PREP BASEBALL: Many walks, no runs for Alton

Tigers shut out Redbirds in regional

Matthew Kamp, matthew.kamp@hearst.il.com

Updated 10:35 pm, Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Photo:

Matthew Kamp / Hearst Newspapers

Edwardsville shortstop Josh Ohl (left) applies a tag to Alton’s Simon Nguyen too late to get an out on a stolen base attempt Wednesday night at Tom Pile Field in Edwardsville.

EDWARDSVILLE — The Edwardsville Tigers did what the Alton Redbirds couldn’t do Wednesday night at Tom Pile Field.

The Tigers were able to get two key hits with runners in scoring position during a three-run first inning en route to a 4-0 win over Alton in a semifinal of the Edwardsville Class 4A Regional.

Alton left 12 runners on base, including 10 from walks. The Redbirds finished 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

“That was the story of the day, not getting the key hits. They gave us every opportunity and we didn’t capitalize,” Alton coach Todd Haug said.

Edwardsville improves to 26-9 with its sixth straight win.

The third-seeded Tigers will play top-seeded O’Fallon at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Tom Pile Field for the regional championship.

The Panthers (32-3-1) knocked off eighth-seeded Quincy 5-0 in the other semifinal.

“That will be a fun game. It’s what we’re looking forward to,” Edwardsville shortstop Josh Ohl said of the state’s top-ranked Panthers.

No. 5 Alton ends its year at 16-19 for its first losing season since 2010 in Haug’s second season.

“We will go into the summer season and get back at it,” said Haug, whose team must replace seven seniors.

Edwardsville, which ended Alton’s season in last year’s regional semifinal, had three pitchers combine for a two-hitter. It’s the fourth time the Redbirds have been shut out.

Hendrickson earned the win, going 4.2 innings and allowing two hits with nine strikeouts and eight walks.

“I didn’t have my best stuff tonight but that’s why you have to go out there and compete,” Hendrickson said. “(When they had runners on), a little bulldog took over and I wasn’t going to let them score.”

Chase Gockel pitched the next two innings and struck out four with two walks, before Matt Boyer struck out the final batter of the game. Edwardsville pitching struck out 14.

“Reid continued to battle. He wasn’t as sharp as he has been in the last few outings. He was able to make pitches. Gockel was good and Boyer came in there at the end,” Tigers coach Tim Funkhouser said. “For our pitchers to keep going out there and putting up zeroes, it’s huge.”

Alton left runners in scoring position in each of the first five innings, including the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings. While the Redbirds struggled to get the clutch hit, the Tigers did not.

In the first, Drake Westcott was intentionally walked and Hendrickson followed with a single. With one out, Jack Cooper ripped a single up the middle to score Westcott and make it 1-0. After Cole Hampton reached on a wild pitch on a third strike, Ohl knuckled a single through the left side to score two and make it 3-0.

“That was big. We were able to pick Reid up and get him runs in the first inning,” Ohl said. “I was looking for a first-pitch fastball. It was a little jam spot. It was placed well.”

Ohl has hits in his last four games, including a 3-for-3 performance in the regular season finale against Waterloo.

“Those guys have been working hard all year,” Funkhouser said of Cooper and Ohl. “Ohl has been real hot lately and Cooper has been continuing that. It really lengthens our order.”

The Tigers tacked on a run in the fourth with Joe Copeland scoring on a double play off the bat of Hendrickson to push the lead to 4-0. All four runs were against Alton starter Wesley Laaker, who went 5 1/3 innings and struck out six with five walks. He allowed six hits.

Westcott got one of those hits. He was intentionally walked in his other two at-bats. The slugger entered the game hitting .505 with six homers and 32 RBIs. Cooper finished 2 for 3 to extend his hitting streak to nine games. During the stretch, he’s hitting 15 for 27.

Redbirds rally to take down Edwardsville

Nathan Woodside For The Telegraph

Published 9:15 pm, Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Photo:

Nathan Woodside / For The Telegraph

Alton’s Mikey Hampton celebrates after his double Tuesday in a come-from-behind 6-3 SWC baseball victory over Edwardsville in Godfrey.

ALTON – With a decisive 6-3 come-from-behind home win Tuesday night over perennial powerhouse Edwardsville, the young Alton Redbirds proved they’re no lame ducks.

Tiger starting pitcher Chase Gockel was on point early on. His first seven outs were all Redbird strikeouts, as Edwardsville jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Reid Hendrickson’s double to score Cole Hampton in the first inning.

Alton’s Robbie Taul would knock the dust of the Redbird bats with a triple in the third, leading to a 2-1 Alton lead. Edwardsville game back with two more runs in the fifth to regain the lead, but a four-run sixth inning fueled by two Tiger errors shut the door.

“We always talk to them about the three elements that decide a game,” Alton coach Todd Haug said. “You’re going to need to get a big pitch, you’re going to need a big play and you’re going to need a big hit. If you can get two out of three of those, more times than not, you’re going to come out on top. In this case, I can give you examples of all three.”

He said the element of the Redbirds’ play that really shined Tuesday night was the sophomore battery of Wesley Laaker and Owen Standebeck.

“They’re growing,” Haug said. “The game is slowing down for them. A lot of our young puppies are becoming big dogs, and we’re real proud of them.”

Laaker fired all seven innings, allowing the two earned runs on four hits, striking out seven. ‘“From the very beginning, Wesley has proven to be a reliable guy,” Haug said. “He’s pitched in every single big game for us, across the board. He gets the best game of the week, and he keeps us in the best game of the week.”

Gockel was equally effective over six innings of work, striking out nine, allowing two earned runs on two hits and four walks.

“I thought we could’ve pushed a few more runs across, but you credit their pitcher,” Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said. “(Laaker’s) fared against us well twice, and he continued to make pitches as the game went on, too. They out-executed us. They deserved to win.”

Mikey Hampton led Alton hitters, going 2-for-3 with a double, walk, run, RBI and stolen base. Josh Ohl led the Tigers, going 2-for-3 with a double, run and a stolen base.

The Tigers fell to 16-8 on the season.

“There’s no magic potion, but we want our kids to be accountable and take responsibility for the things that they didn’t to as well, and go back to work and try to do that,” Funkhouser said. “That’s the approach that we’ve taken in the past, and it’s worked pretty well.”

Haug said the win feels like a possible turning point for his young team, and at the right time.

“I think they know they can play with anybody,” Haug said. “We’ve played against some of the best competition in the area really close. We continue to be there, and anybody can get hot at the right time. That’s what you continue to preach. … This could be a momentum game.”

