No. 7 CBC snaps No. 1 Rock Bridge's 23-game win streak

May 5, 2011

By Mike Rosenbaum

ST. LOUIS - After picking up wins against No. 12 Helias on Monday and Jefferson City on Tuesday, No. 1 Rock Bridge traveled to St. Louis on Wednesday to play No. 7 CBC. After winning 23 consecutive games, the Bruins were faced with their biggest test this season in CBC, a team that has been a fixture in Prep Baseball Report's Top 10.

It hasn?t exactly been smooth-sailing for CBC, who lost to conference rival Vianney at home on Tuesday night. But thanks to several timely hits, and with the aid of a few defensive lapses by the Bruins, the Cadets did something that only one team has done all season: beat an immensely-talented Rock Bridge squad.

CBC (14-4) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first behind a pair of run-scoring hits with two outs. RHP Brennan Devers (right) drove in the game's first run with an RBI double just inside the third base line, and 2B Joe Schrimpf immediately drove him in with an RBI knock back up the box.

?Getting those two runs early was huge. It allowed us to relax,? CBC head coach Mason Horne said after the game.

The Cadets extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third when 1B Mike Ehrard clubbed a two-run home run to deep left-centerfield, his eighth of the season.

But Rock Bridge (23-2) demonstrated their tenacity and got the runs right back in the top of the fourth. LHP Ryan Schmidt (right) led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on a CBC infield error, and RF Beau Burkett plated a run with a sacrifice fly.

The Bruins added another run in the top of the fifth to trim CBC's lead to 4-3, after LF Jordan Bley laced a one-out double to right-center and then scored on an outfield error.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Cadets broke the game open with four runs before making an out, sending all nine hitters to the plate in the process. After 3B Justin Paulsen reached on the second of three costly errors by the Bruins, a single by SS Mike Venturella put runners on the corners with nobody out. The next batter, DH Derek Cornell, made the Bruins pay for the error, as he roped a two-run triple to the right field wall. CF Danny Chastain followed with an RBI single through the right side and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Rock Bridge would go on to score once more in their final at-bat, courtesy of a solo home run from 2B Jansen Smith, but failed to mount any type of significant comeback.

Devers improved to 5-0 on the hill for the Cadets, as the senior once again pitched efficiently and utilized his defense en route to his third complete game. The Quincy recruit allowed three earned runs on six hits, while fanning four and walking one.

?Devers really gave us a great effort today and showed a lot of the leadership,? said Horne of his starter.

The right-hander's fastball sat between 79-81 mph on Wednesday, and topped out at 82 mph. His slider was exceptionally sharp, coming in between 63-65 mph with late break, and kept the Bruins' exceptional right-handed hitters off-balance throughout the entire game. The crafty Devers also mixed in a real good change up that generated a lot of weak contact from Rock Bridge's left-handed bats.

Most importantly, Devers silenced the bats of the Bruins' dangerous 1-5 hitters on Wednesday, limiting them to a combined 3-for-15 without an extra-base hit or RBI.

The Cadets' offense was paced by leadoff man Cornell, who was 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored, a stolen base and two RBI, as well as Ehrard, who finished the game 1-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI. Chastain, Devers, and Schrimpf each had a run-scoring hit in the win.

?It was a great win against a quality team?a team that everybody knows?so I?m really happy about how we came out today refocused and re-energized after a tough conference loss,? said Horne.

?The big fear was that after yesterday?s real tough conference loss, that we were bound to tail-off. I was very happy with the way we came out tonight,? he added.

Smith was one of the few bright-spots in the Bruins' offense on Wednesday, as the sophomore went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and stolen base. RHP/RF John Miles was 1-for-3 with a single and both Schmidt and Bley picked up a hit and scored a run.

NOTES:

After games on both Monday and Tuesday, Rock Bridge started the game flat. And after they committed several errors that prolonged innings and allowed CBC to take a commanding lead, the Bruins became noticeably deflated.

Mike Ehrard's eight home runs is the second most in the St. Louis Metro area and his 33 RBI place him in the top 10?the SEMO-bound slugger continues to impress me at the plate; he's one of a select number of hitters who is rarely cheated at the plate and has the ability to drive any pitch out of the park, to all fields.

Rock Bridge?s resiliency will be tested on Thursday when they host No. 2 Francis Howell at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, MO. In what Prep Baseball Report is anticipating to be the game of the year, each team will presumably throw their respective ace: RHP John Miles for Rock Bridge (No. 12 Class of 2011 player) and RHP Brett Graves for Howell (No. 6 Class of 2011 player). Although both pitchers have committed to the University of Missouri, they are two of the states premier right-handed prospects and both have already drawn interest from Major League organizations. One way or another, the game, scheduled for 5 pm, will likely shake up our Top 25 rankings.