EDWARDSVILLE – The O’Fallon Panthers baseball team is now 21-10 after a 7-0 loss to Edwardsville on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at Tom Pile Field in Edwardsville. The Panthers wind up the regular season at home on Saturday against Mattoon at 4 p.m., then play at Mascoutah on Memorial Day at 11 a.m.
O’Fallon then hosts their own regional at Blazier Field, playing Alton on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 6 p.m. O’Fallon coach Dave Causey expects his players to be ready for top performances as regional play begins next week.
“I feel like we gave ourselves some chances,” said Coach Causey in an analysis of the loss to Edwardsville. “We got down early, had the bases loaded a couple of times, which, I think at one point in time, it was still 4-0, so one swing of the bat could have changed things around for us. But hats off to them. They played a great ball game and kept us from scoring tonight.”
“I’m still very confident in our club and what we can do,” he added. “I just wish we could have a couple more things together tonight.”
Many Panther players have contributed much to the success of the team this year, and it’s a good sign for O’Fallon come playoff time.
“I think the biggest thing for us is we’ve been in most ball games to the very end,” Causey said. “I nicknamed us very early the Cardiac Cats, because we just always seem to wait until the later innings to turn it on.
“A good example of that we did Tuesday night against Edwardsville. We know that going into May, we have to compete at every at-bat and every pitch, and tonight, we just let the game get away from us early. The good news is that we’ve got two regular-season games and a couple of practices to put it together before Wednesday in the regional.”
Causey does feel confident in his team’s chances as the IHSA playoffs start next week.
“Absolutely, Causey said. “I feel like we can compete with everybody, and at times, we have really shown that we can put together a solid seven innings. We’ve just got to make sure that we iron out any wrinkles, throwing strikes, and doing our job in the field, and I think we can play with anybody.”
