Lincoln Railsplitters defeat Central A&M at Busch Stadium

 

[June 01, 2023] 

The Lincoln Railsplitters got the opportunity to play at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Memorial Day after the MLB game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals and once again it was truly an awesome day for players, coaches and fans. The picture-perfect day began early for Railsplitter fans, with many of them leaving home mid-morning to make the drive to St. Louis to catch the 1:15 p.m. start time of the MLB game.

Following the Cardinals 7-0 loss to the Royals, the Major League players cleared the field and 45,000 plus fans cleared the stadium, making way for the Lincoln Railer fans and Central A&M Raider fans to move down lower in the seats to cheer on the high school athletes.

In front of a large, hot crowd that stuck around to see the amateur game, the Lincoln Railsplitters defeated the Central A&M Raiders by a final score of 16-4.

The Railers have a 3-0 record at Busch Stadium under the leadership of Coach August Casson.

On May 20, 2022 the Railsplitters defeated the Alton Marquette Catholic Explorers 8-5 under the lights at Busch Stadium.

On May 30, 2021 the Railsplitters defeated Mount Vernon 6-2 in an afternoon game at Busch Stadium.

On Monday afternoon, 36 Railers and six coaches took part in the unique experience of playing and coaching on the home field of the St. Louis Cardinals. Just like the previous two years, this experience was fun for the players, fans and coaches.

Prior to the first pitch, the announcer stated that the game would have a time limit of two and a half hours or nine innings played. In this case, the time limit was reached in the eighth inning and the Lincoln Railsplitters won by a final score of 16-4.

Senior Jaron Woods got the start on the mound for the Railsplitters, with the first pitch being thrown at 5:03 p.m. Lincoln was the home team on the scoreboard. Both teams wore red jerseys and white pants.

Central A&M scored a run in the top of the first inning off Woods. Colby Morrison reached base on a single to left field on the very first pitch of the game. Morrison was out at second after Landon Harlow’s pop fly to second was misplayed. With Harlow standing at first base, he would decide to run during the at bat of Gavin Houchins. As Harlow was swiping second base, the ball flew from the catcher’s hand, airborne into center field and Harlow was quick to react and take third. Upon rounding third, Harlow watched the ball roll past the glove of the centerfielder and he hustled home with the Raiders first run of the game. Trey Schilling and Colbie Glenn would each snag fly balls to end the inning and no further damage was done as the Raiders were on top 1-0.

In the bottom of the first inning, Jacob Langley was the leadoff hitter for Lincoln. He would strike out, delighting the Raiders fans, but the next Lincoln batter would really put a charge in the ball and that would rile up the Railer fans. Jaden Leadley smoked a double to the left field wall, the Legendary Wall, in fact, that features action shots of Cardinal legends such as Ozzie Smith, Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean and Red Schoendienst among others. Leadley hit the ball about 350 feet. Lincoln’s no. 3 hitter, Colbie Glenn, hit the ball to the shortstop and on a bad throw to first, Glenn was safe and Leadley wisely ran to third. After a walk to Michael Lucas, the Railers were occupying every single one of the new, bigger bases on the field. Brenden Wurth drove home the Railers first run on a ground out. Trey Schilling ended the inning on a ground out to short and the game remained tied 1-1.

Ashton Corley took the mound to start the second inning for Lincoln. Corley faced Paul Brown, who singled to right-center. Corley then recorded two strikeouts ahead of issuing a walk to Chase Robinson. A ground out by the Raiders ended any threat to score as the top half of the second inning came to a close.

In the bottom of the second inning, Jarrett Evers and Wyatt Mammen were each struck out by the Raiders new pitcher, Landon Harlow. Wes Tedrick would work a walk out of Harlow and even steal second base, but Dyllan Ferguson was out on a shallow fly ball to left that was caught on the run by the Raiders outfielder.

Freshman Mason Lee took over the pitching duties for the Railsplitters in the top of the third inning. Lee found himself in a little jam with the bases soon loaded and nobody out. Lee escaped serious damage with a little help from his senior catcher, Leadley, and a lot of help from his experienced infield. Leadley had to make a visit to the mound to talk the freshman off a cliff (credit Lee’s grandma with that one) and quickly thereafter Schilling caught a pop fly to record the first out of the inning. Parker Graue then snagged the next two pop flies and absolutely no damage was done and the score remained 1-1.

