Dillon Newman pitched a two-hitter, and Kevin Thornton and Cameron Arnett drove in a combined five runs as Belton rolled over Killeen Shoemaker 10-0 in six innings Friday night at Tiger Field.
The Tigers (15-1 overall, 2-0 District 13-5A), who played their first 15 games on the road, scored in every inning but the fifth and put the Grey Wolves (2-12, 0-2) away on the 10-run mercy rule with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
Newman (5-0), a sophomore right-hander, yielded just two singles, struck out eight batters and didn’t walk any, marking the second consecutive game in which Belton did not issue a walk.
“We wanted to see the old Dillon from last year,” Tigers coach David Tidwell said. “From about the third inning on, he looked really good and his curveball was working.”
After bursting onto the scene last year - when he suffered from late-season arm fatigue - Newman had struggled at times early this season.
“That was a better start because I’ve been struggling with my curveball a lot,” said Newman, who threw 83 pitches and picked a pair of runners off first base. “I wouldn’t say that was the old Dillon, but it was better.”
Thornton, the Tigers’ sophomore center fielder, had a two-RBI single in the first and drove in a run with a double over the third-base bag in the fourth.
Arnett, a left-handed-hitting senior who batted seventh, also had two hits, including a two-run double off the right-field wall in the third.
No. 8 hitter Brett Hernandez had a single and nine-hole hitter Jacob Phillipe doubled off the fence in center, meaning the Tigers got four of their nine hits from the bottom three spots in the order.
“We feel comfortable with everybody in our order,” Arnett said. “If we have a guy in scoring position, we feel just as confident that (Nos.) 6-9 will get him home as we are in 1-5.”
Losing pitcher Felix Rivera lasted two innings for Shoemaker, giving up three runs, two hits and four walks. He also hit a batter and threw three wild pitches.
Grey Wolves reliever Mark Todd worked the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits. He walked three batters, hit three others and uncorked six wild pitches.
“I was really pleased with what I saw from Dillon and with what I saw up and down the batting order,” said Tidwell, whose squad will play a non-district game at Copperas Cove at 1 p.m. today. “We always preach to our guys that to score a lot of runs, you have to be able to hit throughout the lineup."
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
