Explorers Split Pair, Falling to Vianney Before Winning Over Bunker Hill

KIRKWOOD – Marquette Catholic’s baseball team split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon, losing to St. John Vianney Catholic 8-3, but bouncing back to defeat Bunker Hill 7-1 at Vianney High.

The game against Bunker Hill was originally scheduled for Friday, but postponed and moved to Vianney’s field because of wet grounds at the Explorers’ home field at Gordon Moore Park.

The Golden Griffins didn’t waste time jumping out in front, starting in the top of the first, with C.J. Cepicky singling, then Brock Daniels hitting a two-run homer over the fence in center field with one out to give Vianney a quick 2-0 lead. In the second, Jacob McCauley tripled to center field, where he scored one out later on Cepicky flared a single to right to make it 3-0 for the Griffins.

In the top of the third, Sam Altobella led off with a single, then Andrew Buescher drew a walk, with both being sacrificed to second and third by Max Luna. Altobella then scored on a base hit by Hamilton Anderson, and Buescher scored

on McCauley’s grounder to short, forcing Chuck Koenig, who was a courtesy runner for Anderson, making it 5-0 for the Griffins.

In the fifth, a McCauley triple and a ground out to third made it 6-0 before Marquette got on the board in the home half. Logan Sternickle and Evan Kopsie led off with back-to-back walks, and Sternickle went to third when Garrett Weiner hit into a double play. An infield single by Sam Cogan scored Sternickle to cut into the Vianney lead at 6-1, but the inning ended when Carter Hendricks was called out on strikes.

In the home half of the sixth, Matt Lehr led off with an infield single, was sacrificed to second by Braden Coles, and one out later, Riley Seiner’s RBI single drove home Lehr to make it 6-2. In the top of the seventh, McCauley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and one out later, Cepicky was hit by a pitch, and a two out bloop single to left by Daniels loaded the bases. Two runs then scored on an error, making it 8-2 before the inning ended.

In the bottom of the frame, a ground ball error with nobody out allowed Kopsie to score, but that would as close as Marquette would come, as the Griffins shut the door the rest of the way to claim the win.

Joe Dasho, Ethan Kim, Sam Stockton and Ryan Insco all had two strikeouts each for the Griffins, while Jack Warren fanned two for Marquette.

In the nightcap, the Explorers jumped to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second, all coming with two out. Kolin Morrissey singled and went to third on an error, and after Will Dixon and Sternickle walked to load the bases, with everyone advancing on a wild pitch, Morrissey scoring, before Kopsie was hit by a pitch, reloading the bases. Weiner walked to force home a run, then Cogan drove home two runs with a single to score Sternickle and courtesy runner Kaleb Ware to make it 4-0.

The Minutemen countered with a run in the third, starting when Coy Sellars reached on an error, with Sellars scoring two outs later on a single by Cole Kiffmeyer. Marquette then scored three more times in the bottom of the inning, as Dixon reached first on a dropped third strike to score Lehr, and Kopsie doubling home a pair of runs to make it 7-1. There would be no further scoring in the game.

Nolan Rea struck out four for Marquette, while Jacob Weidner also fanned four for Bunker Hill.

The Explorers are now 18-7 on the year, and are at Carrollton on Monday, and at Staunton on Tuesday. Both games start at 4:30 p.m.

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