Baugh's Grand Slam Highlights Six-Run Fifth Inning, Tigers Open Season With 13-3 Win Over East Moline United

EDWARDSVILLE - Senior and four-year varsity player Hunter Baugh hit a grand slam home run, his first homer of the season, to highlight a six-run fifth inning, and three pitchers combined to hold East Moline United to three runs on two hits as Edwardsville won its season opener 13-3 over the Panthers in the Illinois Prep Baseball Report Kickoff showcase Thursday afternoon at Tom Pile Field.

The Tigers scored five times in the second to take a 5-1 lead, and played aggressively throughout, which pleased head coach Tim Funkhouser.

"Yeah, really happy," Funkhouser said with a smile. "It was good to see our guys out on the field. We've been in the weight room a long time, and we've been only practicing for a short period of time. So, we have a lot of guys that haven't had experience, but I thought our guys really reacted well. I liked how they played aggressive, and just kind of go about their business. It's going to be fun, because I think we're going to just keep getting better as the season goes on. But I was really impressed with the way our guys handled competing."

Although the Tigers lost a core group of seniors to graduation last year, they also return a core group of experienced players who will step up and assume leadership responsibilities in 2026.

"Well, we have a few guys, three guys in particular, who have been at the varsity level for four years," Funkhouser said. "So, it's like we're adding assistant coaches that are player-coaches, and like, (Chase) Milburn's out right now with an injury, but I heard him multiple times talking to pitchers about it, and it's like, turn him loose and just let him get guys better. And then, he's going to be back in action here in another month. So, he'll impact it on the field, too. Hunter Baugh has been a guy, and then (Tony) Eberlin, who'll pitch for us tomorrow, he's been with us both since their freshman year. And then, Nick Chiarodo has been a quick, experienced guy that, as a freshman, he got to play a little bit, so he's got more experience than most of our guys, but he's still doing his thing, too. So, I couldn't be more impressed with those guys.

"But then, those other guys have been looking forward the opportunity." Funkhouser continued. "And we have a lot of guys that can do different things, a lot of different guys that can pitch. It'll just play out as the season goes on, and see where guys are with what they do well, what they can make adjustments for. Even the end-game adjustments some guys made was exciting to see."

There's also indications that this will be a close-knit group this season as well.

"Well, it's a long journey," Funkhouser said. "Today, we were able to plate some runs at different times. I think the beauty about this team is they look forward to being at practice each day, and you can already tell they like each other. There's a longer process to that, but they enjoy being a part of what we have here, and their part in creating it for now and into the future, too."

The Panthers struck first in the opening inning with one out, starting with a walk to Quinn Scott and a hit by Zach Darras. Both advanced on a ground out, and Scott scored on a base hit by Cameron Harris to put East Moline up 1-0. The Tigers took the lead for good in the bottom of the second by scoring five runs, starting with a double by Sean Murphy, who was replaced on the bases by courtesy runner Joel Fields. Fields scored on Andrew McCutchen's RBI single to tie the game 1-1, and after a walk, a single, and a strikeout, lead-off man Joe Kirgan drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing home McCutchen to give Edwardsville a 2-1 lead. A Baugh sacrifice fly to center scored Ty Hunt, and Chiarodo drove in Nathan Bukovac and Kirgan to make it 5-1 for the Tigers.

East Moline got two of the runs back in the third, when Antonio Tovar was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in Darras, and a force play at second allowed Payton Weige to score and make the score 5-3. That lasted until the home half of the fifth, when lead-off singles by Murphy and McCutchen and a walk to Fields loaded the bases, with Murphy scoring on a Bukovac walk to make it 6-1. One out later, Kirgan singled home Fields to make it 7-3, after which Baugh unleashed his grand slam over the fence in left, scoring Bukovac, Zane Maxwell, and Kirgan ahead of him, putting Edwardsville into an 11-3 lead. A bases loaded walk to Fields scored Chiarodo to make it 12-3 before the inning ended.

In the sixth, all with two out, Baugh singled, went to second on a Chiarodo base hit, and scored the game-ending run on a base hit by Max McMichael to end the game 13-3, giving the Tigers the win on opening day.

Chiarodo led the Tiger attack with four hits and two RBIs, while Baugh had three hits and drove in five runs, both McCutchen and Bukovac had two hits and a RBI each, Murphy came up with two hits, Kirgan had a hit and two RBIs, McMichael had a hit and RBI, Hunt came up with a hit, and Fields drove in a run.

Chiarodo also started on the mound, and was credited with the win, going two innings, allowing an earned run on two hits, walking two and striking out two, Miller Dunnill went in the middle two innings, giving up two earned runs without a hit, walking three and fanning none, and Jax Andreas pitched the final two innings, walking only one.

East Moline opens up at 0-1, while the Tigers start off 1-0, and host Oak Park-River Forest Friday evening at 5:15 p.m, then host Winnetka New Trier Saturday morning at 11:15 a.m., and play their first road game of the season on Tuesday afternoon at DeSmet Jesuit in a 4:30 p.m. start.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

More like this:

Edwardsville Tigers Defeat Alton 9-2 in Conference Opener

Apr 8, 2026

Bukovac Delivers Two Hits, Four RBIs, Tigers Break Open Game In Sixth with Six Runs, Wins Over Parkway South 9-3

3 days ago

Hunter Baugh Sparks Edwardsville With Three Hits And RBI In 11-3 Baseball Win At Alton  

Apr 10, 2026

Chiarodo Pitches Five Strong Innings In Relief: Sacred Heart-Griffin Edges Edwardsville Baseball 6-5

Mar 31, 2026

Ty Hunt Leads Edwardsville with Two Hits and Two RBIs as Tigers' Thwart Granite Rally, Defeats Warriors 7-4  

Mar 26, 2026