De La Torre Cruz Has Two Hits, Two RBIs, Fox Pitches Five Strong Innings,  Fans Six, Tigers Post 5-1 Win Over Maroons

EDWARDSVILLE - Audrey De La Torre Cruz had two hits and two RBIs on the day, while Marley Fox threw five strong innings inside the circle, giving up one run on three hits while striking out six, as Edwardsville opened its Southwestern Conference season with a 6-1 win over Belleville West Thursday afternoon, March 26, 2026, at the Edwardsville District 7 sports complex.

The win was the Tigers' fourth consecutive, and the team is starting to click on all cylinders.

"It's been good to see," said Edwardsville head coach Caty Happe. "I felt all around, we looked confident, whether it was at the plate, pitching, or in the field."

Fox pitched a particularly strong game in her stint and is looking to become the Tigers' ace hurler.

"It is awesome to see how she is pitching, trying to work her way back in," Happe said, "not overuse her early, so it was nice to see her out there."

Tigers' catcher Remi Werden picked off two runners on alert plays and was outstanding on the defensive side of the game.

Werden continues to impress with her defensive skills and her instincts behind the plate.

"She's had a lot of experience back there," Happe said, "and it helps."

The hitting is also starting to come around as well, and the Tigers are off to another good start to their season, and are now 7-5 on the year.

The Maroons came in with some close games, particularly against Columbia in a recent game, and came in focused on their hitting, and for the most part, it worked.

"We came in coming off of some close games against Columbia the other day," said West head coach Kassandra Schaab, "and against Chatham (Glenwood) before that. So coming in, we were focused on just hitting up and down the lineup, and I think we did that today. I'm proud of that execution in the box, there."

It didn't take West very long to jump out on top, as lead-off hitter Elaina Jenkins singled on the first pitch of the game, and was sacrificed to second by Daijah Jackson. Ella Weaver singled home, Jenkins with what turned out to be the Maroons' only run, putting West on top 1-0. The inning ended when Werden picked off courtesy runner Ava Hilpert, who was tagged out in a rundown between first and second.

Edwardsville retaliated with three in the bottom of the frame, starting when Bryar Ellinger was hit by a pitch, and went to second on Amelia Wilfong's scratch single to short. Brooke Burris doubled over the center fielder's head to score Ellinger and tie the game 1-1. Lily Stone hit a sacrifice fly to right, with Wilfong tagging up and scoring to give Edwardsville a 2-1 lead. De La Torre Cruz then singled home Burris to up the Tigers' lead to 3-1.

In the home half of the third, with two out, Stone singled up the middle, stole second, and scored on a sharp single up the middle by De La Torre Cruz to make it 4-1. In the top of the fourth, Werden picked off Hilpert again, trying to steal second, getting her caught in another rundown where she was tagged out at second. In the bottom of the inning, Werden stroked a one-out single to left and was sacrificed to second by Sophie Antonini. Courtesy runner Kaitlyn Hatfield scored on an Ellinger triple to the fence in right to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead. Ellinger then scored when Wilfong reached on an error by the third baseman to give Edwardsville a 6-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Fox kept West batters on their toes at one point, retiring six in a row, and pitched very effectively, getting six strikeouts along the way. Makaela Pippins took over in the sixth and was also effective, getting Jenkins to force Molly Mehrtens to end the game in favor of Edwardsville 6-1.

De La Torre Cruz led the Tigers with two hits and two RBIs, while Burris had two hits and an RBI, Werden came up with two hits, both Ellinger and Stone had a hit and an RBI each, and Wilfong came up with a hit. Fox went five innings in the circle to earn the win, allowing an earned run on three hits, walking one, and striking out six. Pippins threw the final two innings, allowing a hit while walking two and fanning one.

Weaver had a hit and the Maroons' only RBI, while Jenkins, Kara Kramer, and Mehrtens also had hits. Kramer went all the way in the circle, going six innings, and giving up six runs, five earned, on nine hits, walking none and striking out four.

West is now 1-4. losing its fourth straight game, and next plays at Dupo on Monday, and at Belleville East Apr. 2, then hosts Waterloo on Apr.8 with all three games starting at 4:30 p.m.

Edwardsville goes to 7-5, and hosts Glenwood in a doubleheader on Friday, with the first game starting at 4:30 p.m., then continues its home stand Monday against Oswego, and against Collinsville Tuesday, both games also starting at 4:30 p.m.

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