ALTON - Mykai Taylor came through with two hits and an RBI, while three other players had an RBI, and Jack Pruitt struck out five in relief as Marquette Catholic took a 5-3 win over Granite City in a baseball game Friday afternoon at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park.
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The win pushed the Explorers' mark to 4-3, while the Warriors lost their eighth straight game after starting the season 3-0, and are now 3-8 on the year.
Marquette broke on top in the home half of the first, when Scott Vickrey's sacrifice fly to left scored Karson Morrissey with the first run of the game. Later in the inning, Will Fahnestock scored on a passed ball to make the score 2-0 for Marquette.
Granite tied the game with one out in the third, when Nathan Hopper singled and Ethan Budde hit a home run over the fence in right to make the score 2-2. The Explorers took the lead back in the fifth, starting with a RBI double to left by Taylor, scoring Vickrey to give Marquette a 3-2 advantage. Joe Stephan then doubted home Taylor to make it 4-2, and Keller Jacobs tripled home Stephan to make it 5-2 for the Explorers.
The Warriors got a run back in the sixth on an RBI double by Budde, scoring Vince Feldman to make it 5-3, but couldn't get any closer as Marquette pitching slammed the door to preserve the Explorers' 5-3 win.
In addition to Taylor's showing at the plate, Vickrey, Stephan, and Jacobs all had a hit and RBI, and Fahnestock, Elijah Rodgers, and Mikey Wilson also had hits. Pruitt started on the mound, and went three innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out five, while Mathew Cain went for two innings, allowing a run on two hits, fanning one, and Cohen Green worked the final two innings, allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out one.
Budde led Granite with four hits and all three RBIs, while both Hopper and Luke Haddix had two hits each, and Feldman came up with a hit. Hopper went 4.2 innings on the mound, giving up five runs, one earned, on eight hits, walking two and striking our four, while Connor Hibbets went the final 1.1 innings, not allowing a hit or run, walking no one with no strikeouts.
The Warriors next play Triad at home Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Babe Champion Field, then host Jacksonville Monday afternoon, and play at the St. Louis Home School Patriots on Wednesday in Bridgeton, Mo., with both games set to start at 4:30 p.m.
The Explorers are idle until Tuesday, when they play Metro-East Lutheran at home, then meet Piasa Southwestern Wednesday at Lloyd Hopkins Field, then play at Metro-East in a return game Thursday, everything starting at 4:30 p.m.
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