ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Friday afternoon was an intriguing baseball matchup between two unbeatens as Edwardsville traveled to Francis Howell. Both teams came in with a perfect 5-0 record.
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The Vikings used a six-run fourth inning and quality pitching to stymie the Tigers’ offense, winning the game 7-1.
Friday’s matchup wasn’t a one-off game. The Tigers and Vikings have had this regularly on the schedule since 2017, playing now for the eighth straight time, excluding 2020.
Since that time, the Tigers have a 5-3 record against Francis Howell.
Like Edwardsville, Francis Howell has made three straight trips to the state tournament.
The Vikings took fourth last year in the Class 6 Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) state tournament, second in 2023, and third in 2022. They have four state titles in 2003, 2011, 2013, and 2016.
Compare that to Edwardsville’s recent success: a state title in 2019, back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, and a third-place finish in 2024.
It was a game between two of the most successful teams in St. Louis, which is why Edwardsville head coach Tim Funkhouser is always pumped up to play it.
“This was a good day for us to see what we’re made of and see if we can stay focused on the moment, pitch by pitch,” Funkhouser said.
“I was disappointed we didn’t kind of meet the challenge today against Tony’s club, but they always got a good one, so it’s good to see what you’re made of.”
Tony Perkins, Howell’s head coach, has been at the helm for 20 seasons. All of those state titles came under him. During his time, the Vikings have won 18 conference titles, 15 district titles, 10 sectional championships, and nine quarterfinal championships.
The first two innings of Friday’s game went scoreless. Jake Brettschneider started on the mound for the Vikings. He went three-down through four batters, allowing a double from Joseph Chiarodo.
Chiarodo did the same on the mound, three-down through four, giving up a single to Jackson Vaughn before ending the inning with a strikeout.
With two outs in the top of the second, Brettschneider walked three straight batters to load the bases. First was Hunter Baugh, then Will Downs was hit by a pitch, and then Mace Karnes walked. That brought up the top of the Edwardsville order with Lucas Krebs, but he grounded out to end the inning.
Chiarodo was smooth sailing in the second. Brettschneider struck out a couple of batters in the top of the third, and then the offense scratched home a run in the bottom half.
Laird Van Sciever took a leadoff walk, and then Riley Tallis pinch ran. He stole second and then got to third on a wild pitch. Then Matthew Rauser was hit by a pitch. With one out and runners on the corners, Vaughn hit an RBI single to make it 1-0. Chiarodo got out of the inning with a strikeout and a flyout.
Brettschneider then went one, two, three in the top of the fourth.
The bottom of the fourth is when the Vikings busted the game open.
With Chiarodo still on the mound, Mason Bogard reached on an error and immediately stole second. Then Matt Junghans was walked, and Chase Cradick was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
It seemed like Chiarodo might get out of the jam, striking out the next batter, but then Brady Tanner hit into a fielder’s choice that was bobbled in the infield, allowing everyone to advance, scoring Bograd to make it 2-0.
That was the end of Chiarodo’s time on the mound and in came Tony Eberlin.
He didn’t fare too well under the circumstances, immediately giving up two RBI singles, walking a run in, and then a two-run single to make it 7-0.
Two critical errors extended that fourth inning for the Vikings and allowed the big number.
“We didn’t make some plays,” Funkhouser said. “They made that big inning, and that really set it up. When you give Francis Howell one extra out, let alone three, you’re going to give up some runs.”
The Tigers attempted a seventh-inning rally when Chiarodo hit a leadoff single and Max Waltenberger drew a walk. Greyson Rathgeb then singled to load the bases with no outs. This was all happening while left-handed pitcher Andrew Dierks was on the mound.
Dierks popped up Tyler Powell to get out number one, but then Logan Porter hit an RBI single, moving everyone station to station to make it 7-1. Karson Drummond came in to close out the game and got back-to-back batters to end the game.
The Tigers had the bases loaded three times on Friday and only saw one run from it.
“I felt like we had some times where we put some runners in scoring position, overall we didn’t take great at-bats, but that’s also credit to their pitching,” Funkhouser said. “Their pitching was really good and made our hitting look poor. It sped up the game on us.”
But it was still a great early-season test for the Tigers.
“I think we’ll learn from a lot of different things,” Funkhouser said. “Sometimes you get smacked in the mouth, you better learn pretty quick.”
And they did.
The Tigers took to the field again on Saturday, this time a much bigger one. The home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium.
They beat Carthage Illini West 9-0. The Tigers put five runs up in the top of the second, one in the third, and three more in the fourth to secure the win.
The Tigers improve to 6-1 on the season and play next at Sacred Heart-Griffin on Monday, March 31 at 4:30 p.m.
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