Tigers Split Girls Softball Twinbill With Glenwood

EDWARDSVILLE – Chatham Glenwood got a seventh-inning excuse me single by Elizabeth Blum to win the first game of a doubleheader over Edwardsville 3-2, but in the nightcap, a bases-clearing double in the fifth by Jillian Lane, along with sold pitching by Graham Cobb-Gulledge and Kylie Lintker gave the Tigers a 7-6 win and a split of the doubleheader Friday afternoon and evening at the Edwardsville Sports Complex.

The Tigers play at home on Tuesday, April 17, 2024, against O'Fallon at 4:30 p.m.

The second-game win was a very nice bounce-back win for Edwardsville, who kept going and stayed positive throughout both games, especially against a good Titan team.

Edwardsville head coach Caty Happe said: “Chatham’s a great team, so to be competitive and have opportunities to win both is awesome. It’s exactly where we want to be, so, both games could have gone either way for either team. So, I think that’s important, and we got to see a lot of good pitching today, and put some good swings on the ball.”

The first-game loss was indeed a tough way to lose, but the Tigers were able to fight it off and come back strong in the second game.

“We had a lot of kids step up today,” Happe said, “and get on base, The biggest thing we talked about was getting someone on, and then moving them. So, we had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on, especially in that first game. But being able to bounce back and take the second is a huge deal.”

All three of the Edwardsville pitchers – Riley Nelson in the opener, and both Cobb-Gulledge and Lintker in the nightcap – pitched very well, and kept going throughout.

“All three of them,” Happe said. “Kylie, first varsity game against Chatham, which is a great hitting team. Graham came in for four innings, and did a good job keeping them off-balance. Riley did a great job for the entire game. Being able to keep those hitters off bases is tough, and I thought we did a good job managing with runners on. Sometimes, they capitalized, and sometimes, we did.”

The Tigers bounced back well from a Southwestern Conference loss to Belleville East on Tuesday, along with the first-game loss to the Titans, and Happe agrees that it’s a good sign for her club especially against a good opponent like Glenwood.

“It is,” Happe said. “Chatham’s a top team in the state, and we love playing them. They put us in situations where we’ve got to make plays, and we do the same for them. I’m just glad they could come down.”

Edwardsville struck first in the first inning of the opener with two out, on back-to-back doubles by Lane and Nelson, the second double scoring Lane with the first run of the game. The Tigers doubled their lead in the fourth, with Lane singling and going to second on a passed ball. After Nelson struck out, Madi Kolakowski came through with a RBI single to short, with Lane scoring on the play to make it 2-0 for Edwardsville.

The Titans drew level in the top of the fifth, with a Kate Feld one out double to left, then taking third on a passed ball. Sophia Feld doubled home Kate Feld, who beat the throw to the plate, and Sophia Feld taking third on the throw. Sophia Feld then scored on a Irie Lohrenz grounder back to the box to tie the game 2-2.

The Tigers had a chance to go back on top in the home half, starting with a Reese McNamara double to right, then Jillian Hawkes singled home courtesy runner Shelby Gorniak to third. Grace Oertle grounded back to the box, and it turned into a double play when Gorniak, breaking on the play at first, was thrown out at third on a good play to keep the score tied 2-2.

Hawkes gave the Tigers another chance in the sixth, with a two-out double, but was left stranded. In the top of the seventh, with two out, Mollie Cascio doubled to the fence in right center, and with a 2-2 count, Blum checked her swing an hit a pop fly in the infield that dropped in for a hit. Cascio never stopped running, and beat the throw to the plate to give the Titans a 3-2 lead. Lohrenz set the Tigers down in the home half to gain the first-game win.

Edwardsville got off on the right foot again in the opening inning of the nightcap, starting with a lead-off single by Oertle, then Brooke Burris’ sacrifice bunt was misplayed by the first baseman for an error, allowing Burris to reach and sending Oertle to second. Lane singled home Oertle to make it 1-0, and one out later, Kolakowski brought in Burris with a RBI single to double the lead to 2-0. Lane then stole the plate to make it 3-0 after the first inning.

Glenwood got a run back in the second, starting when Sophia Feld drew a lead-off walk, and courtesy runner Ava Bobb stole second, After a one-out walk to Cascio, both runners advanced on a wild pitch, with a RBI single by Hope Gilmore scoring Bobb an sending Cascio to third.

The Titans tied the game in the fourth, when with two out, Karmen Edwards singled home both Bobb an Cascio, making the score 3-3. A Cassandra Feld RBI single brought in Edwards to give Glenwood a 4-3 lead. In the home half, McNamara led off with a single, with courtesy runner Amelia Wilfong going to second on a single by Sophie Antonini. After Hawkes drew a walk to load the bases, Wilfong was picked off third on a great throw by the catcher. Gorniak reloaded the bases on a single, and Oertle brought in Antonini with a RBI single to tie the game 4-4, Lane cleared the bases with a two out single to center that made the score 7-4 after four innings.

Lintker came in to pitch in the fifth, and promptly gave up a hit, an almost got out of the inning, but after allowing a walk, Gilmore doubled to the gap In right center, scoring Sophia Feld and Cascio to make it 7-6, LIntker then doubled down and two walks and a hit the rest of the way to give Edwardsville the 7-6 win and the split.

The Titans are now 12-1 on the year, while the Tigers go to 10-3, and face a busy week ahead, and play at Hardin Calhoun on Wednesday, then host Effingham on Thursday, all games starting a 4:30 p.m., then host Breese Mater Dei Catholic in a doubleheader on Apr. 20, with the first game starting a 10 a.m.

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