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TROY – Following a 6-5 loss to Wesclin the day before, a game that Triad head coach Jesse Bugger said his team should have won, the Knights were able to bounce back and get a 6-1 win over Granite City at home.
“I thought they bounced back pretty well,” Bugger said Saturday afternoon following the win over the Warriors. “Waking up early and getting back to the ballpark can be a bit of a grind, so they did a good job of bouncing back.”
With the win, the Knights improve to 9-3 on the season while Granite City slips to 2-8.
With a 10 a.m. first pitch, it was a lot to ask of the Knights, but it didn’t phase them.
Triad’s senior pitcher Nic Funk was able to throw a complete game on the mound, never getting himself into any tremendous trouble. He only allowed three hits and one earned run while fanning eight.
“He was really sharp, not deep in very many counts, getting ahead early in a lot of counts,” Bugger said. “A lot of ground balls, which is exactly how we want to attack the game, especially here at home. It was good stuff.”
“He’s always reliable and gives us what we need,” coach Bugger added. “That was a big key to the game today, just how he pitched overall.”
After a scoreless first inning, the Knights got on the board in the second. Funk got it going with a leadoff single and was later batted in by senior Wyatt Bugger to make it a 1-0 ball game.
Triad went back to work offensively in the third after senior TJ Sutter hit a leadoff single. He eventually made it to third after a couple of stolen bases and scored on a sacrifice fly ball from Funk to double the lead.
Junior Donny Becker got on base with two outs via a single. Senior McGrady Noyes came up to bat next and cranked a homerun out to left to make it 4-0 Knights.
“The two-run homer helps,” coach Bugger said. “He’s been struggling a little bit, but he attacked today. That was good to see him bounce back a little bit.”
After a scoreless fourth, Granite got on the board in the fifth.
Junior Luke Robles singled and then got into scoring position after a groundout. His hit broke up Funk’s no-hitter through four innings. Senior Hunter Macko hit an RBI single to score Robles and make it 4-1.
Triad’s other two runs came in the sixth after an RBI single from junior Brady Coon and a sac fly from junior Carter Vandever.
Triad strung together a 10-hit game with eight different players putting a ball in play.
The Knights will be back in action next week when they open Mississippi Valley Conference play with a home and away two-game series against Waterloo.
As for the Warriors, they’ll play again on Wednesday at home against the St. Louis Patriots.
