Historical Weekend By Pioneers Earns First Ever AMC Series Sweep and Breaks School Homerun Record

Historical Weekend By Pioneers Earns First Ever AMC Series Sweep and Breaks School Homerun Record - Wil Teague, Sports Information Director, 3/14/26 

Crowley's Ridge Baseball checked off more school milestones with the Pioneers defeating the Hornets for the first time in history, earning the program's first AMC series sweep, and surpassing the program's single-season home run record (25, 2018) through junior Aiden Smith's 3-run blast to center field in game three. 

Game Two: 

Crowley's Ridge- 14

Harris Stowe- 13

St. Louis, MO- After a lack of daylight delay, the Pioneers picked up where they left off yesterday evening against the Hornets earlier this afternoon. At the conclusion of the contest, CRC would hold on to their last-minute rally to claim the contest by one run, with the Pioneers clinching tightly to their one-run lead after scoring three do-or-die runs in the top of the ninth. Heading into their last 3 outs, CRC trailed 11-13 to the Hornets but would string together a pair of walks and a trio of hits in their final stand, setting up sophomore Reece Bariola's double to score Aiden Smith and Senior James Wilson to deliver the game-winning pinch hit single two batters later, scoring Lawson DeVault and Bariola.

Closing the door for the second contest in a row for the Pioneers was freshman Brennon Burch, who took the mound and allowed one hit before retiring the Hornets with three groundouts, earning his second consecutive save of the series. The Pioneers recorded 13 RBIs on 18 hits in the game. Aiden Smith led the team, going 4-5 with an RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored. Kolby Webb and JP Wills added a 3-hit contest, with Webb going 3-4 with 2 RBIs and a walk, and Wills going 3-5 at the plate, driving in 3. Parker Gordon and Reece Bariola each added a pair of hits for the Pioneers in the win. Jax Buttigan earned the win, going 5.0 innings in relief, allowing 2 runs off 3 hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Game Three:

Crowley's Ridge- 16

Harris-Stowe- 14

St. Louis, MO- In the final contest, the Pioneers would be forced to dig the deepest in order to pull out the win for the series sweep, with the Hornets taking a 14-7 run lead after seven full innings of action. Forcefully, through perseverance and two huge rallies, the Pioneers would be successful in their efforts, scoring 5 runs in the 8th inning and 4 more runs in the 9th to emerge victorious over HSSU by a score of 16-14. In the top of the ninth, sophomore Reece Bariola delivered a bases-loaded clearing double to score Aiden Armstrong, Conner Johnson, and Lawson DeVault to push the Pioneers ahead for the first time since the CRC held a 3-2 lead in the second. CRC mustered 13 hits as a team, scoring 16 runs and driving in 13 RBI, and were again led by junior Aiden Smith, who was 3-5 with a homerun, double, and 6 RBIs. Bariola followed with a 3-5 effort with 3 RBIs and a double. Senior Kolby Webb added a 2-6 game with 3 RBIs, and Parker Gordon collected two barrels, going 2-4 with 3 runs scored. 8 CRC pitchers toed the rubber this game, but Melbourne, AR native Brennon Burch would take the win, building his weekend resume to 2 saves and a win through his 4.2 outing in game three, allowing 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 4 punchouts. 

"I'm proud of the way our guys competed all weekend. We swung the bats really well up and down the lineup and had a lot of different guys step up in big moments. Crafton's grand slam got us going in game one, and Aiden Smith had an outstanding series driving the baseball and coming through in big situations. What I liked most was our resilience. We got down big in game two and didn't panic. Our guys just kept taking quality at-bats and found a way to come back and win it late. That says a lot about the toughness of this group. Obviously, when you score that many runs, it helps, but we also had some key innings out of the bullpen that gave us a chance to finish games. Brennon Burch was big for us in multiple games, and Jax Buttigan gave us some important innings as well. Any time you can go on the road in conference play and sweep a series, that's a big deal. We still have a lot to clean up, but I like the fight and the way this group continues to compete."- Spencer Adcock, HC

Up Next: CRC Baseball will stay in Missouri, taking on AMC opponent Mission University this coming weekend, March 20th and 21st. #GOPIONEERS