EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville's Riley Nelson pitched six-and-two-thirds strong innings in the circle, while the Tigers broke a fifth-inning tie with three runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, taking advantage of five Hardin Calhoun errors to take a 6-3 win in a softball game played Wednesday afternoon at the Edwardsville Sports Complex.
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The clash between two of the best softball programs in the area, saw the Tigers fall behind when the Warriors scored in the first, with Edwardsville scoring twice in the home half to take a 2-1 lead. Calhoun tied it with a run in the top of the fifth, but Edwardsville scored its final four runs in the next two innings, with three in the fifth and one in the sixth, to go up 6-2 before Calhoun scored a run in the top of the seventh but could come no closer as the Tigers took its 6-3 win.
"I thought Riley pitched a really good game," said Edwardsville head coach Caty Happe, "she got ahead on batters and really competed well. They have some really good hitters."
The Tigers also took advantage of their opportunities when they presented themselves and were able to score key runs at important times in the game.
"We were able to get kids on," Happe said, "found a way to move runners and then scored. They're a really good team, so to get a win and see a really good pitcher was good for us."
Zoie Boyd and Grace Oertle had hits and RBIs for the Tigers, while Nelson and Graham Cobb-Gulledge had hits and both Avery Hamilton and Jillian Hawkes had RBIs.
Haylee Armbruster had two hits and two RBIs for the Warriors, while Audrey Gilman had two hits and an RBI, Grace Ballard and Kiera Sievers both had a pair of hits and Lila Simon, Lacy Pohlman, Anabel Eilerman and both Delani and Gracie Klaas all had hits.
Nelson allowed three runs on 12 hits, walking one and struck out five in her time in the circle, while Hamilton came in to record the save. Gilman threw a complete game in the circle, allowing six runs on four hits, walking two and fanning nine.
The Warriors are now 12-5 and are scheduled to play at Carrollton Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., then go against Carbondale Saturday at 12 noon and have a very busy week ahead, playing at home against White Hall North Greene Monday, at Greenfield Northwestern Apr. 27, then play at home against Jersey Apr. 28, with all games starting at 4:30 p.m., and Apr. 29 against Piasa Southwestern in a 10 a.m. start.
The Tigers go to 12-2 and have a doubleheader on Saturday at Breese Mater Dei Catholic, with the first game starting at 12 noon, then are at Collinsville on Tuesday, host Columbia next Wednesday, are at Granite City on Apr. 27, all games starting at 4:30 p.m., then travel to Pleasant Hill for a game Apr. 28 at 4 p.m., then play in a cluster at Pontiac Apr. 29, meeting the hosts at 10 a.m., then playing against Moline at 12 noon.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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