Cooper Drives Home Dickerson With Winning Run: Granite City Warriors Open Season With Close Win

GRANITE CITY - Catcher Ayden Cooper's one-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth drove home pinch runner Hunter Dickerson with the winning run as Granite City opened its 2026 baseball season on a winning note, taking a tight pitcher's duel over Waterloo Gibault Catholic 2-1 in a game played Wednesday afternoon, March 18, 2026, at Babe Champion Field in Granite City.

It was the premier of the newly-renovated ballpark, with a different layout and an all-turf field, improvements that make an already beautiful facility even more beautiful, and also serves as a completion to what's believed to be the area's only all-turf sporting complex, joining the Warriors' softball field, Gene Baker Field for soccer, and Memorial Stadium/Kevin Greene Field for football.

"It was a good win," said Granite head coach Scott Smallie. "It was a good battle between Gibault and us, all four pitchers did a good job locating early, but we finally got two big two-out hits," he said, "and ended up scoring two runs. We come out with the win today, for sure, but it was a good-fought ball game, a good, hard ball game."

Smallie agreed it was the win was a great way to open the new ballpark.

"The weather was perfect, " Smallie said. "I mean, you've got to come out and see this place if you haven't seen it with your own two eyes. It's beautiful, and thanks to the school board and all of Granite City for supporting us with this. It's the best, it's second to none in the area. It's just a great field; it plays well, it plays true. It was a fun day for sure to get our first win on it, too."

The coach's goals and aspirations for his ball club are very ambitious this season, as Granite looks to take a step up into becoming one of the better programs in the area.

"I think we're going to play a lot of games like we did today," Smallie said, "so I think we've turned the corner. Our kids are working hard. I like our work ethic at practice. I like how we've come out and played the game today, and hoping for big things for this year."

It also includes making noise in the postseason and possibly moving on to bigger and better things for the Warriors.

"I just want us to be competitive," Smallie said. "We've got to take that next step. We've been hovering around, we've got to take that next step, so we're competing with all the teams in the area. And when we get to the regional, and make noise in that. That's the ultimate goal, to win a regional."

Both teams went down in order in the first, and the Hawks had the first threat in the top of the second, as Gibault loaded the bases, but starting pitcher Michael Terry got two strikeouts and a pop-out to end the inning. The Warriors did likewise in their half of the second, with one out, but a strikeout and pop-out ended their inning.

Granite scored the first run of the new park in the bottom of the third, as Ben Wilson got a one-out single, stole second one out later, and scored on an Andrew Willaredt RBI single to left to give Granite a 1-0 lead. Gibault tied the game up in the top of the fourth on a lead-off double by Dylan Schaefer, who went to third on a base hit by Gus Schmidt, and came in on a slow roller hit by Tim Donius that Terry fielded and got the out, with Schaefer scoring to make it 1-1.

Wilson came into the pitch in the fifth and was very effective, as was Hawks' pitcher Danny Kinsey, who came in the fifth in relief of starter Carson Timmons, who was very effective in his four innings of work.

Granite took the lead in the sixth, starting when Tuff Bradley drew a lead-off walk and went to second on a one-out walk to Connor Schaefer. Cooper then delivered his game-winning hit to center, scoring pinch runner Dickerson, and sending Schaefer to third, while Cooper took second on the throw to the plate. A strikeout and a flyout ended the inning. A fly ball to Bradley in center ended the game and gave the Warriors a hard-fought 2-1 win.

Cooper and Willaredt both had hits and RBIs to lead Granite, while Bradley and Schaefer had the other hits. Terry started on the mound, allowing an earned run on four hits, walking two, and striking out three in four innings of work, while Wilson got the win in relief, throwing the last three innings, giving up two hits while fanning three.

The Hawks start off 0-1, and play their home opener against Marquette Catholic on Friday at 4:30 p.m., then play two at Roxana City Park on Saturday, meeting the host Shells at 10 a.m., then playing Jersey at 12 noon.

The Warriors kick off the season 1-0, and go on the road for their next three games, playing at Roxana Friday, at Alton on Tuesday, and at Edwardsville next Thursday, all three games starting at 4:30 p.m.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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