Cougars sweep Wood River to move to 21-7 on the season

Playing in — Central senior Bryce Wieter sends a throw to first in the Cougars’ 10-0 win over Wood River on Friday in Breese. Wieter was 1-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and one batted in during the six-inning tilt.    The Central Cougars moved their season record to 21-7 with three more wins with a pair of victories over Wood River and another against Belleville East.
    They hosted Red Bud (15-7) on Monday before welcoming in North Clay (25-3) on Friday. They play at rival Mater Dei on Saturday at 11 a.m.
    Central 10, Wood River 0 (6 innings): The Cougars made it a season sweep over the Oilers on Friday at Allen Warnecke Field in Breese.
    Central out hit the Oilers 12-3 in the contest with Wood River having three of the game’s four fielding errors.
    Miles Browne and Brady Ceto took care of the rest as they combined on a three-hit shutout.
    Browne went the first two innings with five strikeouts to earn the win while Ceto tossed the final four innings and struck out nine batters to earn the save.
    Browne did damage at the dish as well with three singles, a walk and two runs scored. Alex Athmer was 3-for-5 with two singles, a triple, two runs scored and five batted in.
    Kaden Henss and Aidan Huegen each had two singles while Bryce Wieter added a triple. Huegen had three stolen bases while Athmer, Conlan Haar and Browne each pilfered a pair of bases.
    The Cougars left no doubt in the bottom of the first inning after Haar reached on an error and Browne walked to leadoff the frame.
    Athmer singled the other way for a 1-0 lead before Craig Schroeder scored a run on a ground out. Henss singled in another run for a 3-0 lead after one inning.
    They added two more runs in the second inning when Haar and Browne each singled and scored on an Athmer triple to the right side for a 5-0 lead.
    Central got an unearned run in the fourth inning before going back to work in the fifth inning when Huegen singled, stole second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch for a 7-0 lead.
    The Cougars ended it in the bottom of the sixth inning after the first out was retired. Browne started things with a single before scoring on a single from Athmer for an 8-0 lead.
    Wieter tripled to the right side to chase Athmer before Wieter scored on an RBI single from Henss to end the contest.
Quick win — Central senior Miles Browne sends in a curveball in the first inning of the Cougars’ 10-0 win over Wood River. Browne tossed two innings of shutout ball, allowing one hit, no walks and five punch outs.    Central 25, Wood River 0 (4 innings): The Cougars went offensive in their conference road victory on Thursday in East Alton.
    The Cougars pounded out 21 hits with 13 players getting into the hit column while their defense was flawless behind Aidan Huegen and Lincoln Radake.
    Huegen was the winning pitcher as he went the first three innings and allowed one hit and no walks with eight punch outs. Radake pitched a scoreless fourth inning.
    Alex Athmer was 2-for-3 with a grand slam, a single, five RBI and two runs scored. Conlan Haar was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single, three runs scored and one RBI.
    Radake was 2-for-3 with two singles, two walks, two runs scored, three batted in and a stolen base. Max Albers was 2-for-3 with a single, a double, two steals, two batted in and one run scored. Landon Toennies scored three times.
    The Cougars scored twice in the first, once in the second inning before getting 10 runs in the third inning and a dozen in the fourth inning.
    Haar led off the game with a double to the gap before scoring on an Athmer single to left. Athmer crossed two hitters later, on a single from Kaden Henss for a 2-0 lead.
    Haar doubled in the second inning and crossed on a Miles Browne double through the left side for a 3-0 lead.
    Central sent 16 hitters to the plate in the third inning, with the big blow coming from Athmer with a grand slam to left field. Albers doubled in two more runs as the rout was on at 13-0.Going the distance — Mater Dei righty Ethan Wheelan sends in a first inning strike against Carlyle on Monday in Breese. Wheelan went the distance with a two-hit shutout where he struck out two in the 10-0 win.
    They sent 18 to the plate in the fourth inning with just five hits. Allen Perez had an RBI single in the inning. Logan Haselhorst also singled in a run for the Cougars.
    Central 2, Belleville East 0: The Cougars got two in the opening inning and Alex Athmer took care of the rest.
    Conlan Haar led the game off with a double the opposite way before scoring on a double from Miles Browne just three pitches into the contest. Alex Athmer singled in Browne for a 2-0 lead.
    Athmer took care of the rest as he shut down the Lancers’ offense all game. The junior went the distance, allowing just two hits in the complete-game shutout where he walked none and struck out 11 in just 85 pitches.
    Browne had three of the Cougars’ eight hits while Craig Schroeder, Kaden Henss and Max Albers all added singles.