PREP BASEBALL: Growing Redbirds fall to O’Fallon, but still “gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:59 pm, Wednesday, April 25, 2018

GODFREY — A young team that’s been trying to find its way through the first half of the season has seen a good share of ups and downs for the Alton Redbirds.

But for coach Todd Haug, he’s seen what has been a young group grow of late. And even though it didn’t result in a victory on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to first-place in the Southwestern Conference and once-beaten O’Fallon, there seems to be that feeling that the uphill climb is seeing its peak.

“As young as we are, we’re starting to come of age; we’re right there,” Haug said after the Redbirds fell to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the SWC. “We stayed right with them in terms of hitting, they just got the bigger hits.”

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) got the bigger hits and had the better results on the mound from a combined Brayden Arnold for 4 2/3 innings and Adam Drewry for the final 2 1/3 perfect innings. Both are seniors.

But it’s not to overshadow the pitching performance from sophomore Wesley Laaker, who worked six strong innings of five-hit ball but took the loss.

“Wesley Laaker, sophomore pitching to Owen Stendeback, sophomore, can’t say enough for them; they’re coming of age,” Haug said. “… Wesley’s done an outstanding job for just a sophomore. He has pitched in every single big game for us. He’s pitched against O’Fallon twice, we’ve played Edwardsville once and he’s pitched against them. He pitches against our best team that week and I think in the long run, it’s going to pay dividends.”

Even O’Fallon coach Jason Portz paid a nice compliment to the Alton starter, who walked four and struck out four.

“The sophomore righthander they threw against us tonight can work down in the zone,” Portz said. “If Charlie Erler ever gets right, then we feel like he’s going to be a pretty good arm, too. There’s no reason to not think that they can’t be a good postseason opponent if they can knock you off. They play you real tough and Todd always does a good job getting them ready to compete.”

Laaker, who finished with 106 pitches on the afternoon, only had trouble spots with the top of the O’Fallon order. The Panthers had six hits in the game, but five of them came off the bats of junior shortstop Josh Gibson (3-for-4 with two runs scored) in the leadoff spot and senior second baseman Nathan Martin (2-for-2 with two walks, a double and two RBI) in the No. 2 hole.

Combined, they were 5-for-6 with two walks, two runs scored, two RBI and reached base all eight plate appearances.

“Josh has had a hard go,” Portz said. “He’s been hitting around .300 or .310 and you know what, that’s not the expectations that he has in himself. He’s got higher expectations. I’ve said all along that we’re whatever, 21-1-1, and our best player has not really been himself just yet. Today I think he showed what type of player he is. I feel like he’s starting to come into his own a little bit.”

Alton’s problems came at the plate, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Portz went and got Arnold (6-0) after he walked Riley Phillips.

“We’re in that scenario where he’s got some pressure and his pitch count is getting up,” Portz said. “You’re in the third time through the order and guys have seen him. They’re starting to get some better contact. … I was pretty happy with his effort.”

But Drewry came on and struck out Adam Stilts to squash that threat and Drewry would work 2 1/3 perfect innings.

“Timely hitting,” Haug said. “… We several times had, I don’t know how many we left on, but not only leaving guys on, but left the on in scoring position. But they did an outstanding job. The gentleman that came in’s done that to us twice this year. Has done an outstanding job in relief. It is such a premium to have a reliever that you can throw out there all the time that you can trust, just a bulldog, and that’s what that boy was.”

The Panthers struck for a run in the top of the first when Gibson lined a single to left to lead off and scored on Martin’s RBI double to right-center to make it 1-0.

Laaker got out of that inning without any further damage, and the Redbirds countered with their lone run in the home half of the first when Robby Taul singled with one out and moved to second on Jackson Brooks’ infield single. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Taul scored on Phillips’ fielder’s choice groundout to short to make it 1-1.

O’Fallon got the tiebreaking runs in the third when Laaker walked Jeremy Reno to lead off the inning, he moved to second on Gibson’s single to center and scored on Martin’s ground ball up the middle that made its way into the outfield for a 2-1 lead. After a strikeout, Matthew Albritton’s sacrifice fly to right plated Gibson to make it 3-1.

That was enough for the O’Fallon duo of Arnold, who walked three and struck out five, and Drewry, who struck out three.

“They’re effective with all their pitches, and not just because they’re ahead in the count,” Portz said. “They’re able to get the breaking ball over in maybe fastball counts and keep the hitters off-balance. Brayden’s been really good this year. Today was a pretty normal effort for him. [Drewry’s] our go-to guy. Him and Jaysn Miller are two guys we really, really believe in. I feel like he was who he is again today.

“… Today can be comparable to like a postseason game. You go out, you swing the bat really well and you don’t get any results out of four, five, maybe six balls that we struck very well. Now frustration can set in, but our pitchers kept going out there and doing well, our defense continued to make plays and offensively, we scrapped when we needed to and got some knocks when we had to. I’m happy with the win and happy with the guys. That’s a good team.”

Alton, which lost 6-3 at O’Fallon on April 19, will keep plugging away until the dam breaks.

“We’re getting better. We’ll be there,” Haug said. “Gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

O’FALLON 3, ALTON 1

O’Fallon 102 000 0 — 3 6 0

Alton 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) — Gibson 3-4, Martin 2-2 2B RBI-2, Albritton 0-3 RBI, Dreyer 1-2. WP-Arnold (6-0) IP-4 2/3 H-5 R-1 ER-0 BB-3 K-5.

Alton (8-10, 2-5) — Taul 1-3, Brooks 2-3, Phillips 0-2 RBI, Nguyen 1-2, Erler 1-3. LP-Laaker (1-3) IP-6 H-5 R-3 ER-3 BB-4 K-4.

PREP BASEBALL: Growing Redbirds fall to O’Fallon, but still “gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:59 pm, Wednesday, April 25, 2018

GODFREY — A young team that’s been trying to find its way through the first half of the season has seen a good share of ups and downs for the Alton Redbirds.

But for coach Todd Haug, he’s seen what has been a young group grow of late. And even though it didn’t result in a victory on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to first-place in the Southwestern Conference and once-beaten O’Fallon, there seems to be that feeling that the uphill climb is seeing its peak.

“As young as we are, we’re starting to come of age; we’re right there,” Haug said after the Redbirds fell to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the SWC. “We stayed right with them in terms of hitting, they just got the bigger hits.”

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) got the bigger hits and had the better results on the mound from a combined Brayden Arnold for 4 2/3 innings and Adam Drewry for the final 2 1/3 perfect innings. Both are seniors.

But it’s not to overshadow the pitching performance from sophomore Wesley Laaker, who worked six strong innings of five-hit ball but took the loss.

