Monday marked the start of a full five game week for the Musketeers. They began this long week in Columbia to take on the Eagles. The Musketeers began the first inning strong putting the Eagles’ pitcher on the ropes. Red Bud had bases loaded and only one out in the inning. Columbia’s pitcher was able to strike out the next two Red Bud batters and leave the inning unharmed. The Musketeers sent Tyler Koester to the bump to try and stifle the strong and deep Columbia lineup. For the first few innings the Musketeer were competing in the game. Making the necessary plays to stay in competition and give themselves a chance to win. Red Bud trailed the Eagles 3-0 after the completion of three innings. The Musketeers were able to get runners on base, but lacked one big hit to score those runners. As the hitting got worse, so did the defense. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Musketeers deteriorated on defense and began to struggle mightily to earn three outs. The Eagles capitalized on these mistakes and put up a whopping ten runs in the inning to blow the game wide open. Red Bud failed to score in the top half of the fifth inning and were short gamed 13-0.

On Tuesday the Musketeers traveled to Chester to take on the Jackets. Blake Cowell started off the game on the mound for the Musketeers and was able to find his groove. Cowell was able to get swing and misses on his fastball, along with using his changeup effectively to finish off the heart of the Jacket’s order. The Musketeers held a 5-0 lead through three innings. Thomas White and Cory Fithian both had extra base hits to help build the sturdy lead. In the fourth Cowell began to struggle finding the zone and was lifted from the game clinging to a 5-2 lead. At the end of four Red Bud held a 5-4 lead. The Musketeer offense was able to not settle on their lead, and build their lead larger. This is something that they have not done a lot of this season. The Musketeers’ lead grew as large as 10-4, and eventually secured a 10-6 victory. Cole Steible was able to seal the game up for the Musketeers, only giving up two runs in the final three innings of play.

Wednesday the Musketeers returned home to play the Wesclin Warriors. From the very start of the contest the Warriors were ready to play and the Musketeers were not. Alex Birchler started the game for the Musketeers and did not receive much defensive help behind him. The Musketeers laid back on ground balls, and did not aggressively pursue balls hit to the outfield. Red Bud was down 4-0 early in this game. As the game proceeded, the Musketeers continued to struggle hitting the fastball. Unable to create any noise on offense, the Musketeers began to lose big for the second time in three days. The Warriors’ hitters were able to hit the ball hard down the foul lines and in the left center gap. Along with an impressive performance by their pitcher, going five innings of two run ball. The Warriors cruised to a commanding 12-2 win over the Musketeers.

On Thursday the Musketeers traveled to New Athens to take on the Yellow Jackets. The conference game got off to a quick start for the Musketeers, quickly scoring three runs. Two of which came off a RBI double by Cory Fithian. Thomas White took the ball for the Musketeers and did a nice job at throwing strikes and getting easy ground balls.The Musketeers’ lead extended to 5-1 through four innings. Red Bud sat on five runs for the rest of the game and was not able to tack on anymore on the Jacket’s starter. However, on the other side of the diamond, the Jackets began to mount a comeback. Scoring three runs in the fifth inning, and one in the sixth, the Musketeer’s lead had evaporated into a 5-5 tie heading to the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh the lead off batter for the Jackets reached first on a hit, and was able to reach second on a stolen base. Griffin Ziebold began to hit his spots with precise accuracy and was about to get out of the inning unharmed. Ziebold recorded two outs with the runner reaching third base. With two strikes on the batter a passed ball scored the final run, and the Jackets stunned the Musketeers 6-5.

The Musketeers were off on Friday and returned to action Saturday. Red Bud traveled to Sauget, IL to take on the Fairfield Mules at GCS Ballpark. The Musketeers drew first blood in this game when Thomas White jacked a double to left field, and would later score on a Jeff Kern fielder’s choice. Taking an early 2-0 lead in the ballgame. This lead would quickly vanish in the bottom half of the second inning, giving up three runs on no hits, the Musketeers began to trail 3-2. The Mules’ lead would not hold for very long because the Musketeers had a big inning of their own in the top of the third. In the inning the Musketeers scored five runs. Two of which came on an RBI single by Gunner Dickinson. Another run scored on a Cowell infield single. The Musketeers took what looked like a commanding 7-3 lead. However, that lead did not hold very long for the Musketeers. After the Musketeers recorded two outs in the inning, everything began to fall apart. Error after error, the Mules kept tacking on runs and cutting down the Red Bud lead. The Musketeers committed three errors in that inning alone, and watched their 7-3 lead evaporate into a 9-7 deficit. The Musketeer’s were not able to do any damage on offense till the top of the sixth inning. Cowell led off the inning with a triple to the right center gap, and was brought in to score on a Ziebold RBI single. The Musketeers were not able to score anymore runs and lost 9-8.

The Musketeers struggled in their long week going 1-4. Red Bud looks to bounce back this upcoming week when they welcome in two conference opponents. The Musketeers will host the Marissa Meteors and the Steeleville Warriors before heading to Maschoutah on Friday to take on the Indians.