O’FALLON – Edwardsville High third baseman Max Ringering has played a key role in the success of the Tigers in the 2019 baseball, season, and in the IHSA Class 4A Bloomington sectional semifinal against Belleville West on May 29, he showed why.
Ringering hit a key double that scored Josh Ohl with Edwardsville’s second run of the game, a big insurance run in the Tigers’ 4-0 win over the Maroons at O’Fallon’s Blazier Field. Ringering got the RBI double off the Maroons’ Joey Kossina, one of the better pitchers in the Metro-East this season.
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And in the Springfield super-sectional Monday evening at Lincoln Land Community College, Ringering delivered again, going three-for-three with three RBIs, including a home run as Edwardsville advanced to the state finals with a 6-5 win over Chicago Marist.
“Yeah, the pitcher over there (Kossina), he’s got the good stuff,” Ringering said during a post-game interview after the Belleville West game, “but we went into the game knowing we had to grind out at-bats, just make him throw pitches, and just grinding it out.”
Which the Tigers did, and they also got a big boost in the third, when Hayden Moore scored from second base on a sacrifice fly hit by Joe Copeland to the deepest part of the park in straightaway center field.
“That was a big momentum boost for us,” Ringering said. “It gave us a lot of confidence, knowing we got the lead, but we just played our game after that. We’re used to playing with leads.”
And the Edwardsville defense came through in the fourth and fifth innings, as shortstop Josh Ohl and second baseman Logan Cromer both turned big double plays to get the Tigers out of jams and preserve the lead for Matthew Boyer, who went all the way, striking out seven to get the win.
“Absolutely,’ Ringering said. “I know, me, and I think our whole team, thinks we’ve got the best shortstop and second baseman defensively in the state. We love those guys; they make big plays for us every day.”
The Tigers, now 35-5, will play Hampshire in the state semifinals at Route 66 Stadium in Joliet Friday evening, with the first pitch set for 5 p.m. Ringering knows that whomever Edwardsville plays, they’ll be ready to go.
“We’re ready for them,” a very confident Ringering said. “Ready for them.”
Ringering and the Tigers’ mindset going into last Saturday’s sectional final was both an easy and simple approach.
“Just play our game,” Ringering said. “I think if we play our game, there’s not a team in the state that can beat us.”
With the Tigers now in the state semifinals. Ringering is liking his and his ball club’s chances.
“We’re feeling good,” Ringering said. “Feeling good. Play it one game at a time, though. One game at a time.”
And Ringering also remembered to give a shoutout to Tigers’ official scorekeeper and assistant coach Dave Caulk, for his help with the program.
“I’d like to give a special shoutout to Dave Caulk, for running GameChanger for us every game,” Ringering said. “He awesome. We love him.”
