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The Railsplitters defeated the Alton Marquette
Catholic Explorers 8-5 and now have a 2-0 record at Busch
Stadium under the leadership of Coach August Casson. Last season
on May 30, 2021 the Railsplitters defeated Mount Vernon 6-2 in
an afternoon game at Busch Stadium.
On Friday night, 40 Lincoln baseball players took part in the
unique experience at the home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sam Gleason got the start on the mound for the Railsplitters and
with Lincoln once again being the home team, it was Gleason and
friends taking the field at 6 p.m.
Lincoln’s defense got three quick outs to start the game. Drew
Eimer caught the first fly ball in right field to retire the
Explorers lead-off hitter. A ground ball to the shortstop, Trent
Koehler, made for the second out of the inning. The no. 3
hitter, Darrius Weaver, flew out to Eimer for the third out.
The Railsplitters sent Sean Raffa up to bat first in the bottom
of the inning. Raffa had a hard hit ball to third and he hustled
down the first base line and beat out the throw for a hit. With
the no. 2 hitter, Daulton Miller, in the batter’s box, Raffa
swiped second base. Miller would eventually take a walk down to
first base and a couple ducks were on the pond for Lincoln’s no.
3 hitter, Andrew Graue. Graue hit a rocket shot to right field
for a base hit, scoring Raffa with the Railsplitters first run
of the game.
Lincoln’s cleanup hitter, Alex Hoffert, then walked to load the
bases for Jake Baker. Baker smacked the ball to short for an
infield single and in the meantime, Miller raced home to make
the score 2-0.
Jaden Klopp would come up to the plate and ground out for the
Railsplitters first out, but the runners advanced and Graue even
came around to score on the throw and make the score 3-0. This
chased the Marquette starting pitcher from the mound.
The new pitcher for the Explorers came in the game and his first
pitch hit Drew Eimer, who trotted down to first base. The bases
were loaded for left-handed hitting Trent Koehler. This time a
wild pitch advanced the runners, with Hoffert scoring for
Lincoln.
The Explorers pitching woes continued with a walk to Koehler.
Jacob Langley got a chance to bat with the bases loaded. Langley
would strike out for the second out. Jaden Leadley stepped into
the batter’s box and he had a base hit to left field to score
Baker. Eimer was the third out at home trying to score. After
one inning, the Railsplitters had a 5-0 lead.
Jaron Woods took the mound for Lincoln in the top of the second
inning.
The clean-up hitter for Marquette quickly got a base hit off
Woods. Nothing would come of the runner, as Woods retired the
next three guys. A fly out to Baker in left field was out no. 1.
A ground out to short was out no. 2. And finally a ground out to
third and a nice leaping catch by the first baseman, Hoffert,
who quickly applied a tag as the runner raced to the bag making
the play very close, was out no. 3.
The Railsplitters bottom of the second inning was pretty quick
but not without excitement. Elijah Pollice started the inning by
flying out to left field and he received a thunderous applause
for the crack of the bat and the height of the ball, even though
it didn’t have the distance and fell right into the left
fielder’s glove. Brenden Wurth grounded out to short for the
second out and then Gleason flew out to the shortstop for the
third out of the inning.
The top of the third inning was a fun inning for the Lincoln
defense. It was the “inning of the bros.” Three sets of brothers
took the field for Lincoln and each set featured a senior and a
freshman.
Trent Koehler was set up at shortstop while his younger brother,
Kyle, took over the hot corner at third.
Andrew Graue manned first base and played catch with his younger
brother, Parker, over at second base before the Explorers
batted.
And in the outfield, it was Daulton Miller in centerfield and
his younger brother, Brady, in left field.
Jaden Klopp was on the mound for Lincoln and he single-handedly
recorded the first out on a pop out. The next two Explorers
reached base, one was hit by a pitch and the other walked.
This set the stage for a cool moment. The next batter hit a
one-hop smash to Parker Graue at second and Graue handled the
play just like Tommy Edman. Graue even had the nice toss to
Trent Koehler for the force out at second and, of course,
Koehler fired the ball over to first to the other Graue brother,
Andrew, and just like that the double play was complete to end
the inning.
Nice job, Railsplitters!
Aidan Nemeth was due up first for Lincoln in the bottom of the
third inning. Nemeth grounded out to second. Woods then struck
out for the second out. Raffa came up and hit a line drive to
right field for his second hit of the game. Raffa stole second
again with Daulton Miller in the batter’s box. Miller grounded
out to short to end the inning.
Tate Johnston was on the mound for Lincoln in the top of the
fourth inning. His work in the inning went by rather quickly. A
grounder to Trent Koehler was scooped up and he fired over to
first for out no. 1. Langley caught a pop up for out no. 2.
After the Explorers got a base hit to left, the next guy was
retired on a ground out to second.
Lincoln headed to the bottom of the fourth inning still on top
5-0.
Andrew Graue walked to start the inning. After Hoffert grounded
out to third, Baker walked. Klopp flew out to left for the
second out, leaving the run scoring opportunity up to Eimer.
Eimer walked to load the bases for Trent Koehler. Koehler drew a
walk and the Lincoln lead increased to 6-0. With Langley up, the
Explorers pitcher threw a wild pitch and Baker hustled home to
make the score 7-0. Langley’s ground out to third ended the
inning.
