Triad Baseball, Softball combine for 5-1 record last week

By Ray Popkess

Not only are Triad’s baseball and softball teams winning three-quarters of their games played so far this season, their wins continue to come in lopsided fashion.

Coach Kris Kleeman and company took on Jerseyville and Highland in two conference matchups last week, coming away with victories on both days.

Triad’s baseball team, led by Head Coach Jesse Bugger, earned their 15th win of the season with two games against Civic Memorial last week before heading to West St. Louis County for a matchup with powerhouse Christian Brothers College (CBC).

Softball
Runs were tough to come by in Triad’s first game of the week against Jerseyville on Monday, April 20.

Addison Hagarty led the game off with a triple in the top of the first and came around to score two batters later on a Kenzie Becker single.

Jerseyville answered the run they gave up with a home run in the bottom of the first followed by an RBI double to put them up by a score.

Triad leveled the game in the second inning after Alli Lintz received a four-pitch walk with one out. Addison Mallette dropped down a bunt to push Lintz to second and she reached first on an error. A double steal put both runners in scoring position for Hagarty, who hit a fly ball far enough into right field to score Lintz.

Abby Harper responded to her first inning in the circle by striking out the side in the second.

No other runners would score until the top of the fifth, when Hagarty got the inning started with a five-pitch, one-out walk. Regan Sexton dropped down a bunt toward the first baseman in the next at-bat. Jerseyville attempted to catch the runner out at second but the throw did not make it in time, allowing both runners to reach safely. Becker dropped a bunt down in the following at-bat, successfully sacrificing her out to allow another error by the Panthers, giving Hagarty enough time to score the decisive run.

Harper finished out the game in the circle, throwing all seven innings while only surrendering four hits, two walks and striking out nine.
Wednesday’s game against the Highland Lady Bulldogs was another rout by the Lady Knights. Harper took the circle once again and only gave up a single hit to Lucy Becker. She pitched a shortened version of a complete game (five innings) and fanned another nine batters in the process.

Lexi Bohnenstiehl had a stellar day at the dish, batting three-for-three with a home run and five RBIs.

Hagarty also had three hits on the day, including a double, a triple and three RBIs of her own. She currently sits second in the conference among hitters with double digit at-bats with a batting average of .597. She’s also tied for the league lead with four triples.

Triad plated seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and closed out the game in the fifth by a final of 12-0, notching their 15th win of the season.

They currently trail Mascoutah and Waterloo in the Mississippi Valley Conference standings by a half game and one game, respectively. The Lady Knights are 15-6 overall with a 3-1 conference record. After getting rained out in Mascoutah on Tuesday, April 28, their next contest is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 at home against Waterloo followed by another home game on Friday, May 1 against Belleville East with a 4:30 start time.

Baseball
The Knights swept another conference foe last week, this time in the form of the Civic Memorial Eagles.

Game one against the Eagles was a low-scoring affair played in Bethalto. The first run to cross home was in the top of the third, when Carter Gaskill led the inning off with a one-out triple. After two walks to load the bases, Brody Hasquin reached on an error by the Eagles’ catcher allowing Gaskill to score. Auggie Bugger picked up an RBI in the next at-bat on a line drive single, putting the Knights up 2-0.

The third run of the game didn’t score until the sixth inning. Nathan Klucker reached on an error from the first baseman after hitting a pop fly. Kade Rocca brought him all the way around to score in the following at-bat on a triple to right field.

Nolan Keller threw seven strong innings, giving up only three hits and striking out 14.

Bugger finished his day two-for-three at the plate with his lone RBI. Hasquin had the only other extra-base hit for the Knights, a double in the second inning.

Game two against the Eagles was slightly more lopsided. Scoring opened up in the bottom of the second when Hasquin led the inning off getting beaned. Bugger reached on an error by the shortstop, advancing Hasquin to third. Keller pushed Hasquin across with a sacrifice fly to right field, followed by another sacrifice fly from Rocca to plate Bugger.

Triad scored four runs in the fifth, beginning with a leadoff single from Kannon Seipp. Gaskill doubled two batters later, putting runners at second and third for Braxton Yates. Seipp scored during the at-bat on a passed ball and Yates earned a walk to first. Keegan Seipp singled to right field in the following at-bat, scoring Gaskill. Hasquin and Bugger drew walks in the next two at-bats allowing Yates to stroll home and put the Knights up 5-0. Rocca singled two batters later to plate Hasquin and Keegan Seipp, scoring the seventh and final run of the game.

Matt Morris and Grayson Yank combined for the seven-inning shutout. Morris threw six innings and collected four Ks. Yank closed out the final inning facing four Eagles, surrendering a single hit.

Triad fell behind early to the Cadets on Thursday, April 23 after CBC picked up a couple hits and a run on a passed ball in the bottom of the first.

The Knights answered back in the top of the fourth by loading the bases and stealing home on an error by the Cadet catcher, but it proved to be their only run of the game.

CBC broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth by stringing a few hits together with the help of a couple untimely errors. The Cadets posted seven runs in the inning and shut down the Knights in the top of the seventh to hand Triad their fourth loss of the season by a final of 8-1.

As for the Mississippi Valley Conference, Triad still has three of the top four home run hitters in the league on their roster in Keegan Seipp, Klucker and Gaskill. Seipp currently sits second in the conference with 23 RBIs. Hasquin has the top slugging percentage, .875, among hitters in the MVC with at least 20 at-bats. Keller maintains a perfect 5-0 record on the mound with a 1.85 earned run average through 31 innings pitched. Matt Morris also boasts an unblemished, 4-0 record with a 1.33 ERA through 21 innings on the mound.

The 16-4 Knights recently took down Collinsville in a 5-2 contest while dodging the weather on Tuesday, April 28 and now gear up for another conference foe in Waterloo on Wednesday at home and Thursday on the road, April 29 & 30. Triad currently sits atop the MVC with a 4-0 conference record.