The 2022-23 high school sports season finished up with a bang as the Edwardsville baseball team claimed their second straight Illinois High School Association Class 4A title this past Saturday evening in Joliet, Ill., to join Gibault as state champions on the diamond in Illinois.
Let’s get caught up on all the action in this week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up sponsored by Triad Bank.
Edwardsville needed some late-game heroics to claim their second consecutive IHSA Class 4A state title as the Tigers rallied late in the contest to defeat Brother Rice out of Chicago 6-4 Saturday evening at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet, Ill.
Photo Credit – Edwardsville High School
In the semifinal Friday afternoon, the Tigers’ offense exploded for five runs in the first inning and cruised to a 7-3 victory over Elmhurst. Kayden Jennings had a big blast in the first frame as he ripped a three-run homer after Caeleb Copeland laced an RBI double to stake Edwardsville to an early 5-0 lead. After Elmhurst cut the lead to 5-1 in the top of the fourth, the Tigers answered with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as they put runners at second and third with Andrew Hendrickson lifting a sacrifice fly to left to score a run while Jennings drove in his fourth run of the day with a single to put Edwardsville on top 7-1. Elmhurst scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but that is as close as they would get as Hendrickson entered the game with two outs and struck out the final Elmhurst batter to aid the Tigers in advancing to the title game. Jennings finished the day at the plate going 2-for3 with four runs driven in and a run scored while Copeland went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Joe Chiarodo earned the win on the mound for Edwardsville by going 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts with Hendrickson gaining the save on the day.
In the finals Saturday evening, Edwardsville once again gained an early lead in the top of the first as the Tigers loaded the bases with one out before Hendrickson drove in a run on a ground out to make the score 1-0. Lucas Huber then singled to drive in two more runs to push the Edwardsville advantage to 3-0. Brother Rice cut the lead to 3-2 with single runs in the second and third, before the Tigers got a run back in the top of the fourth as Lucas Krebs laced a s single to left center to drive in a run that made the score 4-2. Brother Rice once again answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the game at 4-4. Edwardsville broke the tie in the top of the sixth as Cole Funkhouser singled to drive in Jennings who hit a one-out double earlier in the inning to put the Tigers on top 5-4. Edwardsville added an insurance run in the top of the seventh as Jennings ripped an RBI double into the gap in right-center to score Copeland who opened the frame with a single to extend the lead to 6-4. Alec Marchetto slammed the door shut for the Tigers in the seventh as he struck out the final batter with a runner at first base to give Edwardsville the championship. Funkhouser, Chirarodo, and Jennings all had a pair of hits in the contest while Lucas Hueber drove in two runs to help the Tigers end the year with a 33-9 record. Marchetto earned the win after entering the game in the fifth and striking out five Brother Rice batters while allowing only one hit.
This comes a week after Gibault claimed the Class 1A title with a dominating 8-0 win over Henry in the championship tilt. Gibault advanced to the title game after defeating Goreville 7-6 in the semifinals. Gibault took an early 1-0 lead in the championship game and blew the game open with two runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to win the championship as they join the basketball team in winning state titles this past year. Jack Keevan led the way for Gibault as he went 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs batted in while Hudson Blank added a pair of RBIs with a hit to help Gibault finish the year with a 24-14 record. Brady Biffar went the distance for Gibault and allowed four hits while striking out five batters.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
