TROY – The Triad Knights’ baseball team defeated the Granite City Warriors 6-1 Saturday afternoon and were helped along the way by a two-run homer to left field from senior McGrady Noyes.
“I mean I’ve kind of been struggling a little bit recently, but I got in the box with a guy that I’ve seen the ball well in my first at-bat,” he said.
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“Coach gave me the hit-and-run sign; just kind of cleared my mind. I knew I was swinging no matter what and it helped me. Wasn’t really thinking about anything, just saw the ball well and put a good swing on it.”
For the big hit, McGrady is an Axes Physical Therapy Athlete of the Month for Triad.
The hit came in the game’s third inning and made it a 4-0 ball game over the Warriors. The win followed up a 6-5 loss the night before at Wesclin.
“It was good to get out here early this morning and get a bounce-back win,” McGrady said.
McGrady’s batting a .281 average with a .361 on-base percentage. It was his second home run of the season. Through 32 at-bats he’s got seven hits and six RBI.
When not playing baseball, McGrady’s a heck of a basketball player too. He couldn’t decide on the spot which sport he liked more, saying “usually whatever I’m in season of,” which is a fair statement.
On the court, he helped lead the way to a Sectional Championship game against East St. Louis but eventually lost 53-38 to the Flyers who ended up taking third in Class 3A.
The Knights finished with an impressive 28-7 record and won the Mississippi Valley Conference regular-season title after going 9-1.
McGrady was a key starter on the team his final two seasons, amassing a total of 663 points and 378 rebounds as a junior and senior.
Back to the baseball diamond, McGrady and the team look forward to starting conference play this week. The Knights will play a home and away two-game series against Waterloo on Monday and Wednesday.
