As the temperature continued to fall on the baseball diamond, the Rock Bridge Baseball Team proceeded to lose their endurance in the second game of the day against Christian Brothers College High School. After taking the first game earlier this morning, 7-6 over Blue Springs South, the Bruins fell 11-0, finishing in a shortened six inning matchup.

“We just weren’t there,” Rock Bridge senior Matt Priest said. “Mentally our heads weren’t screwed in and I think we were intent with winning our first game earlier this morning. We kind of shut it off after that.”

CBC, however, unlike the Bruins, continued their success from earlier in the day. Shortly after defeating Blue Springs South, the CBC Cadets got off to a fast start, scoring a quick three runs in the top of the first inning with a pair of RBI doubles from junior infielder Desmond Parrish and junior outfielder Wade Jansen. The CBC bats would cool down slightly, but by the fourth, nothing could stand in the way of the Cadets offense. Obtaining eight hits during the half inning, the scoring was capitalized by a grand slam from senior Justin Paulsen off of RB sophomore pitcher Adam Lafferty.

While the CBC offense was on fire, the pitching was not far behind. Facing senior Colin Burnham on the mound, the Bruins were only able to crank out five hits while at the plate. RB senior shortstop Mike Nemec reached first on a single in the bottom of the first, and his teammates junior Michael Buxton and  sophomore Joe Barbee added a pair of singles an inning later. In the waning moments of the game, senior Jansen Smith and junior Brady Pfeiffer got on base as well.

Regardless, the work by Burnham was more than enough as he picked up the complete game shut-out. Burnham, who completed all six innings and was rewarded with the win, is a left handed pitcher, a rare opponent for Rock Bridge.

For the Bruins, the difficulty of facing a left handed pitcher as well as playing two games in the cold May weather, were not excuses for the loss. Rather, the drawbacks were weaknesses to perfect before the final three games of the regular season.

“We just need to come out ready to play. Better approaches at the plate, solid defense, make routine plays, don’t mess up, and throw strikes,” Priest concluded. “If we do that we’ll win. Just not what we did today.”

The Bruins (19-6) play at home next Monday against crosstown rival Hickman.
By Brayden Parker