CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tiger Varsity Baseball Team kicked off the 2025 spring season with a 13-3 run rule shortened win over East Newton Thursday at the new McCune Brooks Regional Hospital Trust Baseball Stadium.
“It felt really good to get out on the new field, said Carthage Head Coach Kevin Burgi. “We had a great crowd, and the players were very appreciative of the support. It was a moment that we will remember for a long time, and so much of that was because of the support of the community.”
Burgi gave the ball to Junior Carson Kinder (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Kinder proceeded to scatter five hits across 4 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs (zero earned) to forever enshrine his name in the Tiger history books as the pitcher of record for the first pitch thrown, first strikeout and first win of the inaugural stadium season.
East Newton scored two runs in the first inning on a series of Tiger errors, but Kinder was able to work around it and minimize the damage.
“Kinder was really good,” Burgi said. “I was very proud of how he responded to a negative outcome in the first inning. That is everything that we look for in a starter, and I was very happy he was able to get that win.”
Carthage responded with four runs in their half of the first inning and never looked back. The scoring barrage was fueled by a leadoff hit from Sophomore Landon West, who eventually came around and scored. West joins Kinder in the history books with the first Tiger hit and first run at the new stadium.
West added two more hits in the game, nearly hitting for the cycle — just a home run shy of the feat.
“West had a great day,” Burgi said. “He is a guy that we will have to count on to carry the load offensively this year, and he did a great job setting the tone.”
West led the Tigers with three runs scored.
“I was very happy with the way he ran the bags,” added Burgi “He has really put on emphasis on being a better baserunner, and it showed today.”
Seniors Zach Hoenshell and Taylor Stevens-Diggs drove in two runs each to lead the Tigers. The Tigers combined for 12 hits total.
Despite the big win, Carthage committed six errors in five innings. Burgi acknowledged that needs to change.
“We need to slow the game down when pressure is put on us,” Burgi said. “East Newton did a really good job finding ways to put our defense in a bad position. We gave up some free baserunners today, and we will get that cleaned up.”
Carthage heads to Columbia Saturday for a pair of games against Fort Osage and Hickman. The first pitch is scheduled for noon.
“This weekend is a great test for us,” added Burgi. “I look forward to going out and seeing how we compete. It should be a fun Saturday.”