“Wesley Laaker, sophomore pitching to Owen Stendeback, sophomore, can’t say enough for them; they’re coming of age,” Haug said. “… Wesley’s done an outstanding job for just a sophomore. He has pitched in every single big game for us. He’s pitched against O’Fallon twice, we’ve played Edwardsville once and he’s pitched against them. He pitches against our best team that week and I think in the long run, it’s going to pay dividends.”

Even O’Fallon coach Jason Portz paid a nice compliment to the Alton starter, who walked four and struck out four.

“The sophomore righthander they threw against us tonight can work down in the zone,” Portz said. “If Charlie Erler ever gets right, then we feel like he’s going to be a pretty good arm, too. There’s no reason to not think that they can’t be a good postseason opponent if they can knock you off. They play you real tough and Todd always does a good job getting them ready to compete.”

Laaker, who finished with 106 pitches on the afternoon, only had trouble spots with the top of the O’Fallon order. The Panthers had six hits in the game, but five of them came off the bats of junior shortstop Josh Gibson (3-for-4 with two runs scored) in the leadoff spot and senior second baseman Nathan Martin (2-for-2 with two walks, a double and two RBI) in the No. 2 hole.

Combined, they were 5-for-6 with two walks, two runs scored, two RBI and reached base all eight plate appearances.

“Josh has had a hard go,” Portz said. “He’s been hitting around .300 or .310 and you know what, that’s not the expectations that he has in himself. He’s got higher expectations. I’ve said all along that we’re whatever, 21-1-1, and our best player has not really been himself just yet. Today I think he showed what type of player he is. I feel like he’s starting to come into his own a little bit.”

Alton’s problems came at the plate, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Portz went and got Arnold (6-0) after he walked Riley Phillips.

“We’re in that scenario where he’s got some pressure and his pitch count is getting up,” Portz said. “You’re in the third time through the order and guys have seen him. They’re starting to get some better contact. … I was pretty happy with his effort.”

But Drewry came on and struck out Adam Stilts to squash that threat and Drewry would work 2 1/3 perfect innings.

“Timely hitting,” Haug said. “… We several times had, I don’t know how many we left on, but not only leaving guys on, but left the on in scoring position. But they did an outstanding job. The gentleman that came in’s done that to us twice this year. Has done an outstanding job in relief. It is such a premium to have a reliever that you can throw out there all the time that you can trust, just a bulldog, and that’s what that boy was.”

The Panthers struck for a run in the top of the first when Gibson lined a single to left to lead off and scored on Martin’s RBI double to right-center to make it 1-0.

Laaker got out of that inning without any further damage, and the Redbirds countered with their lone run in the home half of the first when Robby Taul singled with one out and moved to second on Jackson Brooks’ infield single. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Taul scored on Phillips’ fielder’s choice groundout to short to make it 1-1.

O’Fallon got the tiebreaking runs in the third when Laaker walked Jeremy Reno to lead off the inning, he moved to second on Gibson’s single to center and scored on Martin’s ground ball up the middle that made its way into the outfield for a 2-1 lead. After a strikeout, Matthew Albritton’s sacrifice fly to right plated Gibson to make it 3-1.

That was enough for the O’Fallon duo of Arnold, who walked three and struck out five, and Drewry, who struck out three.

“They’re effective with all their pitches, and not just because they’re ahead in the count,” Portz said. “They’re able to get the breaking ball over in maybe fastball counts and keep the hitters off-balance. Brayden’s been really good this year. Today was a pretty normal effort for him. [Drewry’s] our go-to guy. Him and Jaysn Miller are two guys we really, really believe in. I feel like he was who he is again today.

“… Today can be comparable to like a postseason game. You go out, you swing the bat really well and you don’t get any results out of four, five, maybe six balls that we struck very well. Now frustration can set in, but our pitchers kept going out there and doing well, our defense continued to make plays and offensively, we scrapped when we needed to and got some knocks when we had to. I’m happy with the win and happy with the guys. That’s a good team.”

Alton, which lost 6-3 at O’Fallon on April 19, will keep plugging away until the dam breaks.

“We’re getting better. We’ll be there,” Haug said. “Gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

O’FALLON 3, ALTON 1

O’Fallon 102 000 0 — 3 6 0

Alton 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) — Gibson 3-4, Martin 2-2 2B RBI-2, Albritton 0-3 RBI, Dreyer 1-2. WP-Arnold (6-0) IP-4 2/3 H-5 R-1 ER-0 BB-3 K-5.

Alton (8-10, 2-5) — Taul 1-3, Brooks 2-3, Phillips 0-2 RBI, Nguyen 1-2, Erler 1-3. LP-Laaker (1-3) IP-6 H-5 R-3 ER-3 BB-4 K-4.

PREP BASEBALL: Growing Redbirds fall to O’Fallon, but still “gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:59 pm, Wednesday, April 25, 2018

GODFREY — A young team that’s been trying to find its way through the first half of the season has seen a good share of ups and downs for the Alton Redbirds.

But for coach Todd Haug, he’s seen what has been a young group grow of late. And even though it didn’t result in a victory on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to first-place in the Southwestern Conference and once-beaten O’Fallon, there seems to be that feeling that the uphill climb is seeing its peak.

“As young as we are, we’re starting to come of age; we’re right there,” Haug said after the Redbirds fell to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the SWC. “We stayed right with them in terms of hitting, they just got the bigger hits.”

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) got the bigger hits and had the better results on the mound from a combined Brayden Arnold for 4 2/3 innings and Adam Drewry for the final 2 1/3 perfect innings. Both are seniors.

But it’s not to overshadow the pitching performance from sophomore Wesley Laaker, who worked six strong innings of five-hit ball but took the loss.

“Wesley Laaker, sophomore pitching to Owen Stendeback, sophomore, can’t say enough for them; they’re coming of age,” Haug said. “… Wesley’s done an outstanding job for just a sophomore. He has pitched in every single big game for us. He’s pitched against O’Fallon twice, we’ve played Edwardsville once and he’s pitched against them. He pitches against our best team that week and I think in the long run, it’s going to pay dividends.”

Even O’Fallon coach Jason Portz paid a nice compliment to the Alton starter, who walked four and struck out four.

“The sophomore righthander they threw against us tonight can work down in the zone,” Portz said. “If Charlie Erler ever gets right, then we feel like he’s going to be a pretty good arm, too. There’s no reason to not think that they can’t be a good postseason opponent if they can knock you off. They play you real tough and Todd always does a good job getting them ready to compete.”

Laaker, who finished with 106 pitches on the afternoon, only had trouble spots with the top of the O’Fallon order. The Panthers had six hits in the game, but five of them came off the bats of junior shortstop Josh Gibson (3-for-4 with two runs scored) in the leadoff spot and senior second baseman Nathan Martin (2-for-2 with two walks, a double and two RBI) in the No. 2 hole.

