EDWARDSVILLE – Maggie Bray led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Marley Fox struck out 10 in pitching her first complete game of he season, as Edwardsville took advantage of some Belleville East miscues defensively, and scored five runs in the third en route to an 8-3 win over the Lancers in a Southwestern Conference softball game Thursday afternoon at the Edwardsville District 7 sports complex.
The win extended the Tigers’ winning streak to seven in a row, and they are now 14-7 overall on the season, and more importantly, 2-0 to start conference play. On Thursday, Edwardsville took charge with its five-run third and was able to keep control of the game.
“It was great to see our girls respond after they scored, and came back at it,” said Tigers’ head coach Caty Happe, who saw Edwardsville rally back from a 3-2 deficit in the top of the third to take control. “And just being aggressive at the plate and on the bases, continuing to put pressure on the defense. So it is always good to see against a very good Belleville East team.”
After East took the lead at the top of the third, Fox retired 14 of the final 15 batters for the Lancers, including 13 straight, in throwing her first complete game of the season.
“First complete game of the year, in terms of a seven-inning game,” Happe said. “We’re really trying to stretch her back out, allowing her to compete and be in some different situations that she hasn’t been in early on. So it was really good to see her.”
The Tigers took advantage of an error in the first to score two runs, and a dropped fly ball was also a key spot in the game.
“Scoring first increases your probability of winning a ton,” Happe said, “so being able to see something on the board, then let (Fox) relax in the circle was good to see.”
The Tigers host Breese Mater Dei Catholic on Friday, against another good team, and it’s another challenge Happe is looking ahead to.
“It is good to see someone different who’s not in conference, and hopefully, we can come back at it and continue to compete,” Happe said.
And the grind that is the Southwestern Conference schedule also continues next week for Edwardsville, as the Tigers face key games.
“That’s right,” Happe said. “We have a good O’Fallon team coming up, so it’ll be good to see them, some more good pitching, and just a busy spring ahead of us.”
The seven-game winning streak is a great accomplishment for the Tigers, and Happe is looking to extend it as much as possible.
“For sure,” Happe said. “Our biggest thing is, winning’s awesome, but it’s a product of what we do. So, hopefully, we get just a little bit better each game, so by the end of the season, we’re really rolling.”
The defensive mistakes are very uncharacteristic of the Lancers, and Belleville East coach Natalie Peters will look to clean things up for her club.
“We had so many mistakes on defense today,” Peters said, “and that’s not characteristic of this team, so I know we’re going to get back to practice, and we’re really going to work on cleaning that up, because I know we’re much better defensively than what we showed today.”
The Lancers started out on the right foot, when Abi Monroe reached on an error, in the opening at-bat, Jaylin Robinson was hit by a pitch, and both advanced on a sacrifice by Addie Kramkowski. Fox got the last two outs to end the threat, and Bryar Ellinger led off the Edwardsville first with a hit, but was picked off first for the first out. One out later, Brooke Burris drew a walk, and Lily Stone hit a fly ball, which was dropped by the center fielder. Both Burris and Stone came around to score on the play to give Edwardsville a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Ella Murphy led off with a walk, and was singled to second by Monroe, then Robinson reached on an error that allowed Murphy to score, and Monroe beat a throw to the plate to score and tie the game at 2-2, while Robinson ended up on second. She went to third on a ground out, and Robinson scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Malia Brewer to give the Lancers a 3-2 lead. Sabrina Balloni then got a base hit, but was stranded when Fox got the last two outs, beginning her string of putouts in the circle.
Edwardsville tied the game at 3-3 with back-to-back singles and stolen bases by Amelia Wilfong, and Burris put runners at second and third, with Wilfong scoring on a sacrifice fly by Stone to right, Burris going to third. One out later, Sophie Antonini was hit by a pitch, stole second, and a two-run single by Bray brought in both Burris and Antonini to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead. Maksine Straub then tripled home Bray, and Remi Werden doubled home Straub to make it 7-3 for Edwardsville.
The Tigers got their final run in the sixth when Burris led off with a double, went to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lily Maxwell to make it 8-3. Meanwhile, Fox retired 13 batters in a row in the circle, and allowed only a two-out walk to Monroe in the top of the seventh, then got the final out to give the Tigers the 8-3 win.
Bray led the way for Edwardsville with two hits and two RBIs, while Werden had two hits and an RBI, Burris came up with two hits, Straub had a hit and RBI, Ellinger, Wilfong, and Antonini all had hits, and Stone and Maxwell each drove in a run. Fox went all the way in the circle, giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits, walking two, and striking out 10 to get the win.
Brewer had a hit and an RBI for the Lancers, while Monroe and Balloni also had hits. Monroe was charged with the loss, going three innings in the circle and allowing seven runs, five earned, on seven hits, walking two and striking out two. Alexis Sarginson pitched the final three innings in relief, giving up an earned run on three hits, walking one and striking out none.
The Tigers are now 14-7, and conclude their home stand on Friday against Breese Mater Dei Catholic, then play at East St. Louis on Tuesday, then host O’Fallon next Thursday, all games starting at 4:30 p.m.
