The Valle Catholic Warriors shot out of the gate like a cannonball this season. They have yet to lose a game, and not only are they winning, but they’re winning in convincing fashion. The offense is clicking at a mid-season pace and the pitching has been lights out thus far.
After opening the season with a 12-2 win over Ste. Genevieve on Monday, they would deliver the same fate to Herculaneum just two days later, before taking down Jefferson R7, 7-1, on Thursday. To wrap the week in the midst of a long road stretch, they cleaned out Ellington 11-0 before dispatching Oran 7-0.
It is truly impressive to see this level of success and compete so early in the season, but that just speaks to the amount talent on this Varsity squad.
Valle has been striking early and often, and the game against Herky was certainly representative of that. After a run in the first on an RBI single from Jackson Fowler, stud shortstop Chase Fallert launched a two-run bomb to left in the second for a 3-0 lead. That missile would prove to be the game-winning RBI.
The Warriors tacked on another run in third to go up 4-0, but the Blackcats climbed back in the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. That score was a little too close for comfort for Valle, so they decided tack on another in the fifth before erupting for seven runs in the six to trigger the mercy rule and cement the victory.
Fallert was a beast of the boxscore in this one with a 3-for-4 effort that included the home run, two RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. The Viox twins tore it up at the dish as well. Alex was 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI and Isaac went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI, two runs scored and a pair of steals.
Clayton Drury got the start and pitched two perfect innings with four Ks to earn the win. Isaac Basler, Carson Tucker and Preston Lurk combined to toss four innings of two-run ball out of the pen to close it out.
Next up the Warriors traveled to Festus to take on the Jefferson Blue Jays. They fell behind 1-0 in the first, but back-to-back RBI singles from Drury and Tucker in the second put Valle on top 2-1, and they wouldn’t look back.
They scored again in the third before putting up two more in the fourth and two in the seventh, highlighted by A. Viox’s second triple in as many games. That made it 7-1 and closed the book on the Blue Jays.
A. Viox went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, while Grant Fallert was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, scored a pair of runs and swiped two bags. The pitching may have just outshined the offense in this one though. Lurk got the start and the win after throwing four innings of one-run ball that featured four Ks. A couple of Fallerts came on in relief and closed it out, with Rylan Fallert throwing two scoreless innings with four punch-outs and Chase fanning all three batters he faced in a perfect 7th inning.
That win made the Warriors 3-0 and set them up for a double-header on Saturday against Ellington and Oran. The game against the Whippets was close at first, but Valle broke through with a pair of runs in the third and never looked back.
They tacked on a run in the fourth before breaking out with four in the fifth, courtesy of a bases-loaded double by R. Fallert that plated a pair. The Warriors added an insurance run in the sixth before a three-spot exclamation point in the final inning that featured a triple from C. Fallert and a double from Fowler.
The Whippets had no chance in this one and fell 11-0.
G. Fallert got the start and went five scoreless innings for the victory. He allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out eight. Basler finished the game out with a pair of scoreless innings of his own.
Offensively, R. Fallert was the big bat hitting out of the ninth spot in the order. He went 4-for-4 while driving in three and crossing the plate himself twice. Tucker, Fowler, A. Viox, I Viox and C. Fallert all had two hits in the game.
That set up the final match of the week against the Oran Eagles in the second game of Saturday’s double-header, and this one was a lot like the first game. In fact, another shutout led to the Warriors pitching 20 consecutive scoreless innings.
Valle got on the board in the first via error, but added to their lead in a legitimate capacity on an Aaron Eftink RBI single in the second. R. Fallert added an RBI single of his own in the fourth and A. Viox kept up the running theme with one in the fifth as well.
The Warriors broke the game open in the six with three more runs by taking advantage of walks and Eagle miscues to up the score to 7-0. Oran couldn’t muster anything offensively and fell 7-0. In fact, they registered just one hit and three total baserunners the entire game.
Drury got the start and the win with four hitless innings that featured nine Ks, while C. Fallert picked up the save with three innings of shutout ball. R. Fallert was the big bat out of the nine-spot once again with a 3-for-3 effort and an RBI. Tucker and Eftink had two hits apiece.
That concluded the stretch of dominance for the week, but Valle will look to keep the streak alive on Monday when they take on Valmeyer to continue this long road trip.
