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

A big offensive surge in the second inning helped Edwardsville build an early lead they maintained for the win.

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Mar 26, 2026 10:58 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE - Ty Hunt had two hits and drove in two runs, while Miller Dunnill pitched very effectively for Edwardsville, allowing only one hit in three innings of work, as the Tigers held off a Granite City late-inning rally to defeat the Warriors 7-4 in a baseball game played Wednesday afternoon at Tom Pile Field.

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Edwardsville ended a brief three-game skid, while Granite saw their losing streak extend to three games. Both teams won their opener last week.

Dunnill's showing on the mound was a very good one indeed, especially after a rough start, and it could be a good sign for the Tigers.

"I thought Miller Dunnill didn't really start off the game, as he walked the first guy," said Edwardsville head coach Tim Funkhouser, "but after a few batters, he really settled in. He's got good stuff, I love it when he challenges guys, and I thought he kind of set the tone after those first couple of batters, and did really well for us. I thought our at-bats were better. We're continuing to make adjustments, and it's going to take a little bit of time, but as guys accumulate more and see at-bats, and they adjust, I think it's going to be a lot better."

It was a very nice thing to get the win to end the three-game losing streak for the Tigers.

"We play a tough schedule," Funkhouser said, "and that's what we want, because we want to be in that arena each day to see how good we can become, and I thought our (Illinois Prep Baseball Report) kickoff classic was a great event. It was great to have all the teams down, and great to be able to play the quality teams that we were able to schedule. And then, being able to play this week, too, of the teams that we get to face, and learn more about ourselves. It's kind of part of the process of getting ready for (the Southwestern) conference, and for the postseason, et. cetera. It's a fun journey."

There is still much Edwardsville needs to work on, but for the most part, it's been a bit of smooth sailing, Funkhouser said.

"Well, we have a lot of things we need to get better at," Funkhouser said. "Baseball, in a nutshell, is a lot of failure. So, as we start to learn from our failure and process it quicker, hopefully, we'll have fewer failures and more success. That's kind of what baseball's about, and that'll be fun.

"We have a lot of guys who like to work hard, and they value the pregame stuff that we get, or tomorrow, we get to practice, and then get back after it again on Friday against one of the better teams in the Midwest in Francis Howell. We'll just keep valuing every rep we get in practice, and hopefully, get a little better each day."

The Vikings are indeed a very good team, and it will be a good challenge for the Tigers.

"Francis Howell head coach Tony Perkins has always got a lot of guys who like playing the game hard, and playing the right way," Funkhouser said. "That'll be fun to see, and hopefully, we'll get some good weather and get some good baseball played."

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Edwardsville scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning against Granite City, and it played a major role in deciding the outcome.

"We had one bad inning," said Granite head coach Scott Smallie, "it opened the floodgates, they took advantage of it, and we battled in the fifth, battled in the sixth, battled in the seventh, we got the tying run to the plate therein later in the innings, and we just didn't get that big hit."

Edwardsville scored five times in the second to help put things away early and it started with a base hit by Tyson Wampler, who went to second one out later when Andrew McCutchen was hit by a pitch. Max McMichael reached on an error by shortstop Tuff Bradley to load the bases, and on the play, Bradley was injured and was forced to leave the game.

Catcher Sam Noascomo then singled home Wampler and McCutchen to give Edwardsville a 2-0 lead. The runners advanced on a groundout, and Hunt singled in both pinch runner Rhys Gierich and McMichael to up the lead to 4-0. Hunt went to second on an error, then a RBI single by Hunter Baugh brought in Hunt to make it 5-0.

In the third, Wampler led off with a double and was tripled home by Nick Chiarodo to make the score 6-0, and in the Edwardsville fifth, McMichael brought in Gierich with an RBI hit to make the score 7-0. Meanwhile, Dunnill and Jax Andreas, who relieved Dunnill in the fourth, did a great job in shutting down the Warriors' lineup, holding Granite to one hit and two walks through five innings.

Granite broke through in the top of the sixth, when Schaefer drew a lead-off walk, stole second, and went to third on a ground out. Evan Brewer walked and was forced at second on a grounder by Andrew Willaredt, but Schaefer scored to make it 7-1. Terry and Aydin Cooper walked to load the bases, and Hunter Dickerson walked to force in Willaredt and make it 7-2.

In the seventh, after a one-out walk and a force play at second, Brewer singled to put Timo Bradley on second, both runners advancing on a passed ball. Willaredt's RBI single scored both runners to make it 7-4. Terry drew a walk, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch, but Cooper grounded out to first to end the game in favor of Edwardsville 7-4.

Hunt led the way for the Tigers with two hits and two RBIs, while Wampler came up with two hits, Noascomo had a hit and two RBIs. Baugh and Chiarodo had a hit and RBI each, and Gierich also had a hit. Dunnill started on the mound, and went three innings, giving up a hit, walked one and struck out two, while Andreas went for two innings, and was credited with the win, giving up a hit and fanning one.

Brady Hasquin threw for two innings and allowed two earned runs without a hit, walking two and striking out one. Roman Preciado went for 0.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on a hit, walking three, and striking out none, and Nathan Bukovac came on to get the final out to earn the save.

Both Brewer and Terry had two hits each for the Warriors, while Willaredt had a hit and three RBIs, Clark Goodman had a hit, and Dickerson drove in a run. Terry did start on the mound, and was charged with the loss, going for the first three innings and giving up six runs, two earned, on six hits, walking none and fanning five, while Schaefer went for the final three innings, allowing an earned run on three hits, walking none and striking out two.

Edwardsville is now 2-3, and continues its home stand Friday against Francis Howell, of Weldon Spring, Mo., meets Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin Catholic on Monday, then hosts Mascoutah next Wednesday, all games starting at 4:30 p.m.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.