EDWARDSVILLE – Senior TCU-bound pitcher Toby Eberlin pitched well in his first starting assignment of the season, allowing only one hit and striking out four in three innings of work. But Oak Park-River Forest scored all four of its runs in the top of the fifth inning as the Huskies took a 4-1 win over Edwardsville in the Illinois Prep Baseball Report kickoff showcase Friday evening at Tom Pile Field.
The Tigers had 10 hits, but could only score one run in the game, in the fourth inning, and Edwardsville evened its record at 1-1 for the season.
OPRF had baserunners in the first four innings, but were unable to score. Edwardsville broke the ice in the bottom of the fourth, when Nathan Bukovac led off with a base hit, went to third on a Joel Fields single one out later, and scored on Zane Maxwell’s squeeze bunt, where Maxwell was thrown out, and Fields went to third, giving the Tigers the lead at 1-0.
Xavier Marin led off the fifth for he Huskies with a single to left, went to third on a double by Liam Moroney, and scored to tie the game on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center hit by Johnny Nelson to tie the game at 1-1. Brandon Beasley doubled home Liam Brown to put OPRF ahead 2-1, and Robert Kolovitz delivered the big blow, a two-run single that scored Beasley and Zach Goldberg to make the score 4-1.
The Tigers could only put one baserunner on in the final three innings, as effective pitching by the Huskies wrapped up the 4-1 win.
Nick Chiarodo led Edwardsville with three hits, while Andrew McCutchen and Bukovac, and Fields had two hits apiece, Sean Murphy picked up a hit, and Maxwell had the only RBI of the day.
Eberlin pitched the first three innings, giving up a hit while walking one and striking out four, Ty Hunt threw for two innings, and was charged with the loss, giving up four earned runs on four hits, walking one and fanning one, and Andrew McKey tossed the last two innings, striking out three.
OPRF is now 2-1 on the season, while the Tigers go to 1-1, and play Winnetka New Trier Saturday morning at 11:15 a.m., then play at DeSmet Jesuit in Creve Coeur, Mo. Tuesday, then host Granite City Wednesday, with both games starting at 4:30 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
