Mater Dei is area’s last unbeaten team; Touchette sizzling for Columbia Eagles

While the neighboring Clinton County baseball teams at Central and Carlyle are off to great starts this season, the Mater Dei Knights have quietly remained the only remaining unbeaten team in the metro-east.

The Knights were 9-0-1 heading into their game against Salem on Monday and showing no signs of slowing down. They own a win over defending 3A state champ Highland and also have beaten Triad and 1A state tournament qualifier Okawville.

Area coached ranked the Knights third behind Carlyle and Central in the latest Belleville News-Democrat Small-School Baseball poll.

“Our players understand that Central and Carlyle are the tops around here right now and people tend to look at us behind them,” Mater Dei coach Travis Gebke said, also mentioning Wesclin as another solid Clinton County team. “I think it’s just our competitive nature. This is a real competitive group. In practice even when we do competition drills they go at each other.

“They’re a gritty group of kids that just want to win.”

Two of the top Mater Dei players this season have been senior twin brothers Bryce Beckmann and Blake Beckmann.

Bryce Beckmann, the center fielder and leadoff man, is hitting .541 with six doubles, 11 runs scored and seven RBIs. Blake Beckmann has been Mater Dei’s most effective pitcher, compiling a 3-0 record and 0.40 earned-run average along with 19 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

“He’s been very solid on the mound,” Gebke said of Blake Beckmann. “He’s trying to be more efficient this year and trying to pitch to contact more so he can go longer in games. He’s done a really good job getting all three of his pitches over for strikes.”

Other offensive catalysts include junior second baseman and relief pitcher Wil Rakers (.533, one double, two triples, two home runs, team-leading 15 RBIs) and Colin Schuetz (.412, two doubles, one homer, 10 RBIs).

“(Rakers) is doing a lot of things to get us going offensively,” Gebke said. “Along with that power, he’s getting a lot of doubles and triples. That’s Wil’s biggest thing, he always has a plan and he’s putting together really good at-bats.”

Rakers’ brother, senior Southwestern Illinois College recruit Brady Rakers, has started out a bit slow after earning All-Area honors as a junior. Despite that, he’s still hitting .313 with a double and five RBIs while not seeing a whole lot of good pitches to hit.

“He’s been a little too pull-happy compared to last year where he was driving the ball to all parts of the field,” Gebke said of Brady Rakers. “Over the last week he’s really done a good job and is starting to put together better at-bats. By the end of the year he’s going to be right where we expected him in terms of numbers and production.”

Gebke said one big thing about his team is their high work ethic — and high expectations.

“They’ve been very honest about what they expected out of themselves,” he said. “We expect to compete in the area and we expect to compete in the regional. We think we’ve got a solid team that can do a lot of things and win a lot of games.”

Nolan Seelhoefer (2-0, 1.72 ERA) and Austin Winter (2-0, 2.52 ERA) have also contributed on the mound.

Columbia’s Touchette setting fiery pace

There are hot hitters, red-hot hitters and then there is the incredible streak being enjoyed by Columbia Eagles senior center fielder Cameron Touchette.

Touchette finished second in the entire St. Louis area last season in hitting with a .556 average that includes two homers and 24 RBIs. He’s on pace to better that mark and is currently the top hitter in the region with a remarkable .714 average (15-for-21) that includes four doubles, two triples, one home run, 14 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

That’s right, 14 RBIs in only 21 at-bats.

The John A. Logan College recruit has done all that damage in only six games after sitting out the first five games this season for disciplinary reasons.

“Cameron’s every bit as good of a hitter as anybody we’ve had in our program since I’ve been here,” said Columbia coach Neal O’Donnell, who joined the coaching staff in 2007. “That average is something else, but last year he was hitting well above .600 for the majority of last season.

“He’s got a real good knowledge of the strike zone. He fouls off a lot of pitches and when he finally gets one that he likes he puts a good swing on it. He’s getting a lot of barrel on most balls that he puts in play.”

