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ALTON - Down 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning, it seemed like the Carrollton Hawks were on there to another loss against a tough opponent in the Marquette Catholic Explorers.
However, the Hawks took the game in a 180 direction.
They reeled off seven straight hits, sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to take an 8-4 lead and ultimately defeated the Explorers 9-4 in a non-conference game at Gordon Moore Park on Monday afternoon.
Carrollton improves their record to 18-7-1 while Marquette goes to 16-8.
The Hawks have had opportunities to beat the likes of Jerseyville, Quincy Notre Dame, and Routt Catholic, but a victory over the talented Explorers is the signature win they’ve been looking for all season long.
“Was it the biggest inning of the year? Probably was,” Carrollton coach Jeff Krumwiede said. “We’ve struggled [to get] a signature win all season. No matter what Marquette’s record is, it’s big for us to come down here and get a win. I hope we can use it.”
Waters was 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Alex Bowker and Blake Struble each finished 2-for-4.
“I’ve been working in the cage a lot, and today I saw [the ball] better and stuck my bat out there and put it where they weren’t,” Waters said. “[The win is] huge for our resume as a team because Marquette’s always a good team. Last year they came to our house and beat us. Coming here on a beautiful day and getting the win is huge for our confidence.”
Carrollton’s Blake Struble pitched a complete game giving four runs; two earned while giving up six hits. He struck out two batters and walked two.
“I’ve looked forward to this game for awhile. In the first couple of innings, I was not throwing pitches where I wanted them, and they were hitting it. They’re a great hitting team” Struble said. “When I figured out how to get the ball down I became more effective throughout the game.”
“Blake threw his best game of the year. He made some great pitches today to get himself some easy plays for the guys,”
Jayce Maag led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored off a sacrifice fly by Garrett Weiner. In the third inning, the Explorers added three more runs mixed in with a couple of Carrollton errors.
Marquette’s Jacob Zacha entered the game with a perfect 4-0 record and retired the Hawks in order through the first three innings.
Nathan Walker sliced the Explorers lead in half with a two-run double to left field that scored Bowker and Waters. Two batters later, Hayden Stringer tied the game with another two-run double and scored moments later by a Kolten Bottom base hit to give Carrollton a 5-4 lead.
Zacha would not survive the inning as Fahnestock brought in Montana Gossage. Ultimately, the Hawks batted around the lineup and Bowker got his second hit of the inning on a two-run double and Waters followed up by driving him to complete the inning.
“I think we lost focus,” Marquette coach Tim Fahnestock said. “Jacob was effective the first time through the order, and he missed some spots, made some bad pitch selections, and they hit the ball hard. [Carrollton] did everything they had to do and beat us in every facet of the game.”
Carrollton tacked on one more run in the sixth with an RBI single by Waters that scored Garrett Settles.
“Whenever you’re down [by a couple runs] you’re trying to keep your head up and stay positive, but then you put up eight runs that really helps you,” Struble said. “Normally last year I’d roll over a lot and try to pull [the ball], so this year I’m just trying to hit everything to the left side and occasionally I’ll pull one. That’s my main focus, and it’s helping a lot.”
The Hawks have just about a gauntlet of a schedule to close out the regular season.
They host Triopia, who is now 14-6-1. They'll pick up from in the eigth inning of a bizarre game that saw Carrollton blow an eight-run seventh inning lead, which ultimately ended in a tie due to darkness. That was the first game of the season for both teams. On Thursday they travel to 16-12 Southwestern before hosting 17-9 Civic Memorial on Friday. Carrollton then plays 19-2 Staunton and then wrap up their season with a doubleheader against Petersburg PORTA all on Saturday.
“What we do the rest of the week and then next week, that’s when we’ll know how big this was. Our schedule is really tough this week, but it’s time to kick it in and shift into top gear,” Krumwiede said.
