Knights Softball wins five straight, Baseball clashes with Titans

By Ray Popkess

Triad Softball has been on a roll lately, winning their fourth straight contest with their most recent wins coming against Park Hills Central (MO), Belleville West and Breese Central.

The baseball team went up against an arch rival in Chatham (Glennwood) last week as they narrowly came away with a victory. They followed that game with tough losses to St. John Vianney (MO) and O’Fallon over the weekend.

Softball

Triad’s winning streak began with a victory over Piasa Southwestern on Tuesday, March 24, a game they won by a final of 5-0. Abby Harper continued to shine in the circle for the Lady Knights, as she earned another complete game shutout while striking out 16 of a possible 21 outs.

Abby Harper rounds second base on her way home after roping her inside-the-park home run to right field. (Ray Popkess photo)

Harper took the mound again on Friday, March 28 in a game against East St. Louis. Triad needed only three innings to put an end to that game, as they came away with an 18-0 victory. Harper struck out nine of the 10 batters she faced while only surrendering a hit, and put the cherry on top of her day with an inside-the-park home run at the plate. Addison Haggerty went four-for-four at the dish including a double and a triple, collecting five RBIs and two stolen bases. Regan Sexton also had a day at the plate, going three-for-four with a double and four RBIs.

Triad took on Belleville West and Central (Park Hills) in their weekend series hosted at Belleville West High School. Game one against the Lady Maroons went in Triad’s favor when they collected their three game-winning runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to efforts from Kenzie Becker and Harper at the plate. Harper pitched again going seven full innings and striking out eight while only giving a single earned run.

Game two against the Rebels was a wallop by the Lady Knights, as they wrapped up this game in five innings by a final of 13-3. Avery Lintz took the circle first, earning the victory and collecting two strikeouts and only giving up four hits. Danica Keller had a stellar game in the batter’s box, going three-for-four with three doubles and two RBIs. Sexton also went three-for-four with two home runs and three RBIs.

The Lady Knights made it five in a row against Breese Central in a home game on Monday, March 30. Harper took the mound, and once again tossed a complete game shutout in seven innings of work. She picked up 11 Ks and only gave up two hits and walk. Triad’s scoring came via two doubles in the bottom of the third inning. Keller picked up her only hit of the game in the inning, knocking in two runs with her double. Sexton also picked up an RBI double in the same frame. Three runs was all the Lady Knights needed to seal the victory.

Triad’s next game comes against Alton on Saturday, April 11 with a first pitch time of 10:00 a.m.

Baseball

Nolan Keller was the only Knight to take the bump in Triad’s game against Glenwood on Friday, March 28. He threw all seven innings in a complete game shutout, collected seven strikeouts and continues to keep his ERA at zero this season through ten innings pitched. Carter Gaskill scored the only run for Triad after stealing two bases and swiping home on a passed ball, but it was all the Knights needed to claim victory.

Nolan Keller uses his leg kick to put as much power into his pitch during his shutout against Glenwood. (Ray Popkess photo)

Triad’s next game against Vianney saw a few more runs get scored than the day before, but the majority were in favor of the Griffins. Pearce Goodfield got the call for the Knights on the mound. He pitched two scoreless innings before getting relieved by Brody Hasquin in the top of the third, a frame where the Griffins put up three runs. Hasquin did not surrender a hit in his four innings of work while striking out six, but did give up another run in the seventh. Triad collected their only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice bunt from Gaskill, but couldn’t muster any more offense from there as they fell, 4-1.

Game two of their doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 was a loss to O’Fallon by a final of 9-6. Keegan Seipp blasted his fifth home run of the season during the game and currently leads the Knights with a slugging percentage of 1.182 among batters with at least 10 at-bats. Catcher Kade Rocca had a nice afternoon at the plate going two-for-three with three RBIs and a walk, but it was not enough to answer the nine runs scored by the Panthers.

The Knights’ next game comes on Thursday, April 2 against Wheaton Warrenville South at home, with a first-pitch time scheduled for 3:00 p.m. They follow that contest up with a game on Wednesday, April 8 against Centralia at home as well.