EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's Kade Burns came out on fire in the Tigers' 3-0 Southwestern Conference opening win over Collinsville Tuesday afternoon at Tom Pile Field.
As in striking out the first four Kahoks he faced in a row. As in striking out the side in the opening two innings. As in not allowing a hit and walking just one in his five innings of work and striking out 11 before yielding to Issac Garrett, who closed out the win for EHS.
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“My arm was feeling good,” Burns said. “I was pretty on today; I think I had my curveball working, I was getting it over for strikes pretty much wherever I wanted to. I was pitching backwards to a lot of guys and I think it threw them off.
“It was definitely a good start; once we started scoring runs, it kind of eased a little bit off and we kept pressing.”
Reid Hendrickson helped with a pair of key RBI hits in the second and fourth innings that put the Tigers ahead. “That was big,” Burns said. “Reid got us the first two runs we had; that kind of set the tone.
“I was throwing my slider, not really for strikes, but to get guys out and that was working; I used it as an out pitch with two strikes. I think I have good command on my fastball; I can locate it and throw it with a little bit of velocity. It kind of throws people off – they don't see me as a big guy, so don't think I have any velocity, so it sneaks up on people.”
Burns and the rest of the Tigers are happy with their start to the season; EHS went on to defeat Wheaton North immediately following their win over Collinsville to run their record to 6-0 on the year and 1-0 in the SWC with a game scheduled for today at East St. Louis. “There's not much better of a start you can ask for than 5-0 (following the Collinsville win),” Burns said.
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