Combined, they were 5-for-6 with two walks, two runs scored, two RBI and reached base all eight plate appearances.

“Josh has had a hard go,” Portz said. “He’s been hitting around .300 or .310 and you know what, that’s not the expectations that he has in himself. He’s got higher expectations. I’ve said all along that we’re whatever, 21-1-1, and our best player has not really been himself just yet. Today I think he showed what type of player he is. I feel like he’s starting to come into his own a little bit.”

Alton’s problems came at the plate, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Portz went and got Arnold (6-0) after he walked Riley Phillips.

“We’re in that scenario where he’s got some pressure and his pitch count is getting up,” Portz said. “You’re in the third time through the order and guys have seen him. They’re starting to get some better contact. … I was pretty happy with his effort.”

But Drewry came on and struck out Adam Stilts to squash that threat and Drewry would work 2 1/3 perfect innings.

“Timely hitting,” Haug said. “… We several times had, I don’t know how many we left on, but not only leaving guys on, but left the on in scoring position. But they did an outstanding job. The gentleman that came in’s done that to us twice this year. Has done an outstanding job in relief. It is such a premium to have a reliever that you can throw out there all the time that you can trust, just a bulldog, and that’s what that boy was.”

The Panthers struck for a run in the top of the first when Gibson lined a single to left to lead off and scored on Martin’s RBI double to right-center to make it 1-0.

Laaker got out of that inning without any further damage, and the Redbirds countered with their lone run in the home half of the first when Robby Taul singled with one out and moved to second on Jackson Brooks’ infield single. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Taul scored on Phillips’ fielder’s choice groundout to short to make it 1-1.

O’Fallon got the tiebreaking runs in the third when Laaker walked Jeremy Reno to lead off the inning, he moved to second on Gibson’s single to center and scored on Martin’s ground ball up the middle that made its way into the outfield for a 2-1 lead. After a strikeout, Matthew Albritton’s sacrifice fly to right plated Gibson to make it 3-1.

That was enough for the O’Fallon duo of Arnold, who walked three and struck out five, and Drewry, who struck out three.

“They’re effective with all their pitches, and not just because they’re ahead in the count,” Portz said. “They’re able to get the breaking ball over in maybe fastball counts and keep the hitters off-balance. Brayden’s been really good this year. Today was a pretty normal effort for him. [Drewry’s] our go-to guy. Him and Jaysn Miller are two guys we really, really believe in. I feel like he was who he is again today.

“… Today can be comparable to like a postseason game. You go out, you swing the bat really well and you don’t get any results out of four, five, maybe six balls that we struck very well. Now frustration can set in, but our pitchers kept going out there and doing well, our defense continued to make plays and offensively, we scrapped when we needed to and got some knocks when we had to. I’m happy with the win and happy with the guys. That’s a good team.”

Alton, which lost 6-3 at O’Fallon on April 19, will keep plugging away until the dam breaks.

“We’re getting better. We’ll be there,” Haug said. “Gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

O’FALLON 3, ALTON 1

O’Fallon 102 000 0 — 3 6 0

Alton 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) — Gibson 3-4, Martin 2-2 2B RBI-2, Albritton 0-3 RBI, Dreyer 1-2. WP-Arnold (6-0) IP-4 2/3 H-5 R-1 ER-0 BB-3 K-5.

Alton (8-10, 2-5) — Taul 1-3, Brooks 2-3, Phillips 0-2 RBI, Nguyen 1-2, Erler 1-3. LP-Laaker (1-3) IP-6 H-5 R-3 ER-3 BB-4 K-4.

PREP BASEBALL: Growing Redbirds fall to O’Fallon, but still “gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 7:59 pm, Wednesday, April 25, 2018

GODFREY — A young team that’s been trying to find its way through the first half of the season has seen a good share of ups and downs for the Alton Redbirds.

But for coach Todd Haug, he’s seen what has been a young group grow of late. And even though it didn’t result in a victory on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to first-place in the Southwestern Conference and once-beaten O’Fallon, there seems to be that feeling that the uphill climb is seeing its peak.

“As young as we are, we’re starting to come of age; we’re right there,” Haug said after the Redbirds fell to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the SWC. “We stayed right with them in terms of hitting, they just got the bigger hits.”

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) got the bigger hits and had the better results on the mound from a combined Brayden Arnold for 4 2/3 innings and Adam Drewry for the final 2 1/3 perfect innings. Both are seniors.

But it’s not to overshadow the pitching performance from sophomore Wesley Laaker, who worked six strong innings of five-hit ball but took the loss.

“Wesley Laaker, sophomore pitching to Owen Stendeback, sophomore, can’t say enough for them; they’re coming of age,” Haug said. “… Wesley’s done an outstanding job for just a sophomore. He has pitched in every single big game for us. He’s pitched against O’Fallon twice, we’ve played Edwardsville once and he’s pitched against them. He pitches against our best team that week and I think in the long run, it’s going to pay dividends.”

Even O’Fallon coach Jason Portz paid a nice compliment to the Alton starter, who walked four and struck out four.

“The sophomore righthander they threw against us tonight can work down in the zone,” Portz said. “If Charlie Erler ever gets right, then we feel like he’s going to be a pretty good arm, too. There’s no reason to not think that they can’t be a good postseason opponent if they can knock you off. They play you real tough and Todd always does a good job getting them ready to compete.”

Laaker, who finished with 106 pitches on the afternoon, only had trouble spots with the top of the O’Fallon order. The Panthers had six hits in the game, but five of them came off the bats of junior shortstop Josh Gibson (3-for-4 with two runs scored) in the leadoff spot and senior second baseman Nathan Martin (2-for-2 with two walks, a double and two RBI) in the No. 2 hole.

Combined, they were 5-for-6 with two walks, two runs scored, two RBI and reached base all eight plate appearances.

“Josh has had a hard go,” Portz said. “He’s been hitting around .300 or .310 and you know what, that’s not the expectations that he has in himself. He’s got higher expectations. I’ve said all along that we’re whatever, 21-1-1, and our best player has not really been himself just yet. Today I think he showed what type of player he is. I feel like he’s starting to come into his own a little bit.”

Alton’s problems came at the plate, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Portz went and got Arnold (6-0) after he walked Riley Phillips.

“We’re in that scenario where he’s got some pressure and his pitch count is getting up,” Portz said. “You’re in the third time through the order and guys have seen him. They’re starting to get some better contact. … I was pretty happy with his effort.”

But Drewry came on and struck out Adam Stilts to squash that threat and Drewry would work 2 1/3 perfect innings.

