EDWARDSVILLE - Senior catcher Auggie Johnes has emerged as an important player for Edwardsville High School's baseball team, and a recent performance he had against Collinsville at Tom Pile Field showed why.
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In the game against Collinsville, Johnes went one-for-two, but the one hit he had was a grand slam home run that accounted for all four of his RBIs during a seven-run second, as the Tigers defeated the Kahoks 13-1.
For the season, he's hitting .273 with three homers and 13 RBIs, as the Tigers have played exceptionally well in compiling a 14-6 record going into a crucial Southwestern Conference series this week against Belleville West.
He is a Spencer Homes Male Athlete of the Month for the Tigers.
In his postgame interview, Johnes felt very good about how things went in the game against Collinsville.
"Things are starting to come back into form after missing some time with the hamstring," Johnes said. "I had some good at-bats in North Carolina, and now, I'm just back picking it up."
The showing against the Kahoks was a great bounce back after losing the games during the tournament in Cary.
"We've been doing great, picking ourselves up, turning the page, and learn from it," Johnes said.
Even though the Tigers went 0-4 in the tournament, Johnes and the team enjoyed their time and experiences in North Carolina.
"Man, it was so fun," Johnes said. "It was a great experience. We also learned a lot about the team we are, and the team we could be."
The pitch and situation Johnes hit for his grand slam were a prime example of hitting with having a two-strike count against him in the batter's box.
"I got two strikes, so I don't want to open up," Johnes, said "So, it's just early timing, make sure I get my foot down, get into a launch position. I just see that focus on getting a hit sign, I wasn't trying to hit it over the fence, but by it being earlier timing, I could see the ball longer, and put a swing on it."
Johnes said it was an "awesome" feeling to hit the grand slam in a key at-bat of the game, and he's feeling very good about how the Southwestern Conference race could shape up for the rest of the season.
As far as the rest of the season goes, Johnes is keeping things straight ahead and easy.
"Get into a rhythm, get into a routine," Johnes said, "and trust it and stick to it, don't deviate from it."
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