Written by Ethan Silverman

Francis Howell?s Brett Graves (right) and CBC?s David Schmidt have pitched against each other and with each other over the past few years, setting the stage for one final matchup of the two top pitchers in Missouri. Graves (No. 6 ranked player in the PBR Class of 2011) and the timely hitting of No. 2 Francis Howell defeated Schmidt (No. 2 ranked player in the PBR Class of 2011) and CBC, the defending Class 4 champions, by a score of 8 to 3.

?We did an excellent job in all facets of the game. There were timely hits and quality at bats all day; that translated on the scoreboard,? said Graves on the team effort. ?I felt good on the mound, my stuff was working. I was a bit amped up at first but settled in and the defense made some plays that helped me settle in.?

Howell got the scoring started in the bottom of the first. With one out, 2B Brett Peel drew a walk. CF Jake Ivory followed the walk with a shot to the right center field gap for an RBI double; Peel would come around to score from first.

CBC would come right back to even the score at 1-1 after a David Schmidt single and a Derek Cornell triple. The Cadets would be held scoreless for the next four innings.

Three runs would cross the board in the bottom of the fourth inning for Francis Howell. SS Zac Perkins (left) led the inning off with a single, and advanced to second on a single by Graves. Peel then drew a walk, his second of the game, to load the bases with one out. A two RBI single by CF Jake Ivory followed by an RBI single by Case Munson put Howell up 4 to 1.

?I came up relaxed and was seeing the ball real well, got my hands through and got it,? said Munson on his RBI single.

Howell tacked four more runs in the fifth inning, putting the game out of reach. Graves would start the inning off with a walk, and be replaced by courtesy runner Wes Kuhn. Kuhn would advance to third on Brett Peel?s single. Jake Ivory picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly, scoring Kuhn and increasing the lead to 5-1. Case Munson followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. A walk to Kyle Nuetzel loaded the bases for Gordie Gundaker, who took advantage with a two RBI single, scoring Peel (who scored three runs on the afternoon) and Munson. Nuetzel would advance to third on Gundaker?s single and come across to score on a fielder?s choice ground out by Jared Hagley, putting Francis Howell up 8-1

CBC put two runs on the board in the top of the seventh. CF Danny Chastain reached base on a walk and advanced to third on a double by RF Brennen Deevers. Chastain and Deevers would come around to score on back to back fielder?s choice ground outs by 1B Mike Erhard and SS Joe Schrimpf.

Graves retired the last CBC batter on a pop up, securing the 8-3 victory and advancing Howell to the Quarterfinals.

?There were no errors in the field, that is what it is supposed to be. Offensively we had some good at bats up and down the lineup, especially in the middle if the lineup. They didn?t try to do too much and put the ball in play, great things happen when that goes on.?? said Francis Howell head coach Tony Perkins on the play of his team.

Francis Howell will play No. 1 ranked SLUH Thursday, 5/26.