“Timely hitting,” Haug said. “… We several times had, I don’t know how many we left on, but not only leaving guys on, but left the on in scoring position. But they did an outstanding job. The gentleman that came in’s done that to us twice this year. Has done an outstanding job in relief. It is such a premium to have a reliever that you can throw out there all the time that you can trust, just a bulldog, and that’s what that boy was.”

The Panthers struck for a run in the top of the first when Gibson lined a single to left to lead off and scored on Martin’s RBI double to right-center to make it 1-0.

Laaker got out of that inning without any further damage, and the Redbirds countered with their lone run in the home half of the first when Robby Taul singled with one out and moved to second on Jackson Brooks’ infield single. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Taul scored on Phillips’ fielder’s choice groundout to short to make it 1-1.

O’Fallon got the tiebreaking runs in the third when Laaker walked Jeremy Reno to lead off the inning, he moved to second on Gibson’s single to center and scored on Martin’s ground ball up the middle that made its way into the outfield for a 2-1 lead. After a strikeout, Matthew Albritton’s sacrifice fly to right plated Gibson to make it 3-1.

That was enough for the O’Fallon duo of Arnold, who walked three and struck out five, and Drewry, who struck out three.

“They’re effective with all their pitches, and not just because they’re ahead in the count,” Portz said. “They’re able to get the breaking ball over in maybe fastball counts and keep the hitters off-balance. Brayden’s been really good this year. Today was a pretty normal effort for him. [Drewry’s] our go-to guy. Him and Jaysn Miller are two guys we really, really believe in. I feel like he was who he is again today.

“… Today can be comparable to like a postseason game. You go out, you swing the bat really well and you don’t get any results out of four, five, maybe six balls that we struck very well. Now frustration can set in, but our pitchers kept going out there and doing well, our defense continued to make plays and offensively, we scrapped when we needed to and got some knocks when we had to. I’m happy with the win and happy with the guys. That’s a good team.”

Alton, which lost 6-3 at O’Fallon on April 19, will keep plugging away until the dam breaks.

“We’re getting better. We’ll be there,” Haug said. “Gotta turn the puppies into dogs.”

O’FALLON 3, ALTON 1

O’Fallon 102 000 0 — 3 6 0

Alton 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

O’Fallon (21-1-1, 8-0) — Gibson 3-4, Martin 2-2 2B RBI-2, Albritton 0-3 RBI, Dreyer 1-2. WP-Arnold (6-0) IP-4 2/3 H-5 R-1 ER-0 BB-3 K-5.

Alton (8-10, 2-5) — Taul 1-3, Brooks 2-3, Phillips 0-2 RBI, Nguyen 1-2, Erler 1-3. LP-Laaker (1-3) IP-6 H-5 R-3 ER-3 BB-4 K-4.

Erler the Hurler leads Alton past Belleville West

Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com

Published 11:17 am, Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Photo:

Telegraph File Photo

Alton’s Charlie Erler, shown during a Class 4A regional semifinal last season at Edwardsville, tossed a two-hitter Tuesday to lead the Redbirds to a 2-1 Southwestern Conference victory over the Belleville West Maroons in Belleville.

The Alton Redbirds were able to squeeze only two runs out from their nine hits Tuesday in Belleville.

That enough for Alton pitcher Charlie Erler.

The right-hander signed with Division I Lipscomb fired a two-hitter to lead the Redbirds to a 2-1 Southwestern Conference baseball victory at West. The SWC win was the first for Alton, which improves to 6-6 and 1-3 in the league. West is 6-11 and 2-4 in the SWC.

The Maroons scored their lone run in the first inning before Erler settled in and finished with five near-perfect innings facing the minimum 15 batters. The one Maroon to reach base in stretch was throw out stealing. Erler struck out seven and walked three on 107 pitches to halt a Redbirds’ losing streak at three in a row.

Each of the first seven hitters in Alton’s lineup had a hit, with Robby Taul and Adam Stilts each getting two. The Redbirds tied it on Riley Phillips’ RBI in the third inning. The winning run came in the sixth after a West error and an Alton sacrifice bunt set up Stilts, who came through with a RBI single to center.

Joey Kossina had both of West’s hits. Will Lanxon took the loss, working six innings while allowing two runs (zero earned) on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

Marquette Catholic 18, Madison 1 – Explorers pitcher Jacob Zacha needed just 49 pitches to toss a five-inning one-hitter to beat the Trojans in Madison. Marquette, coming off three successive losses to large schools, moves to 9-5.

Zacha struck out eight and walked one while yielding only an unearned run. Conner Noss had two hits, including a solo home run, for the Explorers, who got three hits and two RBIs from Garrett Weiner and two hits, three RBIs from Montana Gossage and two RBIs from both Kaleb Ware and Brandon Lloyd.

Litchfield 6, Carlinville 3 – Andrew DeLaCruz and Billy Beckham combined for six hits and five RBIs to power the Purple Panthers past the Cavaliers in a South Central Conference game in Carlinville.

Joe Fraser drove in three runs for the Cavs, who were limited to three hits while committing five errors. Garrett Campbell struck out 11 in six innings, but took the loss. He gave five runs on seven hits and two walks.

Calhoun 8, Greenfield 7 – Trent Buchanan’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Warriors a WIVC walk-off win over the Tigers in Hardin. Calhoun stays unbeaten in the league at 3-0 and goes to 8-7 overall. Greenfield is 7-9.

Greenfield scored three runs in the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead after wiping out a 5-1 deficit. Calhoun loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh, but a forceout at the plate and a strikeout put the burden on Buchanan. A.J. Hillen worked two scoreless innings of relief for the win.

Conner Gilman and Corey Nelson both had three hits, and Gilman matched Buchanan with two RBIs for the Warriors, who outhit the Tigers 12-11 and overcame four errors.

Greenfield’s Clayton Woods took the loss after starter Hayden Lansaw covered the first six innings. Devin Chaudoin drove in three runs, Jacob Lansaw had three hits, Blake Meyer had two doubles and joined Blake Woelfel and Matt Walker with two hits.

Carrollton 12, North Greene 0 – The Hawks routed the Spartans in a WIVC clash in Carrollton to run their record to 10-3-1. North Greene is 1-10. The teams play again Thursday in White Hall.

TENNIS

Marquette 7, McCluer North 0 – The Explorers went unchallenged in sweeping a single pro-set dual with the Stars. Daniel McCluskey, A.J. Bower, Nathan Joehle, Marc Tassinari and Greg Root won singles. McCluskey and Bower, and Nathan Walters and Cole DeClue won doubles matches.

Report prep results by email: telegraphsports@hotmail.com

Kahoks erupt with 14 runs late to keep Alton winless in SWC

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

Published 8:12 pm, Thursday, April 12, 2018

GODFREY — Early on, it appeared as if the Alton Redbirds would coast to a relatively easy Southwestern Conference baseball victory.

