![For the second time this week, Mendota took an early lead on Newman. But once again, the Comets flipped the early deficit into a comfortable win in Three Rivers East Conference baseball action. Newman won the home contest 9-2 in five innings as the game was called early due to rain. It was the 11th straight win for the Comets (17-1, 7-0). The Trojans (8-8, 3-7) scored two unearned runs to take a 2-0 lead against Newman starter Michael Morse in the middle of the second inning, but Morse settled in and the Comets’ bats got rolling after that. Ashton Miner, Garet Wolfe and Evan Bushman all had two RBIs for Newman. The Comets drew 11 walks and had four hits. “Every single time we give up a run around the first or second inning, [coach] Kenny [Koerner] always lets us know, ‘you’ve got to score to win anyway’,” Miner said. “And it is really nice to know that even when our top isn’t doing it in the first couple innings, we’ll get there eventually with our depth.“Sometimes it’s hard not to get down, and we really just gotta have leaders that are vocal and get us riled up,” Miner said. “They came out and punched us in the face early and we had to get it going.”After the first time through the order against Mendota’s sophomore starting pitcher Esten Otero, the Comets took advantage of walks and errors to score four times in the third and fourth inning. Otero went three innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six walks and two hits. Reese Lane and Aden Tillman got the final three outs for the Trojans. Liam Nicklaus closed out the fifth inning for Newman. “The balls were soaked, so I was just trying to make sure I threw strikes,” Nicklaus said. “Just try to get it in the zone, make them put it in play and make them beat us.”The approach paid off as Morse and Nicklaus allowed just four hits and one walk. Morse struck out five and walked one, allowing three hits and two unearned runs in the win. “It was nice to see him battle back,” Nicklaus said of Morse. “As long as he puts it over the plate, he’s pretty hard to hit for sure.”Mendota coach Jim Eustice said his team struggled with command on the mound. “We just struggled with our throwing strikes in these conditions and they didn’t,” he said. “It’s been our problem all year. Just too many walks, and we’ve just got to get better.”Eustice said Newman does the little things well and they are tough to pitch against. Evan Bushman pitched a complete game Tuesday at Mendota in an 8-1 win. “Bushman was phenomenal on Tuesday,” Eustice said. “And Morse, he’s the real deal. He settled in pretty nicely.”While the Comets are averaging 9.6 runs per game this season, the pitching also continues to get it done. Opponents have scored just 2.6 runs per game so far. “It’s really nice even when the conditions are bad, our pitchers can trust our fielders and just throw strikes,” Nicklaus said, “and get balls in play that we can still make outs on.”Koerner said Newman is at its best when they are throwing strikes and make plays in the field.“The bats have done a nice job this year, but we’re definitely a pitching, defensive team,” he said. “I Was proud of the way we battled through at the end of the game.”](https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2063/2026/04/01015638/VK3HYWRWZNARBBHM7PSG24NWFM814348.webp)
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