Moving quickly to the bottom of the third inning, Jaron Woods singled to right center and upon seeing the fielder struggling to pick up the ball, Woods hustled into second. The kid is fast! Noah Rachall then crushed one over the right fielder’s head and Woods came racing home, giving the Railsplitters a 2-1 lead. Rachall moved to third on a wild pitch, with Langley up to bat again. Langley sent a single out to left this time around and the Railsplitters led 3-1 as Rachall crossed home plate. Langley stole second just before Leadley hit a hard ground ball and beat it out. With runners on the corners, Glenn stepped into the batter’s box. Leadley moved into scoring position with a stolen base and shortly thereafter Glenn drew a walk to load them all. While Lucas was at bat, Langley scored on a wild pitch and the Railsplitters were really getting to the new Raiders pitcher, Logan Ashley. A two-run single to left by Lucas brought Leadley and Glenn home to make the score 6-1. Wurth added a single in his at bat and this brought Schilling to the plate. Schilling’s fly ball to center was dropped by the fielder and again the bases were loaded. Evers smacked a single to center to score Lucas and the lead increased to 7-1. The Railsplitters were having a ball and with Mammen marching to the plate, the fun was not over yet. Mammen sent the ball flying towards that Legendary Wall for a double and that sent Schilling and Wurth flying home to score. The Railsplitters tacked on one more run before the inning ended confusingly with the score 10-1 because apparently there was a too-many-runs rule being enforced. Tedrick was the last batter in the inning. Nonetheless, the Railsplitters were happy with the results of the bottom of the third inning.

However, no one was happier than Sam “Cuban” Soloman, who took the mound for the Railsplitters in the top of the fourth inning. Soloman was lights out and kept things just between him and the infield. Soloman induced a pop out to the catcher and then a ground out to the second baseman and then he capped off his stellar performance with a strikeout! The brilliant effort gave Soloman the opportunity to make a move called “put the sword away” as he exited the mound and this drew a huge applause from the crowd. Soloman was still smiling when he reached the dugout and was greeted by happy teammates. The Railsplitters lead was still an impressive 10-1.

With the Railsplitters fired up to start the bottom half of the fourth inning, the bats also caught fire again.

Ferguson led off the inning by turning a single into a double. Woods walked. Rachall then slugged the first pitch for a single to left field. Ferguson wisely held up a third, with the ball traveling so fast. While Langley would strikeout with the bases loaded, Leadley would stroll into the batter’s box, ready to leave a mark. Leadley sent a fly ball deep into the outfield for an impressive ground rule double. Ferguson and Woods each scored and Lincoln was up 12-1. Glenn followed suit with a monster double of his own to right field, driving in two more runs. With Rachall and Leadley scoring on Glenn’s double, the score grew to 14-1. After Lucas popped up to second and Wurth drew a walk, Schilling got in on the doubles party and scorched the ball to left. Schilling’s double scored Glenn. Evers walked to load the bases yet again for the Railsplitters. Mammen batted with the bases full and he sent a long single down the left field line to score Wurth. Tedrick ended the fourth inning on a ground out to the pitcher but the Railsplitters had plenty to celebrate with a 16-1 lead.

Freshman Carson Fuiten, who had a remarkable season on the mound for Lincoln, got the nod for the Railsplitters in the top of the fifth inning. Fuiten had an entire cheering section, featuring the many offspring of Paul and Betty Verderber. Fuiten would be a great-grandson to the couple who created quite a legacy in Lincoln. Fuiten recorded his first out with help from Parker Graue, who was flawless at second base. Fuiten took care of business on his own with a strikeout for the second out. And finally he fielded a bunt and fired a perfect strike over to first base for the third out. The crowd roared, but the Fuiten Fan Club seated near the home plate area roared even louder. It was a quick inning for Fuiten. He honestly could not have thrown more than a dozen pitches. But the fond memories of his outstanding pitching performance will undoubtedly be the talk of family gatherings for a long time.

There was still some noise to be made in the bottom of the fifth inning. While the inning started with two quick outs, a ground out by Ferguson and a strikeout by Woods, leave it to Rachall to rattle the bat and the wall of Busch Stadium. Rachall annihilated the ball when he hit it off the left field wall for a double. Not sure if he hit Ted Simmons or Whitey Herzog or another legend on the wall, but nonetheless he put a charge into the ball and that really drew a loud applause from the crowd. Rachall was pretty pumped up when he landed on second base too. The inning ended with Langley out at first on a dropped third strike but with the Railsplitters having 16 hits and 16 runs at this point, the day was a blast so far.

Noah Rachall got the call to the mound in the top of the sixth inning. With his adrenaline still rushing, he struck out the first two batters he faced. The pitch got away from him with the next guy and that batter took first on a hit by pitch. He also stole second base on Rachall and even attempted stealing third base. But Griffin Shaw was behind home plate and he gunned down the runner trying to steal third for the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Leadley reached on a single to third and took second on a bad throw. Glenn popped out in his at bat here while Lucas struck out. The Raiders also got Wurth to pop out and it was definitely their quickest inning of the day.

The top of the seventh inning was lightning fast with Jarrett Evers taking the mound for Lincoln. Evers struck out the side in a blink of an eye.

With the clock flashing 7:18 p.m., the announcer told the crowd only fifteen minutes remained in the game.

Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, it was Schilling’s turn to bat again. He hit a deep fly ball towards the visitor’s bullpen in left-center and after two fielders nearly collided, the ball dropped. Schilling found his place on second base for a double. After Evers struck out and Mammen grounded out, Tedrick flew out to left and that was the end of the Railsplitters half of the seventh inning.

