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EDWARDSVILLE - A four-run first inning followed by solid relief work by Gavin Huebner helped the Edwardsville Tigers hold on for an 8-4 victory over the Columbia Eagles in a non-conference game on Friday afternoon.
"I thought we took some really good at-bats and we were able to get the runs when we needed early on," Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said. "Columbia’s got a great team. I really like the way they play. That was a great win for us.”
Since losing to Nequa Valley, Edwardsville is on a four-game winning streak at 5-2.
Blake Burris led the way for the Tigers offensively going 3-for-4. He started the season going 0-for-9 at the plate, but since Edwardsville began their winning streak, Burris is now 7-for-15 at the plate and sports a .350 batting average overall.
"I'm starting to pick up the ball," Burris said. "I feel like I've finally got my swing on pace."
Columbia snapped an eight-game winning streak and fell to 8-2, but head coach Neal O’Donnell felt that his team got plenty out of playing Edwardsville.
“Why do we schedule a team like [Edwardsville]? So we can get better. We're going to take some things from this and get better next week,” O’Donnell said. "It took us a little bit of time to adjust to the speed at which they play. We were kind of behind the eight ball in that first inning. Once we adjusted, we competed a lot better.”
The festivities started at Tom Pile Field but was ultimately finished at the JV field due to some consistent rainfall. The game lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes.
Max Ringering and Joe Copeland collected RBI singles in the first inning for the Tigers. They were also aided by two errors from the Eagles, including a wild throw that scored a run.
Edwardsville starting pitcher, Matthew Boyer was on the mound for three innings and ran into trouble after a brief rain delay in the top of the third inning. A.J. Mueller, who finished 3-for-4, launched a two-run home run over the left field fence. Columbia added another run making it 5-4.
Despite allowing four runs in three innings of work, Boyer earned his first victory of the season. He also struck out seven batters and walked two.
Jack Cooper would erase that last run with a solo blast to give Edwardsville a little breathing room at 6-4 in the bottom half of the inning.
Huebner took over in the fifth inning and although he did bend a little, but ultimately got the job done.
He tossed three innings of shutout ball allowing four hits, two walks, and struck out five batters that earned him the save.
“Huebner just competes,” Funkhouser said. “He doesn’t let anything bother him. He just makes pitches. He did a lot of good things.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers got two more insurance runs.
Hayden Moore laced an RBI double to left field and scored a moment later thanks to an RBI single by Burris.
"We're getting a little chemistry going," Burris said. “The younger guys are stepping up and playing really well. The older guys are getting into a groove, and everybody's starting to feel more comfortable."
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