How No. 3 Rock Bridge thrived in its second meeting with No. 2 Francis Howell
A new opportunity presented itself for Rock Bridge (20-5). Seven days after falling to Francis Howell 3-1 in the semifinal round of the Columbia Tournament, that same Vikings (19-7) team returned to the Bruins home stadium Saturday morning.
In the second meeting between the two, the Bruins came away victorious with a score of 4-1.
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“Coming in, we knew it was a big game. It was an important one for us," junior pitcher Brady Davidson said. " We lost to them earlier in the year, it was going to be a dogfight, and I just had that mentality going into the game that we needed to win. So that’s what I had to do.”
Davidson was effective on the mound against the Vikings. Pitching a complete seven innings, he earned his first win of the season, striking out six batters while allowing just three hits.
“He was electric today. He had two really good PENS this week. He and coach (Andy) Hight really worked on some things, and that was as good as I’ve seen him throw. I mean, his pitches were just good, and he was attacking the zone,” Rock Bridge head coach Justin Towe said.
There isn’t any moment that’s too big for Davidson as he faced Class 6’s No. 2 team. Rock Bridge is No. 3, making Saturday’s contest against Francis Howell a perfect opportunity to showcase at a high level.
“I think you get Brady, he’s a big time high school quarterback. He’s used to pressure,” Towe said. “He wants to be the guy on the mound. He’s good with saying hey guys, just jump on my back and let’s go and honestly, there’s probably not a better guy in a situation than him for today.”
The junior pitcher received plenty of help from the rest of the roster. Rock Bridge’s defense shined throughout the contest. Francis Howell finally got on the board in the top of the seventh inning with a ground-out RBI by Collin Lovelady, but it was a little too late as it left the Vikings with just one out left. The Bruins closed the game out on the next at-bat.
“That’s a huge piece,” said Towe on Rock Bridge’s defense. “If they get some runs, everything tightens up now. Another big play in that game was Crew Nordon, threw the base runner out stealing second base. That kind of took the life and fight out of them right there because there are no more base runners again.”
While the Vikings' offense stalled, the Bruins were quick to jump out to an early lead against Jacob Brettschneider, a good pitcher.
Rock Bridge ran through its batting order in the bottom of the first inning. Following a leadoff hit by Will Kimes, successful bunts by Cullen Snow and Andrew Hill loaded the bases and a Nordon RBI followed.
Shortly thereafter, Cooper Siebhurh launched a ball into left field, bringing two more home with a wild pitch, making it 4-0 in the first stanza.
“I think our ability to play small ball kind of helps us, it's kind of one of our staples,” Towe said. “You know, the ability to bunt, to steal, it’s all those little things that kind of matter when the pitchers are equal and the teams are, you know, equal.”
It’s also something that fuels the confidence of a pitcher throughout a game when playing ahead.
“It helps so much just with the momentum shift and getting it on our side,” Davidson said. “It’s really helps us just getting back out there the next inning and having so much confidence so having that type of offense and putting up those numbers, especially in the first inning, it’s really tough for the other team.”
Towe noted that the Bruins and Francis Howell have a great history together and that Vikings coach Tony Perkins is one of the best in Missouri history, creating a lot of mutual respect and fun between the two. The season series is also far from over.
“The crazy thing is we’re going to play them again next Saturday. We have a rubber match next Saturday, so we’re 1-1,” Towe said. “It’s almost like a big league schedule, in a sense, so I think they were really eager to try to even the series up and then, we’ll push all our chips in next week and see what happens.”
The Bruins finished their Saturday with a 7-6 victory against Nixa. It was a wire-to-wire battle as Siebuhr collected a walk-off hit with the bases loaded. The Bruins overcame a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning and recorded three more in the bottom of the seventh.
Rock Bridge will play three games this upcoming week. The first on Wednesday at Battle (5-15) at 5 p.m. Lafayette (Wildwood) (14-8) will come to Columbia on Friday at 5 p.m. before the Bruins host another double-header with their rubber match vs the Vikings at 10 a.m. along with an 11 a.m. matchup with Glendale (15-4).
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Rock Bridge capitalized a second time around vs Francis Howell
