RBHS varsity baseball defeated Francis Howell High School (FHHS) 4-1 on Sat. April 20. The game held high importance to the Bruins due to their loss to FHHS the previous weekend, April 13. FHHS was ranked number two in the state of Missouri after Fort Zumwalt West High School, but the Bruins took their place after their Saturday games.

The game started with FHHS batting as junior Brady Davidson, number 32, pitched. FHHS failed to get any runs, but the Bruins managed to score all four of their runs in the second half of the first inning. The bases were loaded when junior catcher Crew Norden, number seven, went to the plate, and his groundout resulted in the first run of the game. Two more were scored when junior Cooper Siebuhr, number 24, batted, with the final run after senior Grayson Fick, number 14, hit.

Centerfield and first-to-bat junior Will Kimes, number 12, said the Bruins’ goal was to hit hard at the beginning of the game to gain an early advantage.

“It was awesome to win this week,” Kimes said. “[Our strategy was to] score first, attack early, and then just be dawgs the rest of the game.”

The following innings only resulted in one more run, FHHS in the top of the seventh inning. This was a combination of Davidson’s pitching the entire game and the efforts of the Bruins’ defense, with a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fourth inning. Norden also successfully caught one FHHS runner stealing. 

RBHS Head Coach Justin Towe said it was important for the players to bring energy to the game, especially since the team knew it would be a challenge.

“Our motto is, ‘be the first one to attack,’” Towe said. “[Also], our dugout enthusiasm was really good the entire game. [The players] were having fun. Usually when sports teams are having fun, they’re playing loose, and when they’re playing loose, they’re probably being successful.”

Davidson echoed Towe’s sentiments, saying a big part of winning this game was the Bruins’ mentality.

“It was a big game coming in. […] We lost last time, so this game was especially important for us to win,” Davidson said. “So we all [went] in with the mentality that we had to get it.”

The team is looking forward to a strong rest of the season, feeling confident in their pitching and defense. Towe said their batting has been “up and down,” but that that’s normal for the Bruins. Despite their technical stability, Towe said their true success comes from the connection of the team.

“If you’re having fun and enjoy who you’re around, every long day feels like [the start of] the morning,” Towe said. “I think our biggest strength is just the closeness of these guys.”

Have you been to a baseball game this year? Let us know in the comments below.