EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville baseball coach Tim Funkhouser won his 600th game as the Tigers' skipper Friday night.
The way it happened represented the kind of win the Tigers have had many times this season – the Tigers finding a way to win in the late going, the Tigers bouncing back from Lockport tying the game with two in the top of the seventh when Drake Westcott drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh and Reid Hendrickson delivering a clutch double that scored Westcott to give EHS a 3-2 win in their opening game of the Tiger Classic tournament at Tom Pile Field.
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“It was a good win for our team,” Funkhouser said after the game. “To come back in that fashion, (Jonathan) Yancik was great on the bump (pitcher's mound) for us and deserved to get a victory. We didn't finish it off, but we continued to fight and we've had a lot of close games this year – it was good to come up (for the win), especially at the beginning of our tournament here.
“Lockport's just a quality club and I have great respect for coach (Andy) Satunas and his program – they always play the game the right way and we got a good win tonight.”
Yancik threw 5.2 innings of no-hit ball, losing the no-no only when C.J. Weins lifted a flare down the line in left that just landed fair for a double. The Tigers managed to get out of that jam. “He was dynamite,” Funkhouser said of Yancik. “His ball was moving all over the place and he was able to continue to execute pitches really got in sync with his delivery”
“Then Reid Hendrickson with a big clutch hit there at the end; we started the runner (Westcott) and he got a good jump and Reid powered it into the left-field line.”
The Porters' first hit was “just a little jam-shot to left,” Funkhouser said. “He made pitches throughout (the game) and we couldn't be happier for Jon and our club getting the victory.”
Edwardsville's first run came in the third when Joe Copeland opened the inning with a single and went to third on a Westcott single to put runners at the corners; a passed ball then brought in Copeland to put EHS up 1-0; the next inning, Dalton Wallace singled to lead off and went to second on a wild pitch; a Josh Ohl single and Collin Elvers being hit by a pitch loaded the bases to bring up Coleman with one out; he grounded to second but drove in Wallace for an RBI to put the Tigers up 2-0.
The Tigers held on to the lead until the top of the seventh when, with Dawson Taylor pitching, John Weis reached on an error to open the inning and advanced on a one-out walk to Brennan O'Connor; Bryan Fox then singled in Weis to cut the lead to 2-1. Nolan Weis then singled to load the bases to bring up Weins with two out, drawing a walk to bring in O'Connor and tie the game go set up Hendrickson's heroics in the bottom of the seventh.
Westcott was 2-for-2 on the night with the game-winning run scored, Hendrickson 1-for-4 with the game-winning double and RBI, Wallace 2-for-3, Ohl 1-for-3 and Copeland 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored; Aaron Young also had a run scored on the night.
Lucas Clayton, who got the Tigers out of the top of the seventh, got the win; Yancik struck out three on the night and Taylor fanned one for Edwardsville, who takes on Highland at 10 a.m. today at Tom Pile Field and Chatham Glenwood at 12:30 p.m. today as the tournament resumes.
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