By Fred Kroner
Caleb Ochs and Avian Gerdes teamed up on a three-hit shutout on Friday (April 1) as St. Joseph-Ogden opened the Illini Prairie Conference portion of its baseball season with a 9-0 win at home over St. Thomas More.
Ochs earned the win and allowed two hits and no walks in five innings. Gerdes finished with two innings of one-hit relief. He walked one and struck out one. Ochs fanned two batters.
Leading the seven-hit attack for the Spartans were Luke Landrus and Charles Voorhees. Andrew Beyers and Voorhees each scored two runs.
Beyers swiped three bases.
SJ-O expanded a 2-0 lead with a seven-run seventh inning.
The Spartans won twice at home on Saturday, shutting out Lisle, 15-0, in the first game and dispatching Teutopolis 12-2 in the nightcap.
Against Lisle, Hayden Brazelton pitched a two-hit shutout. He fanned 11 batters in four innings.
He received all of the offensive support he needed with a nine-run first inning.
Adam Price delivered three hits and four RBI. Tyler Altenbaumer, Coby Miller and Griffin Roesch contributed two hits apiece. Brazelton scored three runs. Miller and Roesch each collected two runs batted in.
Against Teutopolis, Altenbaumer improved to 3-0, striking out 10 batters in five innings. He walked two.
Every SJ-O starter produced at least one hit. Price was 2-for-3. Roesch tallied three runs.
Knocking in two runs each were Brazelton, Connor Hale, Landrus and Roesch.
The Spartans (8-1) return to action on Monday (April 4) at home against Bloomington Central Catholic.
