St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team answers Galesburg’s early strike and never looks back in a 5-1 victory at home. The Spartans improve to 29-2.
ST. JOSEPH — St. Joseph-Ogden found itself trailing early for the first time in several games, but the Spartans quickly erased the deficit and went on to secure a 5-1 win over Galesburg on Saturday, completing a two-game sweep in their annual round-robin doubleheader.
With the victory, SJO extended its winning streak to 23 games and improved to 29-2 on the season. Earlier in the day, the Spartans held off Reed-Custer 9-5 behind timely hitting and strong bullpen work. The back-to-back wins also marked their 12th consecutive triumph on home turf.
Galesburg (12-17) briefly took control by capitalizing on a passed ball in the top of the first inning to score its lone run. Jameson Dickerson, who led the Silver Streaks with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, crossed home to give his team a short-lived 1-0 advantage.
St. Joseph-Ogden wasted no time responding. In the bottom half of the inning, the Spartans tied the game when Galesburg committed an error, and then took the lead on a Bryson Houchens RBI double to center field. SJO added another run in the third after Kodey McKinney worked a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Spartans padded the score with two more runs in the later innings, while their defense remained steady behind starting pitcher Parker Fitch. The right-hander delivered a complete-game performance, striking out four and walking none over seven innings while scattering five hits.
SJO tallied nine hits in total, with Trevor Ames and Logan Rosenthal each collecting a pair. Ames, Houchens, and Jared Altenbaumer each drove in a run. Rosenthal added two stolen bases to his stat line, while Ames swiped one and scored once.
Galesburg starter Noah Nalley took the loss, surrendering three unearned runs on four hits over 2.1 innings. He walked two and was unable to record a strikeout.
St. Joseph-Ogden will return to action on Tuesday when it hosts Tri-Valley at 4:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Galesburg looks to regroup against Rock Island on Monday, hoping to capitalize on a Rocks team currently in the midst of a three-game skid.
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden's Tyler Hess is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal in the first half. The junior led the team to a 5-3 win over University High on Wednesday at Dick Duval Field. Hess, who is the top finisher in the area with a hat trick in the team's first three matches this season, will try to make it four in a row in the undefeated Spartans' road game against the Vermilion Valley Conference's Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers on Friday. More photos and a game recap coming soon.
