Even though they had four more hits than their opponent, and star pitcher Garrett Schauff struck out 16 batters, the Cassville varsity baseball team still lost to visiting Shullsburg-Benton last Tuesday evening, 3-0.

Coach Brandon Reynold’s squad managed seven hits in the contest compared to their opponent’s three, but was unable to plate any runners.

Garrett Schauff led the Comets at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, while Ty Kartman was 2-for-4 with a double.

“We hit the ball, but we just couldn’t string hits together to score runs,” said coach Reynolds. “A couple of mental mistakes on the base paths took us out of potential scoring innings.”

On the mound, Schauff was clearly in a groove, striking out 16 batters and walking four, while holding the co-op team to just three hits.

On three separate occasions, Shullsburg-Benton executed three suicide squeezes scoring all three of their runs.

With the loss, Cassville dropped to 4-5 in Six Rivers West conference play and 4-7 overall.

This past Monday’s conference game against neighboring Potosi was forfeited by the Comets, who for numerous reasons, were shorthanded for the night. That loss left Cassville with a 4-6 conference mark.

“The kids are really young and getting better each and every time we go out to the field, and there really hasn’t been a game besides Fennimore that we have been out of, or that we shouldn’t have been able to win,” said Reynolds.

Following this past Tuesday night’s home game against Belmont, the Comets next travel to Barneveld for a double header on Friday.

Shullsburg-Benton 3,
Cassville 0
(from Tuesday, April 24)
S/B             200    010    0 - 3    3    1
Cassville    000    000    0 - 0    7    1
Leading hitters - C: Kartman 2x4, Schauff 2x3. 2B - Scott (S/B), Kartman (C). W - Cook (7IN, 8K, 3BB). L - Schauff (7IN, 16K, 4BB).