EDWARDSVILLE – Sophie Antonini delivered in the clutch, singling down the left field line with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give Edwardsville a come-from-behind 8-7 extra-inning win over Belleville East in a Southwestern Conference softball game Tuesday afternoon at the Edwardsville District 7 Sports Complex.
Antonini’s game-winning g hit scored Lily Stone, and completed a great comeback by the Tigers, who trailed 4-1 in the third, and 7-5 in the eighth, and both times battled back to tie the game, setting up Antonini’s heroics.
“Both teams battled back and forth,” said Edwardsville head coach Caty Happe, “and it could have gone either way. So, I couldn’t be more proud about the girls continuing to fight, no matter what happened.”
It was a great bounce-back game from playing in a tournament in Castle, Ind. This past weekend, where Edwardsville won its first two games, but lost the next two to finish in fourth place, all against very good competition,
“We played four tough games down in Indiana,” Happe said. “So, to come back today, to have to compete is tough, from those four games in 24 hours. But, what a great way to come back, and to make a statement.”
The Tigers deserved much credit for fighting back against a very quality Lancers team, who had them on the ropes throughout, but the Tigers found a way to pull it out.
“We’re down two in the eighth,” Happe said, “and just battled back, found a way to get it done. We had a never-quit attitude, which is what we preach to our kids. We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game, and that it was a game of runs. We were able to come back,”
Riley Nelson pitched well in the circle, going seven innings, and allowed five runs, four earned on eight hits, walking three and striking out six, And the Tigers came through with the hits when they needed them,
“Every inning, we got kids on,” Happe said, “and made them make plays, just like they made us make plays. So, it went our way tonight, it could have very easily went theirs. So, tribute to both teams for a great game,”
East took the lead in the first inning, on a bunt, sacrifice, and sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead, but the Tigers tied it up in the second when Amelia Wilfong singled, stole second, and scored on a RBI single by Marley Fox. The Lancers went back on top in the third with one out, when Abi Monroe and Olivia Hemmerle singled, Zoe Peters reached on an error to lead the bases, and Addie Krramkowski doubled to the gap in left center, clearing the bases to give East a 4-1 lead.
The Tigers cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third, on an Antonini double, Going to third on a double steam with Nelson, who had walked, stealing seconds, and scoring when Grace Oertle lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Antonini to cut the East lead to 4-2, In the fourth, with two out, Madi Kolakowski drew a walk, and Brooke Burris hit a home run that just cleared the fence in right field to tie the game at 4-4.
Both Nelson and Hemmerle went to work in the circle, using their pitches and good defense behind them, to keep the score deadlocked until the bottom of the sixth, when with one out, Remi Werden drew a walk, was sacrificed to second by Kolakowski, and scored on a RBI single by Burris to put Edwardsville up for the first time at 5-4.
Back came the Lancers in the seventh, starting with a lead-off single by Monroe, who went to second on a ground out, and scored on a single by Peters to tie the game at 5-5, A single by Kramkowski, and Ella Murphy being hit by a pitch loaded the bases, but the Tigers got out of it when Cierra Jones was called out on strikes, and a batted ball hit by Reese Brueggeman hit Kramkowski for the final out, leaving the score tied 5-5, going into extra innings. The Tigers had a chance to win in the home half, but Wilfong was thrown out at the plate on a single by Werden, on two perfect throws from the outfield, the relay throw in time to get Wilfong.
In the eighth, pinch hitter Caleigh Nichols drew a walk, was sacrificed to second, and Monroe hit a home run over the fence in right-center to put the Lancers back on top 7-5. Edwardsville fought back in the bottom of the inning, starting when Burris was hit by a pitch, scoring on a Nelson double, and Nelson scored to tie the game on a RBI single by Oertle, making it 7-7.
East went down in order in the ninth, and in the home half, Kolakowski doubled, Burris singled Lily Stone, the pinch runner, to third, and Antonini brought in the game-winner with her hit that found a hole in the infield, and went through to left field to score Stone and give the Tigers the 8-7 win.
Burris led the way for the Tigers with three hits, including her homer, and three RBIs, while Antonini had three hits and her game-winning RBI, Oertle had two hits and a RBI, Fox, Kolakowski, and Werden all had two hits each, Nelson had a hit and RBI, and both Carlie Jones and Wilfong had a hit apiece.
To go along with Nelson’s seven innings in the circle, Kylie Linker threw in the eighth inning, allowing two runs, both earned, on two hits, walking two and fanning one, while Fox gained credit for the win, pitching in the ninth, striking out one.
Edwardsville is now 11-4, and plays at East St. Louis Thursday at 4:30 p.m., hosts Triad Friday at 10 a.m., and goes to O’Fallon next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
