EDWARDSVILLE – The highly-anticipated season opener for the Edwardsville High School baseball team was cut short Thursday afternoon.
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The Tigers hosted the Brother Rice Crusaders in a rematch of last year’s IHSA Class 4A state championship game.
The game was originally scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. but was moved up an hour to try and get it in before bad weather rolled through the area.
Unfortunately for both teams, especially Brother Rice making the trip some Chicago, the game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning due to lightning.
It forced an initial 30-minute delay, however, with severe thunderstorms on the way, the game never resumed.
According to a schedule change made late Thursday night, the game between the Tigers and Crusaders will resume at approximately 7:45 p.m. tonight, Friday, March 15.
It will be played right after Edwardsville takes on Joliet Catholic, the defending IHSA Class 2A state champions at 5:30 p.m. Both games will still be played at Tom Pile Field.
The Crusaders stayed the night anyway as they were always scheduled to play at O'Fallon at 2:15 p.m. on Friday.
The Tigers led 1-0 against Brother Rice when the game was called thanks to a solo home run from Max Waltenberger in the bottom of the third.
Joe Chiarodo started on the mound for Edwardsville and went 3 and 2/3 innings, striking out five. He helped turn an impressive double play in the top of the fifth as well. At center field, he caught a deep fly ball then gunned a throw to third that was in time to make the tag.
The game was suspended with Brother Rice’s Casey Giemzik on the mound and Waltenberger at the plate. Tony Eberlin was pitching for the Tigers.
