Triad baseball scores multi-state victories
By Anthony Jones
TROY — Triad baseball picked up wins over squads from Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri this past week.
Their in-state victories came on Apr. 15 and 17, as they swept their Mississippi Valley Conference series against Waterloo.
The first of their two tests against the Bulldogs was a home affair, resulting in a 12-2 victory. Brady Coon tossed all five innings of the short game win for the Knights.
Waterloo’s only lead of the bout came in the form of a 2-1 edge in the top of the second. Triad tied the affair at 2-2 later in the inning before exploding to a 10-2 lead in the bottom of the third.
Owen Droy, Hayden Bernreuter and Gabe Deaver all produced home runs in the win. The trio also tallied five, four and one RBI, respectively.
Two days later, the Knights scored an 11-6 win at Waterloo.
The Bulldogs held a short term lead in that contest as well, with a six-run bottom of the fourth pushing them ahead 6-4. A half inning later, the Knights regained the lead with a six-run blitz of their own.
Drew Winslow, Sawyer Brunson and Bernreuter divided mound work in the conference victory. Both Donny Becker and Bernreuter tallied three RBI for Triad.
With the win, the Knights moved into sole possession of first-place in the league standings at 4-0. Mascoutah and Highland are currently tied for second with 3-1 marks after splitting their series last week.
On Apr. 19, Triad departed the Land of Lincoln for a doubleheader against McCracken County and Graves County in Kentucky.
The Knights’ first Bluegrass State opponent was the McCracken County Mustangs, who entered with a 13-4 record. Last year, the Mustangs knocked off Triad in a 4-2 final.
McCracken County jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first frame, leading up to multiple lead changes that resulted in a 3-3 tie through five innings. A lone Triad run in the top of the seventh was ultimately decisive in a 4-3 final.
Freshman arm Nathan Klucker hurled six frames for the Knights in the win before Bernreuter tossed a scoreless relief frame.
In the second leg of the doubleheader, Triad fell in a 1-0 showdown against the Graves County Eagles.
The following morning, the Knights crossed over to Cape Girardeau to battle the Notre Dame Bulldogs. Triad trailed 1-0 through the first five frames before reigniting their offense.
The Knights comeback began with two runs in the top of the sixth and spilled over into the seventh with four more runs to take charge at 6-1. This late rally proved decisive as Triad picked up a win in the Show-Me State.
Brunson tossed six frames in the win, while fanning eight batters. Droy closed out the win with a scoreless relief inning.
Landon Loomis led Triad’s offensive efforts with three RBI off four hits.
During recent action, senior Brady Coon readies for an offering, (Photo by Anthony Jones)
