Edwardsville's Baseball Squad Rallies From 5-0 Deficit To Beat Highland 7-5

EDWARDSVILLE - Highland took a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth, but Edwardsville scored five times to tie the game, then scored twice in the home half of the sixth on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly, helping the Tigers take a 7-5 win over the Bulldogs in the 17th annual Tiger Classic Round Robin Baseball Tournament Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, at Tom Pile Field in Edwardsville.

It was the second game of the tournament for each team, with the Tigers having won over Chatham Glenwood the night before 11-3, and the Bulldogs having defeated Teutopolis 6-1. And Edwardsville showed its character and class in coming back from the 5-0 deficit to take the win.

"It showed a lot of character of our guys," Edwardsville head coach Tim Funkhouser said. "Our guys love competing, playing together, and they showed a lot of heart of knowing what the plan was, as far as shrinking the zone, stacking at-bats, and working together as a team. I thought we did really well with that, and showed a lot of character."

The Bulldogs had a chance in the seventh inning to retie the game, but couldn't get it done, as Edwardsville managed to shut down the Highland attack.

"Like how you always feel after a loss," said Highland head coach Joel Hawkins when asked how he was feeling following the game. "A lot empty, "because a game you should have won, it doesn't matter who you're playing, when you have chances like we did there. We had a lot of bases loaded chances, and I would say we didn't maximize on those. Even in the innings where we scored, we were lucky. They threw some ball fours in there. Hopefully, we'll execute a little better when we come back in the second half."

Highland did take a 5-0 lead, which they held in going into the bottom of the fifth, when Edwardsville started their comeback. Hawkins gave the Tigers much credit for their comeback.

"Yeah, and that's because they're a tough group," Hawkins said "They're really toughly constructed, and coach Funkhouser and their coaches, they're really the best. The've got great athletes, and they've built a wonderful program here. IT's been wonderful to compete over the years, and this is a great opportunity here, today. We weren't able to step through the door."

Joe Chiarodo had two runs batted in against Highland to lead the Tigers, in another clutch game for the slugger.

The Bulldogs scored once in both the third and fourth innings, then three times in the fifth to go ahead 5-0, but Edwardsville rallied to tie the game 5-5, with a five-run fifth, then scored twice in the sixth to take the 7-5 win.

Blake Gelly and Garrin Stone had a hit and RBI each for Highland against the Tigers, with both Carter Holdhaus and Austin Lockridge also having hits, and Trent Henrichs driving home a run. Carter Powell started on the mound, and went 4.1 innings, allowing an earned run on a hit, walking four and striking out one.

Gavin Ipanis notched the win in two innings of relief for the Tigers against the Bulldogs.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story

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