But that’s why they play seven innings, and the Collinsville Kahoks made it anything but easy.

Collinsville exploded for 14 runs over the final three innings, including six in the seventh off reliever Charlie Erler in a 14-9 come-from-behind win against the Redbirds on Thursday afternoon at Alton High School.

Alton (5-5, 0-3) led 6-0 after three and 9-3 after five. But the bullpen, including Erler, Zach Knight and Michael Reeder couldn’t hold the lead and left Alton coach Todd Haug shaking his head afterwards.

“If I knew (why it got away), it wouldn’t have gotten away,” Haug said. “We’ve just got to finish ballgames. We controlled the game for five innings. So far, its kind of been a common theme. Kudos to Wesley Laaker pitching well and when we needed to go to the pen on pitch count, just didn’t get a lot out of the bullpen today.”

Laaker was effective in five innings of work as Alton’s starter. But Collinsville (8-3, 3-2) touched him for three runs in the fifth to make it a 6-3 game, but Haug felt like it was time to get Laaker out after 79 pitches. He scattered eight hits with three earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts.

“It was time,” Haug said. “When you know your guys and you know to get them out of there on a positive note with a good lead, I think we played it correctly. Sooner or later, you’ve got to give the guys in the bullpen to prove themselves too to see where you stand.”

Collinsville, which had 15 of their 19 hits on the day over the final three innings, scored five times in the sixth off Knight, who didn’t record an out and lasted three batters, and Reeder to make it a 9-8 game.

Hunter Counton’s three-run home run was the big blow in the inning that made it a 9-6 game. He tied it in the seventh with a single off Erler before Braeden Lamp’s seeing-eye single between third and short put Collinsville ahead for good.

“I give a ton of credit to our guys,” Kahoks coach Pete Trapp said. “Mentally, they didn’t stop. It was tough. You get down six runs against a quality team like Alton in the third inning, its hard. But they found a way to just keep battling. You’ve got to give that to them and their heart and their efforts and attitudes.”

Alton’s bullpen couldn’t close, but Collinsville’s Carson Richardson could.

Richardson, who was 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and three runs scored, threw a pair of wild pitches in the fifth that increased Alton’s lead to 9-3. But he shut it down the rest of the way and worked 2 2/3 innings of two-hit ball to earn the win.

“Carson hasn’t exactly been as good as what we wanted him to be on the mound this year,” Trapp said. “Today he showed he definitely belongs out there. We know he does, but he really stepped it up today.”

Robby Taul and Riley Phillips each had three hits for Alton, which rapped out 12 hits.

“A significant portion of our games, we’ve had a lead,” Haug said. “We’ve just got to finish. We’re going to stay positive with them and we’re going to keep working.”

COLLINSVILLE 14, ALTON 9

Collinsville 000 035 6 — 14 19 4

Alton 321 030 0 — 9 12 1

Collinsville (8-3, 3-2) — Counton 3-5 HR RBI-4, Lemp 1-2 RBI-2, Dumsdorff 1-2, Monki 1-1, Schrage 4-5 2B-2 RBI-4, Bovinett 2-5 HR RBI-2, Reeves 0-4 RBI, Scrum 2-5 RBI-2, Holten 1-2, Richardson 4-4 2B. WP-Richardson IP 2 2/3 H-2 R-0 ER-0 BB-0 K-2.

Alton (5-5, 0-3) — Hampton 1-2 RBI, Taul 3-4 RBI, Stilts 0-4 RBI, Brooks 2-4 RBI-2, Phillips 3-4, Droste 2-4 2B, Mossman 1-3 RBI. LP-Erler IP-1 H-6 R-6 ER-6 BB-0 K-0.

Redbirds slip past Southwestern 3-2; Haug wins 200th as Redbird coach
by Brent Feeney  and Steven Spencer
published March 23 2018 6:21 AM
Listen to the story
0

Share1

ALTON – Thursday afternoon's game between Piasa Southwestern and Alton turned into a tight game, one that wasn't decided until the finish.

In the end, Alton managed to push across a run in the bottom of the sixth, a run that turned out to be the difference as the Redbirds scored a 3-2 win over the Piasa Birds at Redbird Field. Alton improved to 3-1 on the year, while the Piasa Birds fell to 1-3.

The win was a milestone one for Alton coach Todd Haug, who won his 200th game as coach of the Redbirds since taking over the program in 2009.

“It just means I've been here long enough to get 200 wins,” Haug said with a smile. “It's been awhile.”

Haug was pleased with the Redbird performance Wednesday. “These boys came out and played well against a very, very impressive Southwestern team; they are a very quality small school and coach (Brian) Hanslow going to have a good squad this year.”

 
Robby Taul got the ball for Alton and threw six good innings, conceding a run on three hits while striking out four. “He struggled to get ahead (on the count) a little early, but overall, very, very solid performance,” Haug said. “He pitched six strong innings for us, and anytime you can get us through six and we've got the lead, tip your cap to the starting pitcher.

“Their pitcher (Ben Lowis) was solid; again, timely hitting and playing good defense, that spells a recipe for success.”

“it was a great game,” Hanslow said. “Our pitcher, Ben Lowis, threw a great game and their pitcher, Robby Taul, threw a great game; 93 and 91 pitches, they matched each other. We just didn't get hits put together; we scratched one (out) there in the sixth inning and we had a chance there in the end; we got some guys on base and made it close.

“We can't fault our effort; we put the ball in play today, we didn't strike out, so I was really happy with that compared to our effort the last couple of games. They're a good team and we're going to take a lot of positives from today.”

Southwestern had a chance in the second to score, getting runners on the corners with two out, but Taul managed to get out of the jam to keep things scoreless. Alton scored the first runs of the game in the fourth when Taul led off with a triple to right-center field and, with one out, came home on an Adam Stilts RBI single to go to a 1-0 lead. Stilts himself scored when he was sacrificed to second by Simon Ngyuen and came home on a Wesley Laaker single to make it 2-0 in Alton's favor.

The Redbirds got a solo run in the third when Charlie Erler singled to open the inning, went to second on an errant pickoff throw and reached third on a wild pitch before Jackson Booker singled Erler home to make it 3-0 for the Redbirds. Southwestern got one run back in the sixth when Jack Little reached on an error and came around to score on a Luke Gollike single to cut the lead to 3-1.

Laaker came in to pitch for Alton in the seventh and retired the first batter he faced before Chase Stahl was hit by a pitch and went to second on wild pitch; Luke Simmons then singled Stahl to third and came home on a sacrifice fly by Dakotah Corby. After the throw to get Stahl was caught by Owen Stendeback, Simmons tried to go to second, but Stendeback fired to Erler, playing second; Erler applied the tag to Simmons to end the game.

