By Mike Rosenbaum

In the second game of the Illinois-Missouri Border War, No. 2 Rock Bridge defeated Granite City 9-7 beneath the lights at GCS Ballpark.  Traveling all the way from Columbia, Missouri to play the 7 p.m. game, the Bruins were greeted by seemingly-arctic conditions that only deteriorated as the game progressed.  Even though all of the players were inevitably affected by the cold weather, the game still had the feel of a postseason matchup.

On the mound for the Bruins was RHP/SS Ryan Phillips (right), Prep Baseball Report's No. 2 junior in Missouri and already the most accomplished pitcher in Rock Bridge's history.

Phillips' outing got off to an inauspicious start when Granite City's leadoff hitter, SS Tyler Lignoul, roped a double down the left field line.  After a walk and a pair of infield errors, Phillips and Rock Bridge found themselves facing an early 2-0 deficit. 

It wasn't until the third inning that Rock Bridge finally pushed across their first run of the ballgame.  With the bases loaded and one out, senior RHP/RF John Miles plated LF Brendan James with a single.  The next hitter, C Wilson Pfieffer, tied the game when he drove in 1B Landon Clapp with another bases loaded single.  Senior RHP/3B Travis Bittle then gave the Bruins their first lead of the game with a sac-fly to deep center field.

After giving up the two runs in the first inning, Phillips noticeably found his groove on the bump as he struck out the side in both the second and third innings.  Of the nine outs that he recorded between the second and fourth innings, a whopping eight were via the strikeout.  Most importantly, the junior did not give up a hit and allowed only two Granite City hitters to reach base during that span.

However, the Warriors' tenacity at the plate helped them tack on three more runs in the top of the fifth, thanks in part to a costly Rock Bridge infield error, and a RBI single from 1B Brian Nemsky. 

The dangerous Rock Bridge offense refused to be silenced, however, as they erupted for six runs on six hits in the bottom half of the inning.  The offensive outburst featured triples by DH Beau Burkett and Bittle, as well as a clutch, pinch hit two-run home run from Jansen Smith that turned out to be the deciding factor in the high-energy game.

"Wilson (Pfieffer) told me to swing at first pitch fastball because we'd let a lot of them go by, but the first one was low.  The next pitch was a fastball for a strike and I put a good swing on it," the modest sophomore said of his game-changing blast. "I was just doing what I could do to help the team out."

Facing a considerable deficit headed into the sixth inning, Granite City continued to chip away as a RBI single from Lignoul made it a 9-6 game.  But Rock Bridge reliever John Osbourne (left) was able to bunker down and escape the jam without any further damage, fanning two in the process.

In their final at bat, the Warriors threatened to push the game into extra innings when they loaded the bases with one out.  Although they added another run , they ultimately were unable to produce the big hit when they needed it most and came up short in their comeback.

"It felt pretty good to win this game," the University of Missouri-bound Miles asserted. "Especially in this cold weather...we fought it out and it felt good."

Phillips turned in an impressive outing on an absolutely frigid evening, allowing two runs on three hits in four innings of work.  The right-hander struck out eight, walked four, and hit a batter.

"It was something to build on," the 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior said of his outing. "I didn't feel too comfortable today, but you just have to flush it and go to the next game," he added, oblivious to the fact that he struck out the side in consecutive innings.

The Bruins' bullpen also had a strong showing on Thursday in relief of Phillips.  Osbourne gave up a hit and fanned two in a scoreless inning, and junior Ryan Schmidt (right) walked one and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning to finish the game.

Rock Bridge LF Brendan James walked in each of his four at bats, and scored two runs.  DH Beau Burkett finished the game 2-for-3 with a triple and a RBI, and also scored two runs.  Bittle was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, while Pfieffer and Schmidt both collected two hits and a RBI.

"Hitting was contagious today," noted Pfieffer, a University of Arkansas signee. "It's something we haven't been doing a whole lot of lately, but we were aggressive today and it worked out."    

Granite City, a team comprised of promising youngsters that continues to rebuild after graduating All-State C Jake Depew (drafted in the ninth round of the 2010 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays), was lead by Lignoul's 2-for-3 performance that included a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.  Although CF Kaleb Depew did not pick up a hit in the contest, the senior drew two walks and stole two bases.

With the Rock Bridge victory, the Illinois-Missouri Border War is currently tied 1-1 headed into Friday's games.