EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's summer baseball team got off to a quick start Tuesday evening as the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Redbirds under-16 team 17-4 in a scheduled nine-inning contest at Tom Pile Field.
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The Tigers scored four times in the bottom of the first and had a seven-run fifth inning to get the win, taking their summer record to 4-7 heading into a break; they'll play again June 28.
“Our guys were working on different things in the (batting) cages,” said Tiger coach Tim Funkhouser on the win. “Over the weekend, I thought we competed well (in a local tournament that saw them win two of three group-play games before being defeated in their bracket-play opener Sunday); today, I thought some of guys were able to gain some confidence, make some adjustments and see it come to fruition in the game.
“I really liked how the guys focused throughout the game; we played a nine-inning game and it took awhile to be out here in the heat and still get after it. That's what this group's done a great job of, no matter how we're playing at different times, just going out there and laying it on the line.”
This summer's Tigers are playing as an under-17 team; while some may have described the summer team as a developmental team, Funkhouser believes that developing in baseball happens at every level. “I think everyone's developing,” Funkhouser said. “There are guys in Triple-A and Double-A (minor-league baseball levels) that are trying to develop to be in the big leagues and even the guys in the big leagues are trying to develop to be the best players (the teams) can have.
“Every guy has to assess where they are at different points and it's one of those things where a couple of guys made some pretty good adjustments. Chase Gockel fouled off a pitch, got a little deep and kind of lost his (bat) barrel a little bit; sure enough, later in the game, he was able to hold on a little longer, release his barrel out in front (of the pitch) and smashed one into the gap (for a double in the fifth inning that brought in a pair of runs).”
The Tigers got four runs in the first, highlighted by a Will Messer triple that brought home EHS' first run. The Redbirds scored three times in the top of the third to pull to 4-3, but Edwardsville scored twice in the fourth to give themselves a bit of breathing room thanks to an Alec Mills double that drove in a pair of runs.
A seven-run fifth proved to be the difference as the Tigers took advantage of a series of walks from Redbird pitching and RBI hits from Daniel Reed, Ike Bartles and Gockel to extend the lead to 13-3. Four more runs came in for the Tigers in the sixth thanks to a RBI double from Andrew Yancik, RBI single from Zach Modrusic and a RBI double from Reed.
Tyler Lewis, Jake DeBouck, David Grant and Gockel all saw time on the mound for Edwardsville in the win.
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