Dylan Ferguson was the Railsplitters pitcher in the top of the
fifth inning. He made the inning’s work look easy with some
great defense behind him. A grounder was hard hit to third and
Wyatt Mammen scooped it up cleanly and fired to Jarrett Evers at
first base for the first out. Ferguson struck out the next
batter. Pollice then made a nice catch in right field that drew
a loud cheer from the Railsplitters dugout. The senior broke out
into a big grin as he jogged towards the Cardinals dugout.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Railsplitters added an
insurance run. After a lead-off walk to Leadley, Pollice flew
out to center. Wurth then came up to bat and ripped a base hit
up the middle. His sweet line drive put runners at first and
second for Gleason.
Gleason hit the ball to short and was out at first, but the
runners advanced to second and third on the play.
Jake Baker at the plate at Busch Stadium Raffa
came up again and delivered for Lincoln. His third single of the
game was a solid hit to right field and it drove in Leadley,
making the score 8-0.
The inning ended when Miller flew out in foul territory down the
right field line.
After a solid day at the plate, Raffa took the mound in the top
of the sixth inning for Lincoln. Raffa was tagged for a lead-off
double in the gap between right and center by Sean Mitchell.
After an out on a fly ball to center, the next Explorers batter
reached base on a hit to short. With runners at second and third
for Marquette, a ground out to Brady Miller at second base
scored the Explorers first run.
Raffa ended the inning on a strikeout and Lincoln held an 8-1
advantage.
The bottom of the sixth was a quick inning for Lincoln, as the
ball never left the infield. Andrew Graue lined out to the
second baseman. Hoffert then flew out to the second baseman.
Baker flew out to the third baseman.
Now the top of the seventh inning was exciting for both teams.
The Explorers would score three times in the inning, finally
getting some loud applause out of their dugout.
With Langley on the mound for Lincoln, he walked the first
batter. The next batter singled for the Explorers. A wild pitch
moved the runners up a base for freshman Kannon Kamp. Kamp hit a
two-run single to center and that breathed new life into the
Explorers. Bogarts then came up and hit an RBI double to deep
left field that actually one-hopped the wall.
Railers pic on Jumbotron With the score now 8-4,
the Explorers were a threat again after a base hit to center put
runners at the corners.
This next play was without a doubt THE PLAY OF THE GAME!
Drew Hayes, a freshman, was playing centerfield for the
Railsplitters. He caught a fly ball and immediately fired
towards home plate, as the runner had tagged up at third.
Hayes’ throw to Dawson McConnell, also a freshman, was right on
target. McConnell tagged the base runner for the out at home and
the crowd erupted. As the replay showed across the JumboTron at
Busch Stadium, everyone stood and cheered. It was a moment no
one will ever forget for sure.
The Railsplitters escaped the inning without further damage as
Evers fielded a ground ball at first and stepped on the bag for
the last out of the inning.
Lincoln continued to hold an 8-4 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Klopp struck out to start
the inning. Eimer then grounded out to the pitcher. Koehler then
punched a base hit to left-center with his good arm. Koehler was
left stranded at first on the strikeout of Langley to end the
inning.
Noah Rachall was on the mound in the eighth inning for the
Railsplitters.
Railsplitters fan with poster Rachall struck out
the first batter he faced. Nolan Spiewak then got a hit just
over the first baseman’s head in shallow right field. With
Rachall hitting the next guy, there was trouble brewing with
runners on first and second. Rachall took care of the situation,
handling a pop out for the second out and then recording another
strike out for the third out.
With the 8:30 p.m. time limit quickly approaching, the
Railsplitters were up to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning.
They were quickly retired here as Leadley grounded out, Pollice
flew out to left and Wurth slugged one out to center but it was
caught by the centerfielder for the final Railsplitters out.
There was just enough time to start the ninth inning and the
Railsplitters sent Jake Baker to the mound to finish things.
Baker’s debut on the mound at Busch Stadium was certainly better
than that of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Those guys each
gave up multiple hits that included two home runs and they each
allowed four runs to score in their recent outings. Baker only
allowed one run on one hit.
Railsplitters team on the field After getting
the first batter out on a strikeout, the next guy hit a single
to center. Sam Soloman made a nice catch in right field to
record the second out for Lincoln. There were more hollers from
the dugout when Soloman, a freshman, made the nice grab in the
outfield.
The Explorers would score a run in the ninth inning on a base
hit to left-center, but the Railsplitters were able to end the
game when the next batter hit the ball to the shortstop, Brady
Miller, and Miller’s throw across the diamond to Ashton Corley
at first allowed Lincoln to celebrate an 8-5 win over Alton
Marquette Catholic.
The Railsplitters had eight hits in the game.
Raffa was 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Raffa also stole
two bases.
Andrew Graue, Jake Baker, Jaden Leadley, Brenden Wurth and Trent
Koehler also had hits for Lincoln.
The Explorers had 12 hits in the game.
Neither team committed an error.
Railsplitters on the field at Busch Stadium
This game was an exhibition game, so it does not count towards
either team's record, but it is worth noting the Explorers
carried a 20-11 record into the game while the Railsplitters
currently have a 15-13 record.
Lincoln will begin play in the Class 3A Regional this week at
Morton.
On Wednesday, May 25, 2022 the Railsplitters will play East
Peoria at 6 p.m.
[Teena Lowery] |
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