Baseball Recap: Metro-East Lutheran Comes Up Short

Metro-East Lutheran had lost three straight on the road, but on Tuesday they dropped their record down to 13-10 to make it four. They fell just short of the Red Bud Musketeers by a score of 9-7. The Knights were not able to make up for their loss to the Musketeers from their previous meeting back in March of 2019.

Thijson Heard

Runs

04/14/25 @ East Alton-Wood River	3
03/17/25 vs Dupo	3
05/13/25 @ Red Bud	2
04/29/25 vs Marquette Catholic	2
04/28/25 @ Marquette Catholic	2
+ 9 more games

Thijson Heard was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. He has become a key player for Metro-East Lutheran: the team is 9-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-9 otherwise.

Heard wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Barber, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs. Sammy Huber was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

As for Red Bud, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 18-5. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games.

On Red Bud's side, the team relied heavily on Lucas Schwartzkopf, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Seth Hohgrefe, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Looking ahead, Metro-East Lutheran will venture away from home to take on Christ Our Rock Lutheran at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Silver Stallions' pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so the Knights' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Red Bud, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Breese Central at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Musketeers 3, the Cougars 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.