs with a single, Butler (Beavercreek/Carroll) chased home a run with a sacrifice fly and Bryce DeWeese (Jeffersonville/Miami Trace) contributed an RBI single.
The Bulldogs went up, 8-3, with three in the fourth. Butler singled and scored on a single by Wade Rethmel (Defiance/Tinora), and Mike Kroeger (Cincinnati/Elder) added a run-scoring single.
Iles ripped his team-leading fourth home run of the season — a two-run shot — as Newport extended its lead to 10-3 in the fifth, and then tacked on three more in the sixth to end whatever drama remained.
Not lost in the din of Newport’s offensive onslaught was the pitching of sophomore left-hander Chris Lewis (Ostrander/Buckeye Valley). Lewis allowed four runs over 5.2 innings to pick up his second win against no losses.
“Chris had a real good outing,” Haley said. “He’s one of our pitchers who doesn’t get to pitch much, just in non-conference games, and we’ve lost a lot of non-conference games to the weather this spring. I told him before the game that we needed a big effort from him, and he came through. He was a little nervous early, but he settled down and did a nice job.”
The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Capital in a key Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader 1 p.m. Wednesday. Check this Web site for weather-related updates.
