Father McGivney’s Isaac Wendler homers against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Omar Avalos follows through on his home run against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Jacoby Danco fields a bouncer against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Jacoby Danco pitches against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Jack Rolves lays down a bunt against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney coach Chris Erwin talks with the Jacksonville Routt coach before a game on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Ty Etcheson is hit by a pitch against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Lucas Perich pitches against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Omar Avalos leads off first base against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
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Father McGivney’s Omar Avalos is congratulated by Scott Phelps after his home run against Jacksonville Routt on April 22, 2026, in Glen Carbon.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Isaac Wendler’s hot streak continued against Jacksonville Routt.
The Father McGivney first baseman slugged two home runs and drove in five runs to power a 13-3 five-inning win over Routt on April 22 in Glen Carbon.
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“I’ve been on a little bit of a streak. I have been hunting my pitching and not missing it,” Wendler said.
Since March 30, Wendler is hitting .605 (23 for 38) with three home runs and 18 RBI. He has hit safely in 11 of the 12 games during the stretch, including nine multi-hit games.
“I started off slow, which is something I’ve always done, and I had to make the adjustment sooner or later. I don’t think it was a big adjustment. I was just missing my pitches. It only takes that one hit and I’ve been on since,” Wendler said.
Wendler went 3 for 3 against Routt and was one of nine Griffins with at least a hit. He now has a team-leading three home runs and 22 RBI.
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“When he is hitting lasers like this, I know that he is locked in. It’s really tough to get him out when he’s locked in,” FMCHS coach Chris Erwin said.
Omar Avalos added two hits, including a first-inning home run, and three RBI. He leads the team with 24 RBI and is hitting .565 on the season.
Father McGivney’s offensive outburst allowed it to improve to 15-4 on the season. Routt dropped to 11-7.
Wednesday’s game was a rematch of the last two Class 1A Super-Sectionals, which the teams split. Father McGivney won 4-3 last season on the way to a runner-up finish at state.
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There was little drama in this meeting between the two programs, as the Griffins jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first after sending nine batters to the plate.
Avalos put Father McGivney ahead 2-0 with his two-run home run to right. It was his first home run of the season.
After Scott Phelps singled, Wendler launched a two-run home run to left center on a 2-1 pitch to double the lead to 4-0.
“It was a hitter’s count and I was looking for something. He gave me my pitch and I hit it,” Wendler said.
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Later in the first, Paddy Martin scored from third on an errant pickoff throw to first base to try and get Jacoby Danco for the 5-0 lead. It was Routt’s third error of the inning.
Routt cut the deficit to 5-2 in the second, but Father McGivney answered with five runs in its half of the inning after sending 11 batters to the plate.
Avalos had an RBI double to score Ty Etcheson for the 6-2 lead. Two batters later, Wendler bounced a two-run single through the left side to extend it to 8-2.
The top four hitters in the Father McGivney lineup – Etcheson, Avalos, Phelps and Wendler – went a combined 7 for 10 with three home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored.
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“I thought the top of the order did a really great job,” Erwin said. “Everybody in the lineup hit, though. We did a really good job of letting the ball get deep.”
A sacrifice fly from Danco and an RBI single by Patrick Gierer made it 10-2 after two innings.
Father McGivney went ahead 12-2 in the fourth on Gierer’s RBI single and Etcheson’s sacrifice fly to center field.
Routt stayed alive momentarily in the fifth with a run, but Wendler ended the game on the first pitch of the bottom half of the inning with a long home run to left field for the 13-3 win.
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“I was looking for a pitch to drive and it ended up hitting the right part of the barrel,” Wendler said.
Father McGivney finished with 14 hits.
Gierer was 2 for 3 with two RBI, while Rolves had two hits and Danco and Etcheson each had a hit and RBI.
The offense made things easier for Danco on the mound. He went four innings and allowed two unearned runs on one hit with three walks and two strikeouts to earn the win.
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“Danco had a gutsy performance. He didn’t really have his stuff today, but he stuck with it,” Erwin said.
Father McGivney will play its eighth straight non-conference game when it hosts Belleville East at 4:30 p.m. April 24 in Glen Carbon.