GLEN CARBON – Junior Jackson Rodgers and the Father McGivney High School baseball team are on a tear right now winning 15 straight with their last loss coming a month ago against Alton Marquette. Since then the Griffins have outscored their opposition 181-32. Rodgers has been named the Griffins' Byron, Carlson, Petri and Kalp LLC Male Athlete of the Month.
“It was tough to go out and loss to Marquette, especially with the rivalry that goes on with the two schools, but we’ve really buckled down,” Rodgers said after a 17-6 win over Metro-East Lutheran.
“Guys are playing selfless now and we’re winning games as a team. I feel like early in the season we were playing as individuals but when we’re playing as a team, we’re hard to beat.”
They just recently beat the Metro-East Lutheran High School Knights by a score of 17-6 Friday afternoon (April 22). Rodgers went 2-3 on the day with two runs and three RBI’s.
The highlight of the afternoon for him was on the very first pitch he saw. He was batting leadoff for the Griffins and came out swinging. He took the first ball he saw and took it over the fence in left-center field. His solo shot got things started and made it 1-0.
“I just come out here and try to get my team going, especially in the lead-off spot. I really didn’t expect it, but I saw a fastball that I could hit, and I just put a good swing on it,” Rodgers added regarding his homerun.
That was his fourth homer of the season which leads his team. He’s also batted in 29 runs which also leads the Griffins.
McGivney will be back in action again Monday when they travel to Roxana High School to take on the Shells at 4:30 p.m.