In three games last week, the left-handed hitter was 9-for-13 with two doubles, two triples, four RBIs and six runs scored. His speed helps account for more hits; last season as an All-Area junior he beat out a routine ground ball to the second baseman.

O’Donnell said Touchette’s ability to identify pitches and understand the strike zone set him apart.

“He does such a good job of working the count,” O’Donnell said. “He doesn’t see a ton of great pitches, he may get one or two pitches an at-bat to hit. He does a great job of fouling off pitches until he gets that one pitch he can drive.”

O’Donnell said having Cameron Roth (.500, 11 RBIs) behind Touchette in the lineup also makes a difference. Jonathan Holmes (.429, nine RBIs) and Lamont Read (.333, eight RBIs) are also off to good starts.

Looking for another reason Touchette can hit so well? O’Donnell pointed to Touchette’s participation on the Columbia High bowling team.

“The bowling ball creates a lot of strength in his wrist and that’s very beneficial for baseball,” O’Donnell said.

Logjam in the SWC

Just four games into a 14-game Southwestern Conference schedule, four teams were tied for first place before Monday. Edwardsville, O’Fallon, Alton and Belleville West were all 3-1 in conference play and Collinsville was right behind at 2-2.

Alton owns an upset win over Edwardsville while Collinsville knocked off O’Fallon. The competitive balance shouldn’t be a surprise based on the elite talent possessed by the league and quality veteran coaches that get the most out of their rosters every spring.

One game to circle on the calendar is Thursday’s showdown at Blazier Field in O’Fallon between the host Panthers and Edwardsville Tigers.

Gibault Hawks off to fast start

Gibault coach Andy Skaer is a big believer in all of his clubs, but he’s got a special place in his heart for the 2016 Hawks. Especially after watching them bash their way to a 10-4 start that includes scoring nine or more runs in six of those victories.

“We’re not the most talented team that I’ve had, but the best team I’ve had in several years,” said Skaer, whose 2013 squad won the Class 1A state tournament. “They’re really buying in to the team aspect and doing what’s best for the team. That makes a difference.”

So do big innings. The Hawks have developed a knack for finding big innings at the right time and did it again Friday, scoring five times in the sixth to wipe out a 3-1 deficit in a 6-5 win over Columbia at GCS Ballpark in Sauget.

“It seems like in many games we figure out a way to have one big inning,” Skaer said. “One guy gets on and then it just snowballs from there.”

It also helps having a player in the lineup like junior Trevor Davis.

Davis has been on a tear since the season began, hitting .553 before Monday with seven doubles, three triples, one homer and 17 RBIs. He’s also 2-1 on the mound with a 1.91 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 22 innings.

“He’s played every position for us but right field,” Skaer said of Davis, also a standout in basketball and soccer for Gibault. “He’s disciplined and he put the work in during the offseason. He’s got some physical tools and it’s easy to work with a guy when you have those to start with.”

The Hawks’ lineup has other offensive standouts like senior catcher Drew Dugan (.400, two doubles, one homer, seven RBIs), senior left fielder Johnny Francescon (.395, five doubles, 12 RBIs, eight stolen bases) and junior center fielder and pitcher Tyler Brinkmann (.385, four doubles, four triples, one homer, 13 RBIs.

The offense is more impressive considering Gibault lost one of the area’s top hitters when All-Area selection and Arkansas recruit Jordan McFarland transferred to Waterloo High for his senior year.

“We lost a lot of guys from last year,” said Skaer, whose 2015 club finished 16-17 and lost in the first round of the regional. “There were definitely a lot of question marks for us coming into this season offensively, but guys have done the things that we’ve needed to do.”

Brinkmann (2-0, 3.50 ERA) has also been effective on the mound while Collin Kessler (2-1) and Logan Kesler (3-0) have also contributed quality innings.

“For the most part, our pitching has been pretty effective,” Skaer said. “We had some games early on where we were walking too many, but I’m confident the pitching is going to be there at the end for us.”

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Mater Dei is area’s last unbeaten team; Touchette sizzling for Columbia Eagles."