On Wednesday the Musketeers traveled to Waterloo to make-up a rain out game against the Gibault Hawks. Red Bud sent Blake Cowell to the mound to try and win a game that could possibly decide Regional seeding towards the end of the season. Through three innings the two teams were locked in a pitcher’s duel, neither pitcher allowing either team to get an edge on one another. In the bottom of the fourth the Hawks scored on an RBI single and took a 1-0 lead on the Musketeers. The Hawks were not done in that inning tacking on another three runs and putting the Musketeers at a 4-0 disadvantage at the end of four. The Musketeers did not score until the top of the sixth inning on a Cole Steible single to right field. That would be the only run of the game for Red Bud as they would lose big to the Hawks 7-1.

The Musketeers had a quick turnaround the next day when they faced the Dupo Tigers at home. There was no short of offense for the Musketeers in this contest. The leadoff man for the Musketeers, Cole Steible, crushed a home run to deep left center field that quickly made the game 1-0. The Musketeers did not stop there, quickly going up 8-0 after three innings of play. As impressive as the bats were early in this game, so was the pitching. Alex Birchler made the start in this game and began firing on all cylinders right out of the gate. Birchler used his curveball effectively to catch hitters off guard and keep them guessing. He also utilized the umpire’s wide strike zone to get the calls on the outer edge of the plate. Birchler was sailing along when he ran into some trouble in the fourth when he began to lose some control of his fastball. He was later relieved in that same inning by Tyler Koester. The Tigers put up a four spot on the board and cut the lead to 11-4. Neither team made any type of scoring effort in the game and the Musketeers would hold on to win 11-4.

On Friday the Musketeers played in their most frustrating game of the season against the Okawville Rockets. Griffin Ziebold was able to reach first on a throwing error by the pitcher in the first inning. After that baserunner, the Musketeers failed to do anything relatively positive on offense. The Rockets did their damage in the third inning when they put up four runs with two outs already recorded in the inning. The Musketeers struggled hitting the fastball in this contest and were unable to put the ball in play. Red Bud struck out 12 times and did not put up a single run in the game. Their only hit in the game came on a Cole Steible single to right field in the bottom of the six inning. The Musketeers were not able to make any noise with the bats and suffered a frustrating 4-0 loss.

After a very frustrated loss came the Musketeers’ best comeback of the season against the East Alton Wood River Oilers. On a chilly Saturday morning the Musketeers sent CJ Doiron to the bump to try and salvage a week split. The Musketeers began this game on the same note as the night before struggling to get anything going on offense. The Musketeers fell behind 5-0 after three innings and it seemed as if the Musketeers would lose for the third time in the same week. In the fourth inning when it seemed like all odds were against the Musketeers, they began to swing the sticks with confidence once again. Steible roped an RBI single to put Red Bud on the board 5-1. In the fifth inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Steible again came through for the Musketeers when he punched a double in the left center gap and plated two runs. The third out of the inning was made at the plate trying to score. Red Bud had then cut the lead to 5-4 entering the sixth inning. Steible was not only doing it at the plate but also on the mound. Making quick work of the Oilers from the fourth inning on, Steible was able to silence their dugout and create momentum for the Musketeers. The bottom of the sixth is where the Musketeers really put it to the Oiler’s pitching staff. Continually having good at bats and forcing the Oilers to throw strikes, the Red Bud batters were able to create scoring opportunities for themselves. Alex Birchler had a nice bunt base hit that would help advance a baserunner to second, who would later score on a throwing error by the pitcher. These long at bats and aggressive baserunning took a toll on the Oilers. The Musketeers were able to score eight runs in the inning and take a 12-5 lead heading into the final inning. After a 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the seventh, the Musketeers secured a 12-5 win.