ST. LOUIS — Clarinda jumped out to an early lead and withstood a late Atlantic rally to earn a 12-8 victory at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
The Cardinals erupted for four runs in the first inning and added four more in the second to build an 8-1 advantage.
Creighton Bird highlighted the opening inning with an RBI triple, while Warren Schmitt added a two-run single. Kort Neal also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to cap the four-run frame.
Atlantic answered with a run in the bottom of the first when Paxton Pross scored on Zayden Parker’s groundout, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Clarinda extended its lead with another four-run outburst in the second inning. Hayden Hash paced the offense with a two-run double.
The Cardinals pushed their advantage to 10-1 in the third as Nolan Wagoner and Ryan Wagoner each drove in a run.
Atlantic responded in the bottom half of the inning. Kale Jensen delivered a two-run double before Pross added an RBI single to trim the deficit to 10-4.
Clarinda added two insurance runs in the fifth when Warren Schmitt drove in a pair to make it 12-4.
The Trojans made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits. Keston Schmitt ripped a three-run double, and Cooper Woolsey followed with an RBI single after a deep drive to left field. However, the Cardinals recorded the final outs to secure the 12-8 victory.
Clarinda was led offensively by Nolan Wagoner, who finished with a double, a single and an RBI. Bird collected a triple, a single and drove in three runs, while Ryan Wagoner added two singles and an RBI. Warren Schmitt contributed two singles and a game-high four RBIs.
Atlantic was paced by Pross with two singles and an RBI. Sawyer Tarrell finished with a double and a single, Jensen collected two hits and two RBIs, Keston Schmitt drove in three runs with a double, and Cooper Woolsey added an RBI single.
Kort Neal earned the win on the mound for Clarinda.
