EDWARDSVILLE — To coin a phrase popularized by sportscaster Dan Patrick, Edwardsville senior pitcher Dan Picchiotti was — en fuego.
The Tiger hurler allowed only a lead-off single to Blake Wittman, then proceeded to strike out seven on only one walk as Edwardsville shut out Jersey 6-0 Friday afternoon at Tom Pile Field.
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“I think we took some good at bats, and battled at the plate,” said Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser. “And got some really good pitching out of Dan Picchiotti; he was really sharp, and he’s been really effective for us the last few outings. That’s a shot in the arm for this team.”
Picchiotti was able to combine an effective fastball with good breaking balls to keep the Panthers at bay.
“He had real good command of his fastball, and his breaking pitch is a really good pitch, and he commanded that as well.” Funkhouserr said. “You combine those two pitches, and the maturity he displays on the mound, it leads to consistency. And it’s just fun to go out and see him do his thing.”
Panther coach Darren Perdun gave full credit to the Edwardsville pitcher for his performance.
“Their pitcher did a nice job,” Perdun said. “We couldn’t put a whole lot of good at bats together, and one of the hardest hit balls we had was a fly ball to center. Give their pitcher a lot of credit; we just couldn’t really dig in and get some good at bats today.”
The Panthers have had their good and bad moments this season, but they’re always battling to the end. It’s a good quality that Perdun really likes.
“Yeah, you know, we don’t quit,” Perdun said. “We’ve had some ups and downs this year, but one thing we do is we don’t quit. We can build off that, and hopefully, we can get going in the next week or two for regionals. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Wittman lead off the game with a single to right center, but was immediately caught stealing. Collin Carey was called out on strikes and Kyle Kanturek popped out to the pitcher to end the Panther first.
Dylan Burris led off the Edwardsville half with a single, stole second and scored one out later on Joel Quirin’s RBI single. In the second, the Tigers extended their lead as Dalton Wallace blooped a double to right, and scored one out later on a RBI single by Collin Elvers, with Elvers taking second on an error. He went to third on a Blake Burris bunt single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dylan Burris.
Wallace lead off the Edwardsville fourth with a single, going to second when Kade Burns drew a walk. Elvers grounded back to the box, but the pitcher’s throw to second got away for an error, loading the bases. Blake Burris brought home Wallace and Burns with a bloop single that landed just inside the line in left to extend the lead to 4-0, but Elvers was thrown out at third, Burris taking second on the throw. Burris later scored on a wild pitch that brought the lead to 6-0.
Meanwhile, Picchiotti was sharp on the mound, allowing only Kurt Hall to reach on an error and walking Logan Simpson in the third, retiring the side in order in the second, fourth and fifth innings. The Tigers threatened in both the fifth and sixth to add to their lead, but couldn’t score.
Caleb Strohmeier relieved Picchiotti in the sixth, and closed the door on the Panthers, striking out two and conceding three walks to preserve the Tigers win.
That the Tigers had assorted contributors to their win in very pleasing to Funkhouser.
“And that’s why you go out there and try to play the game the best you can, and it was good to see those pitchers do their thing,” Funkhouser said. “And then have some plate appearances that we had, guys come off the bench; Joel Mueller gets a base hit, fights off a pitch on his hands, and able to get some of the barrel on it there and get a base hit. Blake Burris got his first start of the year, and laid down a nice bunt, and also had a base hit to left. We were able to see a lot of our different guys contribute to this victory.”
The postseason will be starting up shortly, and both sides will be getting ready for it in rapid order. For the Panthers, who’s next game is Monday in a Mississippi Valley Conference makeup at Waterloo, it means playing their best and peaking at the right time.
“Just playing to the best of our ability,” Perdun said. “Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time, and we’ve got it in us. If we play good, we’re good enough to beat anybody, but we just gotta get it out of us and be consistent the whole game.”
For the Tigers, it’s playing a considerable number of games before then, starting with their annual game at Busch Stadium, this year against Cape Girardeau (Mo.) Notre Dame in an approximate 7 p.m. start after the St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game that afternoon.
“We’ve got some time before then,” Funkhouser said. “We’ve got a lot of games racked up. . .then play several games next week, and finalize the regional week with one more game on Monday down at GCS (Ballpark in Sauget, the home of the Gateway Grizzlies). So we’ve got a lot of time, a lot of games to continue to sharpen the sword.
“But I like the way our guys are going about their business, and trying to get better each day,” Funkhouser continued. “And you can see we’re building confidence at the plate.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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