Tigers roll through regional
EHS went 2-3 this year against foes in sectional
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| T.L. Witt photo -- The Edwardsville baseball team outscored its regional foes 23-6. |
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The Tigers batted their way past Waterloo 15-4 and then topped the host Lancers 8-2.
"I thought we really performed well up and down the order and defensively and our pitchers were ready to go to," EHS coach Tim Funkhouser said. "The regional had some teams that were really hot with Belleville East and Freeburg in particular. To get a win against Waterloo and against Belleville East the way we did, really swinging the bats well and getting good pitching and some defense too was good to see."Things certainly won't be that easy at the Edwardsville Sectional with O'Fallon playing Belleville West in one semifinal at 4 today and the Tigers taking on Highland in the other at 6:30 tonight. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. Edwardsville went 2-3 this year against the sectional teams as the Panthers swept the Tigers, 9-7, 7-6. Edwardsville split its games against West, a 6-3 win and 2-1 loss, and beat Highland 8-6.
"Anytime you look at a sectional it's going to be awfully good," Funkhouser said.
The sectional features two teams, Edwardsville (31-5) and Highland (30-5), that have already won 30 games,
The other semifinal features the champs of the Southwestern Conference, Belleville West which compiled a 12-2 league mark and has a 27-4 record. O'Fallon tied Edwardsville for second in the conference with 10-4 marks, but the Panthers bring a 22-15 mark into sectional play.
"Belleville West and O'Fallon have been at the top of the conference," Funkhouser said. "Belleville West has played well all year, winning the conference. Even though O'Fallon doesn't have the record that reflect their team the schedule they play dictates that they've been a team that can win a sectional as well. I think our guys are just looking forward to competition and we'll let it go whenever we get out there."
Dane Opel, Dominic Patterozzi and Ted Messer did most of the damage for the Tigers against Waterloo as Opel drove in five runs while Patterozzi and Messer each drove in four. Opel also scored three runs. In the regional final against Belleville East, Jimmy Smith drove in two runs and six other Tigers drove in a run.
The Tigers have been able to stay sharp at the plate despite just playing two games last week.
"We've had a lot of pitchers throw to our hitters to keep the timing with the break up of the play," Funkhouser said. "You're used to playing five, six times a week and now you're playing twice. The pitching staff has simulated those game reps a lot. The pitchers throw to live hitters and that simulates the game situation where you're going to get at least eight to 10 at-bats so it's like a doubleheader and we try to put them in different defensive situations too."
Although Edwardsville cruised in regional play, the Tigers are ready to grind out some victories if they need to.
"I think our hitters have understood that each at-bat counts and to have a good understanding of what the pitcher is going to try to do and stay within the game," Funkhouser said. "Nine tough at-bats throughout the lineup is going to make it tough on any pitcher. We have a lot of respect for Highland. We'll try to scratch and claw for anything we can get."
E-mail:jcavato@yourjournal.com
