EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's baseball team set the tone early in their Southwestern Conference game against Collinsville Thursday evening, Dylan Burris opening the game with a first-pitch triple off Kahok pitcher Brenden Taylor as Edwardsville's Jack Cooper led the way with a 3-for-4 day with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored as the Tigers went on to a 15-4, five-inning win over the Kahoks at Edwardsville's Tom Pile Field.
The Tigers are now 17-3 overall, 7-2 in the SWC; Collinsville fell to 8-14 overall, 2-7 in the league. Burris went 3-for-3 with a double and triple, a RBI and three runs scored on the day.
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The game, originally scheduled for Woodland Park/Arthur Fletcher Field in Collinsville, was moved to Tom Pile Field because of Wednesday's heavy rains; the Kahoks remained the home team for the game.
“We had patience at the plate and put some good swings on the ball,” said Tiger coach Tim Funkhouser. “Andrew Yancik (who got the win on the mound) had some good stuff today; he's got good ball movement and he's a good pitcher. All of our guys have been working hard and it paid off up and down the batting order.'
That the game was able to be played made Funkhouser happy. “We were glad to get the game in today,” Funkhouser said. “We're not sure about what the weather is going to be like Friday and Saturday (forecasts are calling for more rain and thunderstorms this weekend).”
'It was feeling really good today,” Cooper said of his two homers. “I was trying to get a good swing on them and got some pitches to hit; I tried not to do too much on them and was trying to knock them up the middle.
“Dylan set the tone right away and we all just went from there; we all just want to keep playing good baseball.”
“I was looking for a fastball on the first pitch and went with it,” Burris said of his first-pitch triple to start the game. “It was in the strike zone and I went the other way with it; every chance we get, we want to put the ball in play. Good things happen when you put the the ball in play.
“We're just taking things one day at a time.”
The Tigers scored three times in the first, with Drake Westcott following Burris' triple with a solo homer to right-center and doubles from Joel Quirin and Dalton Wallace, then exploded for seven runs in the second to take a 10-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by doubles from Burris and Yancik, a two-run double from Quirin and a two-run shot from Cooper. That was followed by a RBI double from Reid Hendrickson to cap off the inning. Cooper's second homer came in the fourth, a solo shot to left-center; he also had a RBI single in the fifth while Wallace capped off the fifth with a two-run double.
The only hiccup the Tigers had on the day was a four-run fourth by the Kahoks, three of them coming from a homer from Camden Reeves. Yancik got the win for the Tigers, giving up two earned runs on three hits while striking out three on the day; Zach Seavers and Dan Picchiotti both saw time on the mound.
Yancik went 2-for-4 with the double, two RBIs and a run scored at the plate, with Westcott 2-for-2 with the homer, a RBI and three runs scored, Quirin 2-for-3 with the two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored, Wallace 2-for-2 with two doubles and three RBIs, Hendrickson 1-for-2 with a double and RBI, Josh Ohl a RBI and run scored, Blake Burris two runs scored and Picchiotti a run scored. Taylor took the loss for the Kahoks, giving up eight earned runs on eight hits.
The Tigers are scheduled to visit Civic Memorial at 7 p.m. tonight at Bethalto Sports Complex, then travel to Belleville West at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and to Alton at 4:30 p.m. May 4 before hosting their round-robin tournament the weekend of May 5-6 as they play Lockport Township of Chicagoland at 7 p.m. May 5, Chatham Glenwood at 11 a.m. May 6 and Highland at 1:30 p.m. May 6.
