Spencer Homes Female Athlete Of Month: Sophie Antonini Delivers Game-Winning Single For Edwardsville Over East

EDWARDSVILLE - Sophomore infielder Sophie Antonini came through in a big way on Apr. 15, delivering a game-winning single that scored pinch-runner Lily Stone with the winning run in a thrilling 8-7 win for Edwardsville over Belleville East in a Southwestern Conference softball game played at the Edwardsville District 7 Sports Complex.

It was a clutch hit in many ways for Antonini, who's currently hitting .447, with no homers and seven RBIs in helping the Tigers to a 12-4 record after a 22-0 Edwardsville win over East St. Louis on Apr. 17.

Sophie is a Spencer Homes Female Athlete of the Month for the Tigers.

To coin a phrase from Yogi Berra himself, it was deja vu all over again for Antonini, who found herself in the same situation a year ago against the Lancers.

"I feel great," Antonini said in a post-game interview following her big hit. "I did this similar to last year, in our conference game against them. It's got a sense of deja vu, but it feels great."

The pitch that she hit to win the game was something she was definitely looking for - and got it.

"I'm pretty sure it was middle-inside," Antonini said, "and I knew I was looking for something I could hit hard. And it was there."

It was the typical Southwestern Conference game, full of high drama, great performances, and good competition. It was also a nice bounce-back win for the Tigers, after having lost their last two games in a highly competitive tournament the previous weekend in Castle, Ind. And to top in off, the win was a great come-from-behind effort by Edwardsville, who trailed 4-1 and 7-5, coming back to the tie game both times before winning in the ninth.

"Yeah, it was a great fight from the entire team," Antonini said. "We all did great. It was just a great team win."

The win will serve as a springboard for bigger things from the Tigers, according to Antonini.

"I think we're going to keep on fighting," Antonini said. "We know how it feels to bounce back, and I think we're going to have a great run this year."

The rest of the conference season is something she's anticipating as well.

"I think we're going to do great," Antonini said. "Hopefully, win the conference, I think it's good for us."

As mentioned, it was a very good bounce back from the results at the Castle tournament, where Edwardsville faced tough competition from many teams around Mid-America. The Tigers split four games in the tournament, winning the first two, then dropping their last two.

"I think in the tournament, we played really good teams," Antonini said. "Some of the teams there are ranked high in each of their states, and some of those teams placed first in their states. I think that really set us up for this game, and I think this helped us carry it over."

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