Thursday’s poor playing condtions didn’t seem to deter Newman’s hot start to the baseball season.

Although the game against Sterling at Gartner Park was called early due to lightning, Newman built a 10-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning before the contest fell short of becoming official.

A Michael Morse three-run double got the Comets to the 10-run mark for the fourth straight game to start the season. Newman led 4-0 through four innings before rain picked up during play in the top of the fifth.

Morse and Garet Wolfe each had two hits and Newman drew seven walks, five of which came in the fifth inning.

“We’ve been stringing it together top to bottom,” Ashton Miner said. “Guys are starting to get hot anywhere in the lineup.”

Both teams had their top pitchers going with Newman’s Evan Bushman facing Sterling’s Eli Penne.

Bushman, who hasn’t lost in the last two regular seasons, allowed just two hits and a walk, striking out one in four innings pitched.

“Evan pounds the zone, mixes [pitches] so well,” Newman coach Kenny Koerner said. “He was really good today again. And he’s just getting his arm back from basketball season.

“I thought offensively, we took advantage of a couple mistakes, and that’s what you’ve got to do in high school baseball.”

Garret Matznick scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, Drake Cole drew a walk with the bases loaded and the Golden Warriors missed plays on defense. Balls were misplayed in the infield and a ball was dropped in right field.

“We didn’t play defense,” Sterling coach Darwin Nettleton said. “Eli does a nice job, it’s 1-0. And then we have a booted ball at short, we drop a fly ball in right that leads to two runs.”

Penne pitched four innings and allowed four runs (two earned), giving up five hits and two walks while striking out five.

“I thought our approaches were pretty good, too,” Nettleton said. “Tip your cap to Evan, I thought he threw pretty well. Just another day, another opportunity to learn.”

Koerner said the top of his team’s lineup is swinging the bat well. Newman had scored at least 11 runs in its previous three games and has yet to play at home.

“We’ve been trying to work with the bottom [of the lineup] with putting the ball in play more and trying to move our runners around, put a little pressure on the defense,” he said. “But [I’ve] been happy obviously with the start of the season the way we’re swinging it.”

Matznick had three RBIs and Jameson Hanlon knocked in another and scored two runs.

Newman has another matchup with Sterling on the schedule at home on April 21.

The Comets were bumped up to Class 3A this season after reaching state in 2A the last two seasons as a non-boundry school. Facing Sterling, which it could potentially run into again in the postseason, is a valuable game on the schedule for seeding purposes.

“I love it, I love competing,” Miner said of the bump up in class. “We like to play the best we can, and that’s why we’re so prideful in how far we go every year. We want to face the best teams we can, no matter the outcome. We’re looking to get some tough competition this year.”

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Newman’s Garret Matznick avoids the slide by Sterling’s Wyatt Cassens to turn the double play Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Alex T. Paschal)