The lefty, Brenden Wurth, emerged from the dugout to take the mound in the top of the eighth inning. Wurth walked the first batter and then the second batter hit the ball to the shortstop. The shortstop then overthrew the ball to first and that started a domino effect. Another bad throw that sailed into centerfield eventually allowed both Raiders to score. It did look like a scene out of a t-ball game, but that happens really at any level of play. It sure gave the Raiders something to cheer about, especially since they had been shut down since the very first inning. Wurth settled in to strike out the next batter, but then Jay Ferguson stepped to the plate for Central A&M. Ferguson hit the ball deep and while it did not leave the ballpark, he did race around the bases determined to score the minute he left the batter’s box. Ferguson’s inside the park home run made the score 16-4 and certainly gave that young man a memory to treasure for a lifetime. Paul Brown was announced as the last batter for the Raiders and “Paulie” struck out to end the game under a time-limit rule previously set.

The Railsplitters won by a final score of 16-4 and what a great day at the ballpark!

The Railsplitters pounded out 18 hits.

Jaden Leadley was a beast at Busch Stadium. He had four hits in the game: double, single, double, single. Wonder if he orders fast food like that? He sure muscled up and crushed the baseball, leaving his mark on Busch Stadium.

Noah Rachall also had a great day at the plate. His three hits were: double, single, double. He also liked to hit that Legendary Wall in left field.

Trey Schilling’s multi-hit game featured two doubles. He liked that left-center area of Busch Stadium, too.

The doubles party was not restricted to just those guys.

Colbie Glenn, Dyllan Ferguson and Wyatt Mammen added doubles to their resumes on the day.

Jaron Woods, Jacob Langley, Brenden Wurth, Michael Lucas, Jarrett Evers and Wyatt Mammen also connected for singles to round out the Railsplitters offense.

The Raiders had four hits in the game.

The Railsplitters pitching staff combined to strike out 12 Raiders.

After the players shook hands and posed for pictures on the field, the teams exited the field to their families in the stands and the Railsplitters, especially, were all smiles.

There are other highlights worth mentioning.

In the eighth inning, Sampson Kurka nearly made a catch in the Raider’s dugout. He was certainly running and diving, giving it his best effort to catch a pop fly. And while there was no spectacular catch in the outfield like Drew Hayes had last year at Busch Stadium (which was followed by a perfect throw home to get a runner out), there was a pretty skilled catch in the stands by a super fan. Austin O’Donoghue snagged a foul ball with his Cardinal hat. He made it look pretty easy. The crowd sure cheered. He actually drew cheers louder than his dad, Bo, who also caught a foul ball at Busch Stadium a couple years ago.

The crowd in the stands also featured a lot of familiar faces to Railer Nation. In addition to all the baseball families, really too numerous to mention individually, there were basketball families like the Verderber’s, the Froebe’s and the Whiteman’s seated comfortably in the stands. Right beside Austin O’Donoghue, there was Jake Benninger from the days of Railer football. Becca Heitzig even graced the stands in a Cardinal jersey, fresh off a very successful track season and still looking ready to run her next race.

The fans also enjoyed the JumboTron immensely. Just like in the past, the Cardinals camera operators catch the crowd dancing, laughing and posing. Everyone likes to see themselves on the big screen.

Finally, a couple rock stars deserving shoutouts are Molly Hayes and Tori Schilling.

Hayes snapped pictures from the dugout the entire game and captured priceless memories for the families. Her on-field presence left her and the team smiling and she did an amazing job organizing 40-plus players and coaches for the group picture at the end of the game.

Meanwhile, Schilling was ready to save the day. She kept in contact with this reporter, who had to skip the Cardinal game and was not thinking things through when she arrived close to the ballpark as the late afternoon crowd was exiting the stadium. With every street surrounding the stadium closed for several blocks due to pedestrian traffic, the crunch was on to not only find parking but also get into the stands before the first pitch. I made it, but knowing that Schilling was ready to take notes meant a lot.

This game is always a highlight of the season and this article really does attempt to capture the moments so fans at home can get a feel for the atmosphere. Trust me, it was a great atmosphere!

Now here is a list of the players and coaches:

Coaches

August Casson
Mike Brennan
Eric Ewald
Howie Fuiten
Josh Komnick
J.D. Eigenbrod

Players

Parker Graue
Michael Lucas
Jacob Langley
Kyle Koehler
Colbie Glenn
Karson Komnick
Drew Hayes
Tate Johnston
Jaron Woods
Trey Schilling
Wes Tedrick
Dyllan Ferguson
Ashton Corley
Griffin Shaw
Carson Fuiten
Paytan Bunner
Brenden Wurth
Jaden Leadley
Wyatt Mammen
Jarrett Evers
Noah Rachall
Aiden Craine
Alec Claudio
Austin Lucas
Brathan Whiteman
Brody Tungate
Isaiah Conley
Jaedyn Gulley
Josh Gleason
Lyric Whiteman
Mason Lee
Preston Hunt
Sam Soloman
Sampson Kurka
Will Bickel
Zach Poole

[Teena Lowery]