BASEBALL: Redbird Rally Falls Short

ALTON - What started with plenty of theatrics finished with just as much drama Tuesday at Hopkins Field in Moore Park.

Edwardsville outlasted Alton 10-9 in a wild Southwestern Conference baseball game that saw the Redbirds nearly overturn an eight-run deficit. They scored seven runs in the final two innings, including five in the seventh.

Alton had the tying and winning runs on base in the seventh before Edwardsville got the final out to salvage a split with the Redbirds this season. The Tigers are 19-7 overall and 8-3, or locked in a three-way tie for first, in the SWC. The Birds are 16-7 and 4-7.

"I'm proud of the fact that we came back like we did," AHS coach Scott Harper said. "We competed hard and the last out was one of the hardest-hit balls of the game. It just happened to go to their shortstop."

Zach Frey of the Tigers snared Corey Schelle's sharp grounder and turned it into a force play at second base to keep the Redbirds from completing an improbable rally.

"We struggled in the seventh inning," Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said, "but that's because Alton played a hard seven innings. I didn't expect them to quit, but I expected us to pitch better and make plays."

The Tigers did everything right early on. They staked pitcher Gregg Culp to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and increased it to 7-0 in the third. The Redbirds scored twice in their third, then Edwardsville responded with a three-run fifth. Daniel Caulk's two-run homer highlighted that last eruption.

"They came out well offensively and we gave them too many runs too early in the game," Harper said. "You can't give a good team like Edwardsville a four-run lead in the first inning. And there was a big difference when it went from 4-0 to 7-0."

Nevertheless, the Redbirds didn't buckle.

"We kept fighting," Harper said.

Losing pitcher Vinny Steele helped spark the comeback. He was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. The Redbirds collected eight hits and took advantage of seven Edwardsville walks, including four in the seventh.

Funkhouser wound up using five pitchers, including Dane Opel and Jake Opel in the seventh, to finally close out the Redbirds.

Caulk, 2-for-2, Andy Burns, 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs, Ian Sikes, 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, Michael Failoni, 2-for-3 with a double, triple and RBI, plus Zach Maggio, 2-for-3, spurred the Tigers' 13-hit attack.

"We've been swinging the bats pretty well lately," Funkhouser said. "I don't think early in the season we had a good feel for what we were trying to do."

Steele allowed eight hits and seven runs, five of them earned, in three innings. Jason McAtee worked the final four innings. Culp gave up two hits and a pair of runs in three innings. Jesse Walker, Casey Burns, Dane Opel and Jake Opel followed him to the mound.

SWC

EDWARDSVILLE 10, ALTON 9

Edwardsville 403 030 0 - 10 13 3

Alton 002 002 5 - 9 8 2

Edwardsville (19-7, 8-3) - Frey 1-4, Maggio 2-3, D. Opel 1-4 RBI, Sikes 2-3 RBI-2, Failoni 2-3 2B 3B RBI, Caulk 2-2 HR RBI-2, A. Burns 2-3 3B RBI-3, Carroll 1-4 RBI. WP - Culp IP-3 H- 2 R-2 ER-2 BB-2 K-1

Alton (16-7, 4-7) - Mathews 1-4, Steele 3-4 2B-2 RBI-3, McAtee 1-4 RBI, Phelps 1-3, Matifes 1-4, Walsh 1-2. LP - Steele IP-3 H-8 R-7 ER-5 BB-2 K-0

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