Stillwater Senior Living Male Athlete Of Month for Granite City Warriors: Catcher Cooper Plays Key Role in Baseball Start

GRANITE CITY - Ayden Cooper is off to a strong start for the Granite City Warriors baseball team.

He is a Stillwater Senior Living Male Athlete of the Month for the Warriors.

Cooper, a junior catcher for the Granite City High School baseball team, had the game-winning RBI, a single to center field that scored pinch runner Hunter Dickinson, in a 2-1 win over Waterloo Gibault Catholic on March 18, 2026, in the debut game of the newly remodeled Babe Champions Field in Granite City.

Cooper went one-for-two with the game-winning RBI against the Hawks, and two days later at Roxana in a 7-3 loss to the Shells, Cooper was one-for-three in the game, starting in right field. The Warriors start the season at 1-1.

In a postgame interview, where Cooper was named the player of the game for his game-winning RBI against Gibault, he expressed positive feelings about the new ballpark, which is laid out differently, and has an all-turf field.

"It's great," Cooper said. "We used to have an all-dirt field, where we would have to clean up after every game, and now, we just get to tend to this beautiful field. I'm thankful for it, I'm grateful for it. The school district did a great job with it, and it's really nice."

The new ballpark now possibly makes the Nelson Hagnauer Sports Complex, where Babe Champion Field is located, the only all-turf complex in the area. It's definitely a facility that's practically second to none in the area.

"It's a great thing," Cooper said. "I love what they do here. All of our teams have turf, it's just great."

Cooper got slightly crossed up on the pitch he hit for the winning RBI, but made the adjustment handily.

"I was looking for the fastball," Cooper said. "I think he threw me a change-up that came in a little bit slower. I just had to choke up, with two strikes on me, get the ball in play, just like we do in practice."

Cooper is definitely looking ahead to the new campaign, one in which the Warriors are looking to step up in becoming a prominent program in he area once again.

"We're looking to go pretty far," Cooper said. "The last three seasons haven't been our way, but this season, we're looking to go pretty far, and get lots of wins. Just have fun. I'm just so happy to win."

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