ALTON – Sophomore Austin Rathgeb helped the Alton High School baseball team get past rival Alton Marquette in a 5-4 victory last Wednesday (March 16). It was the Redbirds’ season opener and the first time since 2013 the two Alton foes faced one another.
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“It wasn’t too bad,” Rathgeb said after the game about his pitching performance.
Austin Rathgeb is the Auto Butler Male Athlete of the Month For Alton High School.
“I came out in a little bit of a tough spot, got through on that. Next inning I could have been more consistent on strikes, but overall it didn’t end bad. We fought through it, I fought through it and I ended the night with two K’s
Rathgeb entered the game in the bottom of the fourth with runners on the corners with two outs and his team trailing 2-0. He was able to get a groundout and mitigate the damage.
The following inning he started with a leadoff walk; he then struck out the next batter. Eventually, Marquette had runners on second and third with one out and was able to tie the game back up at 4-4. Rathgeb finally got the final out via strikeout to ensure his team didn’t fall behind.
He also helped out in the hitting department too. He tied the game at 2-2 with his RBI single in the top of the fifth.
Rathgeb was excited about opening his season against Marquette mentioning that the two haven’t met since the 90’s (besides 2013).
He mentioned that the thing he’s looking for most this season is just being with his teammates and playing ball.
