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EDWARDSVILLE – Kay Swanson and Ryleigh Owens shared the shutout, combining to strike out five on four hits, while Moe Kastens and Maria Smith got key base hits as Edwardsville defeated Teutopolis 4-0 in a softball game Friday afternoon at the Edwardsville Sports Complex.
Swanson, a senior, got out of a bases-loaded situation In the third inning, while Owens followed suit in the fourth, relieving Swanson and getting a double play to end another Wooden Shoes threat.
“Kay had a good first three innings, and Ryleigh came in and did a great job,” said Tigers head coach Lori Blade, “we made some nice plays defensively to get out of a couple of jams when they had bases loaded twice, and to still get the shutout was huge. The bats came through when we needed them, too, we hit some balls really hard today, which was good to see, but with a game every three or four days, that’s tough. But the kids are doing a nice job working inside, and doing everything we need to do.”
Owens, a freshman, has come in to pitch in relief much of the season and has pitched exceptionally well when she’s been called upon.
“Absolutely,” Blade said. “She had a great mentality. She’s a bulldog that is very mentally tough for a freshman to come in the situations we’ve put her in, and she’s done an outstanding job throughout.”
Blade also gave credit to Kastens, Smith, and Swanson for their hits in key situations that got the Tigers going.
“Well, Maria had a big game, and Moe got us going, with her first hit in the first inning,” Blade said, “and then Kay’s hit to get two RBIs, and then Maria’s triple, and then, Moe with the double to get that last run in. So it was up-and-down the lineup, it wasn’t just any one single person.”
The Tigers jumped ahead in the home half of the first, everything occurring with two out. Kastens and Lexi Gorniak had back-to-back singles, with courtesy runner Anna Buss going to third on Gorniak’s single, then Swanson helped herself with a single that scored Buss and Gorniak to give Edwardsville a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers increased their edge in the second, starting with a one-out double by Sydney Lawrence. After a strikeout, Smith came through with a triple to the deepest part of the park in center to score Lawrence and make it 3-0. The inning ended on a fly out to left.
Swanson started out very well, retiring the first seven T-Town batters before running into trouble in the top of the third. With one out, Savanna Gebben drew a walk to become the Shoes’ first baserunner of the day, then Holly Heuerman singled, advancing Gebben to second. Allie Niebrugge then walked to load the bases, but Swanson struck out Alli Brumleve and Karsyn Mette grounded to second to end the inning.
Teutopolis had another opportunity in the fourth, again starting with one out. Emma Deters singled, Leah Schumacher reached on an error and Lexie Niebrugge drew a walk to load the bases once again. Owens came in to pitch and immediately got Gebben to ground into a double play, Deters being forced at the plate, while Kastens made a great throw to first to complete the play and end the inning, keeping it 3-0.
Edwardsville got their final run in the fifth, starting with a one-out walk to Smith, and after a strikeout, Kastens doubled home Smith with the final run to make it 4-0. In the final three innings, Owens allowed three hits, stranding two runners and fanning two, including a strike out of Allie Niebrugge to end the game.
The Tigers improved to 17-3 with the win, and with the calendar just having turned to May, Blade feels like the Tigers are coming together nicely, and have competed very well.
“Yeah, they’re competing hard, which is what I expect,” Blade said.
There’s still plenty of games left, including some Southwestern Conference games still to be played, and it starts on Tuesday, as the Tigers travel to Belleville East, then host Belleville West on Thursday and have a makeup game at home next Friday against Columbia, with all games starting at 4:30 p.m. Blade likes the position her team is at and is looking forward to the upcoming games going into the IHSA postseason.
“Well, I like where we’re at,” Blade said, “we just need to get into a few more games with this weather; it’s been tough. But we’ve got a lot of conference games to make up, and hopefully, we’ll get them in here, soon.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
