Joe Chiarodo Is One Of Top Players For Edwardsville's Baseball Players, Contributes Much To Tigers' Success

EDWARDSVILLE - Joe Chiarodo is one of the best players on the Edwardsville High baseball team, perhaps in the Southwestern Conference and the state of Illinois, and in two separate games this past week, he showed why.

In the final game of the 17th Tiger Classic on May 10 against Teutopolis, Chiarodo had a hit and RBI in a 5-4 loss to the Wooden Shoes, but two days later, in a key conference game against Belleville East at home, he retired the first 16 batters he faced, finishing up with a two-hit shutout in winning over the Lancers 7-0.

Joe is a Spencer Homes Male Athlete of the Month for Edwardsville.

For the season, he's hitting .519 with six homers and 39 RBIs, among the team leaders in all three categories, and on the mound, Chiarodo had used a variety of pitches to forge a 4-2 record, starting eight games, and has allowed 16 runs, 13 earned, on 26 hits for an ERA of 2.79. He's also walked six and struck out 36 batters in helping the Tigers to a 19-8 record with seven games left in the regular season.

In two separate interviews, Chiarodo expressed his confidence in the Tigers, and feels that the team still can go a long way into the upcoming IHSA Class 4A playoffs.

"A little disappointed after the tough loss to Teutopolis," Chiarodo said, "but you've got to give it to their guys. They competed throughout, and took advantage of our mistakes. So, they ended coming out with the win, but overall, I think the growth that we had this weekend, and the ability that we competed against Highland, the way we played against Chatham (Glenwood), overall, I think it was a good weekend for the Tigers."

Chiarodo had a good weekend, pounding two homers in an 11-3 win over Glenwood, and pitched well against the Titans, going three innings, giving up two hits, while walking two and fanning two, and also had two hits and three RBIs in the win over Glenwood. Against Highland, he came up with a hit and two RBIs in a 7-5 win over the Bulldogs, and against T-Town, he had a hit and RBI in the loss to the Shoes.

"Overall, I thought I did pretty well," Chiarodo said. "On the mound, I came out pretty efficient, and in the third inning, I walked a couple of guys, but overall, I thought I did a pretty good job with the tempo, and at the plate, I didn't show up a ton, but I feel like I'm seeing it well, and on Friday, I hit two home runs, so I've been seeing it well, and the swing feels good."

Chiarodo agreed that the weekend provided good learning experiences for himself and the Tigers, going into the key series against the Lancers, and the upcoming playoffs.

"A situation like this, where it's close ball games, and kind of high-pressure situations," Chiarodo said, "it kind of helps us get geared up for the postseason."

He also sees the Tigers going into the postseason well-prepared, having put in their work all season in preparation for the tournament.

"We're just going to go into the work we put in each day," Chiarodo said, "day-in and day-out, and everyone getting better and growing together, playing more as a team."

In the masterpiece against the Lancers, a game the Tigers won 7-0 on Tuesday, he also felt great about his and his teammates' performances in game one of the series.

"Overall, it's a great win for the team," he said. "The bats came out, we took great at-bats against a pretty good arm. And then on the mound, my stuff was good tonight, I hit my spots, and overall, it was just an overall good game for the team."

The Tigers put up five runs in the first inning to take a lead they would never give up, and everything the Tigers did, at bat, in the field, and on the mound, was working very well in all phases.

"It seemed like everything was working," Chiarodo said. "Like I said earlier, we had great at-bats, and to go out, pitching with a 5-0 lead, it's a good feeling to have some comfort. So overall, it's a good win for the Tigers."

All of Chiarodo's pitch arsenal was working like clockwork throughout the Belleville East game.

"It's probably the best my stuff's been all spring," Chiarodo said. "I feel like my command was much better than it has been; it's something new that I've been working on, so I was happy to go out there, and it was good."

The Tigers know they will be working hard towards their ultimate goal of reclaiming the IHSA Class 4A state championship.

"We just need to keep stacking days," Chiarodo said. "The more good days we stack, the better off we're going to be."

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