(Carroll) #3 New London was too much for #8 CAM in a Class 1A State Baseball Tournament matchup on Monday at Merchants Park in Carroll. The Cougars fell behind early and never swung the momentum in their favor in the 12-3 loss.
The Tigers, which start eight seniors, took advantage of several free passes at the plate and rode a great start from Dereck Santiago on the mound. The Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division Champs notch their first ever state tournament game victory in three tries. Last year they fell by a run in the first round to eventual runner-up Kee.
Santiago entered the game with a 9-0 record and 0.47 ERA. He struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. CAM got two hits each from Seth Hensley and Joe Kauffman while Ethan Follmann and Colby Rich both had one single. Santiago walked three batters and ended up with eight strikeouts in his 4 1/3 innings pitched. Josh Catala fired a scoreless inning and 2/3 while Brenden Richey delivered a 1-2-3 7th inning.
New London scored in every frame and ended up with 12 runs on 9 hits. The Tigers drew ten walks and they were hit by a pitch three times. CAM had to turn to three different pitchers to get through the game. Lane Spieker allowed four hits, five walks, six earned runs, and struck out eight in his three innings. Joe Kauffman went 1 1/3 on the hill with four hits, three walks, five earned runs, and one strikeout. Cade Ticknor allowed one hit, two walks, one earned run, and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings.
Joe Kauffman drove in all three of CAM’s runs with singles in the 3rd and 5th innings. Dereck Santiago drilled a three run double for the Tigers with two outs in their four run 2nd. Tucker Gibbar had an RBI walk in the 4th and a two run single in the 5th.
The Tigers improve to 29-1 on the season and will face #2 Newman Catholic on Wednesday evening in the semifinals. CAM’s season closes at 27-3.
Click HERE for the box score