Taul went 1-for-2 on the day with the triple and a run scored; Ben Mossman was 1-for-2 with a double, Laaker 1-for-2 with a RBI, Erler 1-for-2 with a run scored, Stilts 1-for-1 with a RBI and run scored and Ngyuen 1-for-2; Taul got the win for the Redbirds.

Eddie Bolin was 1-for-3 for Piasa, Ryne Hanslow 1-for-3, Simmons 2-for-3 and Little and Issac Marshall a run scored each. Alton next meets up with Jersey at 4:30 p.m. today at Ken Schell Field, then meets Civic Memorial at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bethalto for a single game; the Piasa Birds head to Collinsville for a 4:30 p.m. game today, then visits Auburn for a 4:30 p.m. Monday contest.

Feeney, 56, is a native of Granite City and graduated from Granite City South in 1978. He was a part-time writer for the old Granite City Journal from 1979-84 before attending Eastern Illinois University in Charleston,
from which he earned his BA in journalism in 1988. He has worked for newspapers in Sikeston, Mo., Rocky Mount, N.C., Seneca, S.C. and in Charleston-Mattoon. He also worked for the old St. Clair County Suburban
Journals.

PREP BASEBALL: Alton takes aim at “bigger picture”
Redbirds’ focus goes beyond wins
Louie Korac For The Telegraph Published 10:01 pm, Thursday, March 15, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
  by Taboola Sponsored Links From The Web
This Girl Was Given Her Fairytale Wedding Just Before She Passed Away From Cancer
The Funny Beaver
20 Human Foods Deadly to Dogs!
Fallbrook247.com
Top 4 Most Useful Washer Tips
Sears Home Services
Need Coffee? 3 Low-Cost K-Cup Alternatives (Check out #1)
CoffeeBeans | Angelino's
No Not Photoshop - That's US Navy's New 13-Billion Dollar Ship
HistoryInOrbit.com
The 20 Funkiest Creatures Nature Has Ever Seen
Boredom Therapy
IMAGE 3 OF 3

GODFREY — Todd Haug isn’t about placing certain specifications on the Alton Redbirds baseball team. The Redbirds coach feels no matter who is or isn’t on any particular roster, expectations don’t change.

The Redbirds earned their first win Thursday night by beating the Carbondale Terriers 6-1 in the Prep Baseball Report Kickoff Classic at GCS Ballpark in Sauget.

“The expectations are year in, year out regardless of the talent,” said Haug, who began his 10th season as Redbirds coach with a record of 197-116 before falling 2-1 in the season-opener to Freeburg on Wednesday. “First of all, play the game with respect. Respect the game, respect all those that have played before us. Play the game with a certain amount of respect that allows us to represent our community well. These are the bigger picture things that we’re constantly talking about to these guys, the bigger message. That’s the expectation.

”Have I had more talented ballclubs? Well, we’ve played one game, I don’t know. But we’re a pretty young ballclub in general. We started four sophomores (in the season opener). If we can figure out how to swing, put a little solid contact on the ball, we’ll be in most games because our pitching and defense is going to be just fine.”

The Redbirds, 17-16 last season and falling short of 20 wins for the first time since 2010, do boast seven seniors (pitcher Cole Akal, infielder Brandon Droste, pitcher Charlie Erler, center fielder Mikey Hampton, outfielder Ben Mossman, outfielder Simon Nguyen and catcher Shane Turner) but will be testing several underclassmen, which makes this a big learning curve for Haug and coaches Dennis Sharp, Pete Kleeman, Steve Haug and Jason Roberts.

“We’re staying very positive,” Todd Haug said. “They’re a young group and we will continue to work with them. Kind of the old Tony La Russa approach: push them and you pat them. You have to push them and allow them to make them know that there is an expectation but pat them to let them know that they’re here for a reason and they can do the job.”

Junior shortstop/pitcher Robby Taul, junior third baseman/pitcher Adam Stilts, sophomore outfielder/pitcher Riley Phillips, first baseman/pitcher Wesley Laaker and sophomore catcher Owen Stendeback were all in the starting lineup against the Midgets.

Nguyen (.366), Stilts (.354), Hampton (.311) and Droste (.309) were among the leading hitters last season that will be returning. Hampton, who is currently sidelined with a broken wrist, is the leader among returnees in doubles (six) and triples (five), while Droste (27) and Nguyen (24) return as the leading RBI batters.

“Overall to tell you something that we can improve on, if the season was one game, I would say offense, but I have no idea what we’re going to be 10 games down the line,” Haug said. “I just know it was a cold day in March and we scratched and clawed and got one run (in the season opener).

“I think in general, we’re a very fundamentally sound team. That’s what we spend the majority of our practices doing. Doing fundamentals, executing the things that routinely win you or lose you ballgames, getting a bunt down, getting the key outs, turning the double play, rundowns, bunt coverages, things like that. We try to be very fundamentally sound and control the things that we can control. You can’t control whether or not you’re going to get on first base. And so with that being said, strengths-wise, pitching and fundamental defense. Once we get Hampton back, we’ll have a little bit more speed at the top of the lineup.”

Erler (3-5, 3.48 ERA, 35 walks, 57 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings last season), returns as the ace of the staff. But Haug feels his pitching staff will be deep and plenty.

Stilts (2-5, 4.53 ERA, 12 BB, 27 K’s in 46 1/3 innings), Taul (4-1, 2.63 ERA, six BB’s, 12 K’ in 26 2/3 innings), Phillips (1-1, 2.23 ERA) and Laaker all will be relied upon.

“Charlie’s obviously a Division I arm, but Adam Stilts is very solid right there,” Haug said. “Robby Taul’s very, very solid. The darkhorse was the kid we had in left field (in the opener) who I think he’s really going to turn some heads this year is Riley Phillips, a lanky sophomore that throws well from the left side and then Wesley Laaker who played first base for us (in the opener) is a sophomore.

“We’ve got plenty of arms and we’ve got good defense. We play very fundamentally sound, so we’ll just see. If we can scratch and claw some runs, we’ll be OK.”

Edwardsville, last season’s runner-up in Class 4A, and O’Fallon normally headline the Southwestern Conference slate as favorites, but Alton would like to classify itself as a team capable of doing damage with Belleville West, Belleville East and Collinsville.

“I always equate Southwestern Conference baseball to like SEC football,” Haug said. “Yeah, there’s a few teams that consistently are near the top, but in general, anybody can beat anybody on any given night. You always have to put your best foot forward but play 21 hard outs.”

The Redbirds would like to get back to 20 or more wins, but won’t deem it as a necessary target to reaching successful goals.

