Clinton Lumber Kings

CLINTON, Iowa – The Clinton LumberKings (1-0) defeated the Normal CornBelters (0-1) 11-1 in seven innings due to "mercy rules" on Monday night at NelsonCorp Field.

RJ Sherwood contributed significantly, hitting a home run and driving in 3 runs while going 2-for-4. Jalen Martinez stood out as well going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and scoring three runs.

The game started with the CornBelters taking an early lead in the first inning when William Flanigan singled to right field, driving in Terrick Thompson-Allen. However, the LumberKings quickly responded in the second inning. RJ Sherwood singled to left field, bringing in Cougar Cooke, and Karson Grout reached on a fielder's choice to drive in another run, giving the LumberKings a 2-1 lead.

In the third inning, the LumberKings extended their lead. Cougar Cooke grounded out to shortstop, allowing Bryan Belo to advance to third and Rayth Petersen to score. Jalen Martinez then singled to bring Belo home, making it 4-1. The LumberKings continued to dominate in the fifth inning when Martinez stole third base and scored on an error by the CornBelters' catcher, increasing the lead to 5-1.

The sixth inning saw a flurry of runs from the LumberKings. Chase Womack singled to left field, driving in Karson Grout, followed by a series of wild pitches that allowed additional runs to score. Cooke grounded out to second base, bringing in Petersen, and Martinez singled to right field, driving in Womack. The highlight of the inning came when Sherwood hit a two-run homer to left field, capping the scoring at 11-1.

Jimmy Burke pitched 4 solid innings on the mound, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out five, while Hayden Vickroy earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief, giving up only one hit and striking out one.

The Clinton LumberKings will travel the road for the next two days to take Springfield and Burlington. Fans can listen to the game on WCCI-FM 100.3 or stream games live on PLTV.