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EDWARDSVILLE - Jacoby Roberson hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run second inning, and in the third, Grant Huebner hit another three-run shot and pitcher Spencer Stearns followed suit with a solo homer as Edwardsville went on to a 13-3 Southwestern Conference win over Collinsville Thursday evening at Tom Pile Field.
It's the Tigers' 13th consecutive win to start the season, and it's a result of all the hard work Edwardsville has put into this point in the season. And head coach Tim Funkhouser couldn't be any happier with his players.
"Oh, I'm really pleased with our guys," Funkhouser said. "Our guys come to practice each day, they love to compete in games and we've had a lot of success. And they deserve success because they've worked hard, they lay it on the line during competition, so it's fun to watch."
Edwardsville was able to take advantage of the situations presented to them in going on to the win.
"We put some good swings on some balls," Funkhouser said, "and it was an offensive day, with the wind blowing a little bit. And the infield surface is a little quicker. We had the tarp on last night, all day yesterday, so it was going to play a little quicker. But our guys get out there and compete, and Spencer's done a great job for us all year, wherever he's at, whether it's on the bump or third or at the plate. And what he's done at the plate is unbelievable, but it doesn't take away anything from what he's done on the mound, because it's been equally impressive."
The most important part is the 13-0 start, and the Tigers are having a lot of fun playing as well.
"It's just fun coming to practice each day," Funkhouser said, "and then every once in a while, we get a game. But our guys get good work in pregame and they enjoy being around each other and when you do those things, you'll really feel good about how things are going when you leave the field."
The Tigers scored their first run in the opening inning, courtesy of a Stearns double and a RBI single from Caleb Copeland to take a 1-0 lead. In the second, Adam Powell reached on an error and Cade Hardy was hit by a pitch, after which Roberson hit the first pitch over the fence in right-center field to up the Edwardsville lead to 4-0. Cole Funkhouser then drew a walk, stole second and went to third on a Huebner single. Huebner then stole second and a ground out by Stearns and another RBI single by Copeland drove home two more runs to extend the Tiger lead to 6-0.
In the third, Gannon Burns walked, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch, with another run scoring on a second wild pitch, after which Huebner unloaded his three-run homer over the fence in near straightaway center, with Stearns then hitting his homer over the left-center field fence to make the score 11-0. Two more runs scored before the end of the inning to make it 13-0.
On the mound, Stearns was masterful, retiring the first 13 Kahok batters before giving up back-to-back singles and a three-run homer in the fifth, but retired the last two batters to give the Tigers a 10-run rule win.
The Tigers are now 13-0 on the season and go to Normal Community High on Saturday to play two big games, the first against Chicago St. Rita Catholic at 1:30 p.m., then the host Ironmen at 4 p.m. before returning to conference play against Alton, with the first game Apr. 19 at Alton's field before the return match Apr. 21 at Tom Pile Field. Both games are set to start at 4:30 p.m.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