“We had 20 wins or more six or seven years in a row,” Haug said. “We failed to get it last year. Things like placing 20 win seasons as a priority or beating an O’Fallon or an Edwardsville, yes, those are good accolades for a season, but if you’re really trying to be the best program you can be, you need to think well beyond that. And that’s nothing against those programs or a 20-win plateau. It’s just that you’re going to need to win more than 20 games to get where you want to go ultimately, and you’re going to need to beat more than conference teams to get where you want to go ultimately. One game at a time.”

PREP BASEBALL: Freeburg edges Alton 2-1 in season opener at SIUE
Freeburg edges Redbirds in opener
Louie Korac For The Telegraph Published 8:28 pm, Wednesday, March 14, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Alton Redbirds pitcher Charlie Erler delivers a pitch to a Freeburg batter during Wednesday’s season opener at SIUE. The Redbirds lost 2-1.
Alton Redbirds pitcher Charlie Erler delivers a pitch to a Freeburg batter during Wednesday’s season opener at SIUE. The Redbirds lost 2-1.

EDWARDSVILLE — The first game of the season in the middle of March won’t bring much analysis from Alton baseball coach Todd Haug. What he can deduce moving forward, though, is that his Redbirds are able to pitch effectively right off the hop, but that the offense and defense may need some time to round into form.

All three parts were in full bloom for the Redbirds in their season-opener Wednesday during a 2-1 loss to Freeburg to kick off the PBR Metro-East Kickoff Classic at SIUE’s Roy E. Lee Field.

Freeburg’s Brady Schmitz walked with the bases loaded to bring home Tommy Speranzi, who reached on an error to lead off the home half of the seventh inning.

“It shows a lot of mental toughness,” Freeburg coach Drew Gericke said. “It shows they weren’t down when (Alton) tied the game. The kids responded with mental toughness, competitiveness, and that’s what we try to preach to the whole program.

“… I thought our pitching was outstanding for the first game.”

In a game where offense was sparse for both squads, the game-winning run was scored in the bottom of the seventh inning on a bases-loaded walk.

Alton (0-1) could only scratch out five hits in the game, scored the tying run in the top half of the seventh inning by manufacturing a run, and defensively, made three errors to spoil the solid pitching performances by starter Charlie Erler and tough-luck losing pitcher Zack Knight.

“I think their coach would tell them the same thing, a 2-1 ballgame where a lot of things went well,” Haug said. “For a good portion of the game, neither team could steal first base. We had two good guys (Erler for Alton and Freeburg starter Travis Bergkoetter) going on the mound. Zack pitched in his first varsity game and did very well.

“… A 2-1 ballgame, neither team hit the ball particularly well. It’s very similarly pitched. Defense, we got a run off one of their errors, they scored a run off one of ours. It’s very similar.”

Gericke echoed Haug’s comments. His team only mustered up four hits in the game but three of them came in the fifth, and on the third, Ryan Schaller’s RBI single broke a scoreless tie.

“You could tell with the bats early,” Gericke said. “They’re getting used to varsity pitching and Alton’s got a very good pitcher that we faced, but what helped is we were able to get his pitch count up early in the game and stretched a run across.”

Alton was able to tie the game 1-1 in the top of the seventh off reliever Brant Bowen on Adam Stilts’ fielder’s choice groundout. His ground ball to short scored Robby Taul, who’s gift bloop double to lead off the seventh fell between second baseman Dylan Neuner and Schaller in right.

Taul moved up to third base on Brandon Droste’s sacrifice bunt to the mound.

Other than that, it was slim pickings for the Redbirds.

“Our approaches are fine,” Haug said. “We really talk about a compact swing, staying short to the ball, long through the ball and driving the ball to the opposite field. We hit a ton of balls up the middle, they were just worm burners. We just need to square up the ball a little bit more, but other than that, we’re hitting the ball where it’s pitched, it’s just early in the year.”

Erler, who worked the first 4 2/3 innings, was pulled after 93 pitches and worked effectively for a first outing. He walked three and struck out eight while allowing three hits and one run (all in the fifth inning).

“I think he’ll tell you it was good, not great,” Haug said of Erler. “Velocity is definitely there. He had a couple pitches working, a good curveball and it shows. On a nice day, he’ll be a tough foe to go against. I think he knows it changes the complexion of the game if he can get ahead of the batters, and there’s a few times where he was working behind. His stuff gets a lot better when he keeps the ball down. As the game went on, he did that.”

Taul and Riley Phillips had four of Alton’s five hits.

The Redbirds will march on in the four-day event and play Carbondale on Thursday at 7 p.m. at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget.

“I’m proud of them,” Haug said. “They played acceptable defense, not great. But again, it’s early and we’ll be bouncing back tomorrow, that’s the great thing about this game.”

FREEBURG 2, ALTON 1

Alton 000 000 1 — 1 5 3

Freeburg 000 010 1 — 2 4 0

Alton (0-1) — Taul 2-3 2B, Stilts 0-3 RBI, Phillips 2-3 2B, Erler 1-3. LP-Knight IP-1 2/3 H-1 R-1 ER-0 BB-3 K-2.

Freeburg (1-0) — C. Smith 1-2, Schaller 1-4 RBI, Lugge 1-3, Schmitz 0-3 RBI, Benkendorf 1-2. WP-Bowen IP-2 H-2 R-1 ER-1 BB-0 K-3.

Redbirds prepare for baseball season with a young yet experienced team
by Steven Spencer
published March 9 2018 5:05 AM
updated March 9 2018 5:43 AM
Listen to the story
0

Share

ALTON - After a 17-win record last season, the Redbirds get ready to return the diamond in away game at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, against Freeburg at SIUE.

Coach Todd Haug said a good portion of players are returning this year but the Redbirds are still an “incredibly young team.”

 
“We played as many as three sophomores and seven freshmen last year,” Coach Haug said. “We do have a lot of people back but we don’t have a lot of seniors. We’ve got a strong sophomore and freshman class out here, overall we have a nice blend of all levels.”

The Redbirds played a competitive season last year but this year’s record is something Coach Haug would like to improve on.

“We won 17 games last year and it was the first time we hadn’t won 20 in a while,” Haug said. “It’s a growth process. We’ve made a lot of changes this year and one of them is that everyone practices together, so everyone is getting a consistent message.”

Coach Haug said that although the team doesn’t have too many returning upperclassmen the team will nonetheless be prepared for every game as the start of the season approaches.

“We’ll play 21 hard outs, one inning at a time and be prepared for every game,” Haug added. “We won’t be out prepared and we won’t be out-hustled.”

Purchase photos from this article Print Version Submit a Sports Tip