EDWARDSVILLE - In the completion of a suspended game from Thursday night, Max Waltenberger hit a third-inning solo homer for what turned out to be the only run of the game as Edwardsville took a 1-0 win over Chicago Brother Rice Catholic Friday night at Tom Pile Field in the Illinois Prep Baseball Report showcase.
The game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning when severe thunderstorms came through the St. Louis area into Metro-East. After having lost in a regularly scheduled game 6-0 to Jolie Catholic Academy earlier, the Tigers were very happy to gain the split to open up their season.
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"Yeah, I think we've got the teams set up in this tournament to see what were made of," said Edwardsville head coach Tim Funkhouser after the completion of the suspended game. "Talking about the suspended game first, we ended up picking it up where we left off, and I think it gave our guys a good opportunity to be in more situations. Joe (Chiarodo, who was the starting pitcher) did a great job of pitching; it was a great match-up with their guy, a team that we faced in the state tournament in the semis in '22, and then, in '23, in the championship. So we were able to pull this one off with the completion tonight, so that was good. I though Hunter pitched really well, and it was good to see him go out there and compete, and he did well.
"One thing I didn't mention, Max put a big swing on a ball yesterday," Funkhouser continued, "and one pitch, one hit, and boom, it's out, and that's how we got our run. He did a great job of putting a swing on a ball."
Waltenberger's home run in the bottom of the third gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead before the storms hit, suspending the game. When play resumed, Hunter Baugh was thrown out attempting to steal third to start the resumption, and Waltenberger was called out on strikes. Baugh came in to pitch in the sixth, and got the side out in order, and in the top of the seventh, got out of trouble, when Aiden Nohava singled and Nolan Rambley reached on an error, getting Ryan Hartz to pop out to the first baseman, then got Derrick Holmes to ground out to third to get the save and give the Tigers the 1-0 win.
The Tigers and Crusaders are now both 1-1 on the year, with the Tigers set to play Winnetka New Trier Saturday morning at 10 a.m., then play at DeSmet Jesiuit on Tuesday, then host Granite City on Wednesday, with both games starting at 4:30 p.m.
