SOFTBALL: Tigers shut out Bunker Hill, will meet CM in tourney semis

BETHALTO - After being physically spent from a 10-inning affair to begin the Triad Tournament, Bunker Hill was faced with the task of recharging the batteries against the top-seeded Edwardsville Tigers.

The Minutemaids needed extra innings to defeat Triad's junior varsity squad 8-7, but there was nothing left in the tank against the powerful Tigers.

Julie Davis homered and delivered two RBIs, while Lauren Francis and Erin Greenwalt combined on a two-hit shutout as the Tigers made it 13 wins in a row with an 8-0 win over Bunker Hill on Friday in a quarterfinal matchup at the Bethalto Sports Complex.

Edwardsville (20-3) jumped on the Minutemaids for four runs in the first and two more in the second to race out to an early lead.

Nicole Ritzheimer set the tone with a leadoff triple for the Tigers and they would take advantage of two Bunker Hill errors that led to a pair of unearned runs.

"We hit the ball early and kind of just floated along, but it was important that we did," Edwardsville coach Lori Blade said. "I thought Ritzy leading off with the triple was huge and then we just kind of carried it on from there."

Francis worked the first four innings, allowing one hit and two walks to go with six strikeouts, while Greenwalt also allowed one hit. She also walked a batter and struck out four.

"Lauren and Erin threw a combined good game," Blade said. "(We had a) good effort defensively for the most part and took care of business."

Davis, the lone starter hitting under .300 in a potent Tigers lineup, drilled a 1-0 pitch from Jessica Lovejoy over the left field fence to lead off the second to make it 5-0. She would double in another run in the sixth.

"I'm sure it felt good for her," Blade said. "A couple of kids have struggled lately and for a couple of them to step up and hit the ball hard is good to see."

Bunker Hill (8-6), which has yet to play a home game this spring because of all the rainouts, was overwhelmed early on before Lovejoy was able to settle in before taking the loss. She allowed nine hits, six earned runs, had four walks and five strikeouts over six innings.

"I think she was just trying to throw too much heat early," Bunker Hill coach Dave Pitts said of his hurler. "Good teams have seen that heat."

The Minutemaids only were able to get six runners on base throughout the contest and were fighting from behind right from the first pitch.

"They do everything right," Pitts said of Edwardsville. "They're fundamentally sound. They've got nine good swingers up there. There's no weakness. If you don't play an ‘A' game and do everything right, they take your lunch pretty quick.

"If you don't play the better teams, then you don't find out where you're weak."

Edwardsville moves into today's semifinal against Civic Memorial, a 2-1 winner over Murphysboro on Friday.

The Tigers, who beat CM 9-2 here two weeks ago, will look to make it 14 in a row this afternoon. The finals are slated for 4:30 p.m., with all games being played at Triad.

"They understand if they do their job, the winning will take care of itself," Blade said of her team. "Our point of emphasis is not just the winning all the time. It's doing our job and executing to the best of our ability every day. If we do that, the other part takes care of itself."

CM 2, Murphysboro 1 - The Eagles (16-4) get another crack at Edwardsville after plating an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning on Haleigh Jenkins' RBI single to down the Red Devils (16-7) in another quarterfinal matchup.

Kaylee Yates, who pitched a complete-game six-hitter, doubled home a run for the Eagles in the fourth. Yates did not walk a batter and struck out two after allowing a first-inning run.

"The one thing I was real pleased with is our girls just didn't quit," CM coach Mike Eddy said. "They kept working even when things weren't going our way."

Taylor Lisch, who reached base after an error to lead off the seventh, scored on Jenkins' RBI single for the difference in the game.

"It was a great hit for Jenks and the other was one foot away from being a home run for (Yates)," Eddy said. "You can't take nothing away from those hits and luckily, we had baserunners on."

Murphysboro 7, Alton 2 - The Redbirds were dispatched to the consolation bracket after losing to the Red Devils. Alton, which plays Wesclin at 9 this morning, is 15-8.

Murphysboro scored four runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead and the Redbirds were unable to rally after plating both their runs in the first.

Brittney Twichell and Alyssa Maher each had two hits for Alton. Hayley Woszczynski took the loss.