EDWARDSVILLEEdwardsville's Dylan Burris certainly knows how to set a table.

Burris tripled twice in a 3-for-3 day at the plate with a RBI and three runs scored, including a lead-off triple for the Tigers, in Edwardsville's 11-6 Southwestern Conference baseball win over Belleville East at Tom Pile Field Thursday afternoon. The Tigers improved to 22-5 overall, 10-3 in the SWC with one league game left; the Lancers fell to 13-15 overall, 5-8 in the league.

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The Tigers had to overcome early errors that gave the Lancers a run in the top of the first; Burris got EHS going quickly when he stroked a triple to the fence in right-center field.

“He's been simply amazing,” said Tiger coach Tim Funkhouser of Burris. “He's always been a good player for us; he's a competitive kid and want to compete every pitch. That's a great attribute of a baseball player, and he's done a great job of maturing too, kind of staying within himself and not wanting to do more, which has allowed him to actually do more.”

Issac Garrett got the win for the Tigers, going five innings but having to work his way around miscues and walks but getting the key outs when he needed them. “We didn't make some plays behind him and he wasn't as sharp,” Funkhouser said. “He gave them some runners with walks; outside of those situations, I thought we played an extremely well game, had some really good at-bats; (Kade) Burns' walk early in the game (in the second) and getting that base hit late in the game (a double to lead off the bottom of the sixth that ignited a five-run rally).

“Our lineup changed a little bit from what it's been (moving up Drake Westcott to second in the order and Joel Quirin to third in the order) and I think that's something we'll continue to look at; I think it really sets our lineup very well. It'll be fun to watch our guys.”

Following Burris' leadoff triple, Westcott singled in Burris, then went to second on a Quirin single; both advanced when Will Messer grounded to short and Westcott came home on a RBI groundout by Andrew Yancik, Quirin moving to third. Dalton Wallace then doubled in Quirin for a third run for the Tigers to give them a 3-1 lead through one.

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The Lancers scored twice in the second to tie the game, but Edwardsville contered with a Westcott RBI single that drove in Burns, who started the inning with a walk, to put EHS back on top. In the fourth, Burris hit a one-out triple to bring in Burns to up the lead to 5-3, with Burris himself scoring on a Quirin sacrifice fly to right to get the Tigers to a 6-3 lead.

East scored twice in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-5 and it stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth, when Burns' leadoff double sparked a five-run inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Quirin and Messer and a RBI double from Daniel Reed. The Lancers got a run back in the seventh, but Tyler Lewis retired the side to preserve the EHS win.

Westcott was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored, with Quirin 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, Messer 1-for-3 with a RBI and run scored, Wallace 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, Reed 1-for-1 with the double and RBI and Burns 1-for-1 with the double, two walks and three runs scored.

Garrett struck out two in getting the win for the Tigers, while Reid Hendrickson and Lewis each pitched an inning and each struck out one.

The Tigers host Jersey at 4:15 p.m. today, then take on Cape Girardeau (Mo.) Notre Dame around 7 p.m. Saturday following Saturday afternoon's scheduled 3:05 p.m. Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game at Busch Stadium. Tickets for the games are still available and will be discounted to $30 from $75; they will be available at the school Friday.

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