(Clarinda) The Clarinda baseball team is hitting on all cylinders heading into the season’s final stretch. The Cardinals lead the Hawkeye Ten Conference with a 12-1 record and 14-2 overall.
The numbers tell the tale. The Cardinals are hitting .344 as a team, and the pitching staff has a combined Earned Run Average of 2.77. Not to mention the sure hands-on defense, which has made an impressive 24 errors in 16 games. Head Coach Rod Eberly points to veteran players experiencing success over the past three or four years.
Coach Eberly says they teach their hitters to reduce their swing in a two-strike approach to reduce strikeouts, providing more opportunities to put the ball in play and put pressure on the defense. Eberly says another focus is staying balanced at the plate.
Three players are hitting over .400 on the season such as Andrew Jones, .467, Cooper Phillips, .400, Kyle Wagoner, .423, and Cooper Phillips batting .400, Creighton Tuzzio, .444. and Cole Baumgart leads the team with a .481 batting average.
Speaking of pitchers, the Cardinals have three arms with earned run averages below two. Kort Neal and Karsten Beckel with ERAs of 1.91, and Tuzzio is 6-0 with a 1.18 ERA, with 62 strikeouts, 11 walks, and an impressive 15 hits given up in 29.2 innings of work.
Coach Rod Eberly says they have some of their best baseball ahead of them. Eberly feels they played one of the most complete games in a 9-3 win over Lewis Central on June 17. The Cardinals are coming off a 21-7 win over Red Oak on June 18 and head to Creston tonight.