“As a high school coach with a successful program, you think you just roll right in on Day 1 and just hit the ground running,” Badin coach Brion Treadway said. “But you’ve got to take a step back and reteach new players how to do certain things.
“Early on, we had some guys that were getting their first varsity innings, and they were playing with a little nerves and didn’t quite understand everything that we had taught them up to that point because it had all been in practice. But everybody has worked really hard. They’re taking in everything our coaches are saying, and I think you’re seeing it right now.”
Eric McGill, the first of five pitchers for the visitors, threw 4 1/3 innings to get the win. The Falcons rallied from a 7-1 deficit to close the gap to 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh, but T.J. Nichting struck out Connor Mesker with the bases loaded to preserve the win.
Corey Reimer was 3 for 3 with a double and two steals for the Rams, who moved to 6-4 overall and 5-0 in the GCL Central Division. Alex Holderbach had two hits, and Noah Henson, Nick Browning and Matt Kreke added an RBI apiece.
“I was very proud of how our guys played,” Treadway said. “I thought they played with attitude. I thought they played with heart and for each other. So I was very happy as a coach.”
Gray, a junior first baseman, brought a .250 batting average into the contest and was dropped from the cleanup position to the No. 5 spot. His three-run triple in the fifth was the game’s key blow.
“I think I’m going to be back on track,” Gray said. “I’ve been really struggling this year. I don’t know what it is. I’ll get there, though. That’s what I keep stressing to the coaches to make sure they don’t worry.”
His opposite-field triple made it 6-1 and followed an intentional walk to Houston Krause. An attempt at a shoestring catch in left field was unsuccessful.
“I thought he was going to snag it,” admitted Gray, who was 2 for 4 and hit the ball hard all day. “I was on third base happy.”
Treadway said Gray had been just a little bit off with his timing before Monday.
“His ability at the plate is, I think, a Division I college player,” the BHS coach said. “To his credit, he’s never been down on himself. He’s always kept a positive attitude. Today his swings looked great. He got into pitches, which he hadn’t been doing. I fully trust his ability and mental makeup to make the adjustment.”
Fenwick (5-7, 2-2 GCL North) showed some scrap and got home runs from Logan Valentine and Chad Goubeaux, yet stranded 10 runners and committed six errors.
“Only in the rarest of instances would you win by doing those two things,” Falcons coach Bob Sherlock said. “We haven’t found a way to put all the facets of the game together on a consistent basis. We probably work on defense more than anybody, so for us to come out and play the way we did defensively was kind of disheartening. But it’s pretty much been the norm for us.”
Valentine, Goubeaux, Dallas Hall, Jason Cash and Mesker all had two hits for Fenwick. Valentine drove in two runs, and Goubeaux, Hall and Cash all chipped in RBIs.
Derek Coffey pitched the first six innings and Tyler Goubeaux finished for the Falcons, who outhit the Rams 13-11.
“Hitting wasn’t the problem,” Sherlock said. “Cashing in runs was a problem. Making plays on defense was a problem.”
Fenwick scored once in the seventh on Cash’s bases-loaded infield single with two outs. Travis Baker, Dustin Valentino and Caleb Wuest had followed McGill to the mound for Badin, and Wuest started the seventh.
After Cash’s single, Treadway handed the ball to Nichting, his shortstop. Wuest struck out two, walked two and gave up two singles.
“I went to take him out of the game and he said, ‘Coach, I lost my contact on the second batter.’ So basically he’s blind in his right eye,” Treadway said. “That explains a little bit, but not knowing that, I was a little frustrated. We’ve talked a lot this year about how to pitch with a lead, and that’s to throw strikes. You can’t give free passes.”
Nichting made quick work of Mesker, earning a save. The Rams are 8-0 against the Falcons since FHS started GCL competition in the 2006-07 school year.
“Was it nerve-wracking?” Treadway said. “Not really, because I knew I had T.J. to come in, and I trust him 100 percent.”
Sherlock liked the fact that his squad kept coming and gave itself a chance to win.
“I’m proud of the way they battled, but in this game, you’re eventually going to run out of chances and run out of time,” Sherlock said. “Unfortunately, we did that today.”
Both teams return to action on the road Wednesday, Badin at La Salle and Fenwick at McNicholas.
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