Griffins, Knights lose GMC games at Gordon Moore

Four of the top five teams in the Gateway Metro Conference were at Gordon Moore Park in Alton on Thursday and Father McGivney and Metro-East Lutheran came away with losses.

FMCHS lost 5-3 to Althoff Catholic and MELHS lost 16-9 in eight innings to Marquette Catholic.

With the loss, FMCHS moves to 2-1 and MELHS is 2-4 in GMC action. Althoff Catholic is 4-2, while Marquette Catholic is 3-1 and Christ Our Rock Lutheran is 1-4 in the GMC.

The Griffins fell 5-3 to Althoff Catholic despite having the tying run on second base and the victory at the plate.

FMCHS is now 14-2 and has a seven-game winning streak.

This is the first time the Griffins, who are the defending GMC champions, have lost in the conference since a 9-0 loss to Marquette Catholic on March 23, 2022. Following that loss in 2022, FMCHS responded with a 28-game winning streak. of 8. -6 lost to Maroa-Forsyth on May 13, 2022.

This season is the first for the Crusaders in the GMC.

Kannon Kamp started on the mound for the Griffins and went six innings. He struck out 10 and allowed one earned run on two hits.

The Griffins led 3-1 heading into the seventh inning, thanks to Kamp’s groundout in the first, a Nick Franklin walk in the third and Ben Sink’s RBI triple in the fourth.

With two outs in the seventh, Althoff Catholic rallied with four straight hits, which included three straight RBI singles by Bo Gomric, Hank Gomric and Matt Hesse to take a 5-3 lead.

FMCHS got Gerold Myatt at third and Nathan Terhaar at second with two outs, but the play sealed the Crusaders’ victory.

The Griffins were held to four hits, two of which came from Sink, who went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

The Knights had a three-run comeback in the seventh inning, only for the Explorers to score seven runs in the eighth inning for a 16-9 victory in overtime.

Down 9-6 in the bottom of the seventh, Logan Johnson led off with a solo home run to make it 9-7.

Caleb Conrad had one hit, while Jacob Kober and Drake Luebbert used a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, to load the bases.

Thijson Heard was hit by a groundout to score Cole Renken and make it 9-8. Gage Trendley drew a walk to tie the game at 9-9.

With the bases loaded, a popout sent the game into extra innings.

The Explorers used the top of the eighth to regain momentum and more. They used four hits, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error to take a 16-9 lead.

MELHS’ first three batters sat down in the bottom of the eighth to pick up a 16-9 victory for Marquette Catholic.

Johnson was 3 for 4 at the plate for MELHS with three RBIs. Heard went 2 for 4 with one RBI. The two combined for five of the Knights’ seven hits.