De La Torre Cruz Comes Up With Three Hits, Four RBIs, Pippins, Herbeck Pitch Well, Tigers End Home Stand With 10-0 Win

EDWARDSVILLE - Audrey De La Torre Cruz came up big with three hits and four RBIs, while both Makaela Pippins and Sammie Herbeck pitched well in getting out of trouble as Edwardsville ended its extended home stand with its eighth win in a row, defeating Breese Mater Dei Catholic 10-0 in a softball game Friday afternoon, April 10, 2026, at the Edwardsville District 7 Sports Complex.

The Tigers ended their home stand 9-2, their only losses being a doubleheader sweep by Chatham Glenwood on March 27. Edwardsville has outscored its opposition 96-10 during its winning streak and has recorded four shutouts. But the focus after the game was on the pitcher's performance in the circle.

"Makaela and Sammie did a great job coming in," said Tigers' coach Caty Happe. "We walked a few more batters than we liked, but even with runners on, we did a great job keeping them from scoring, making plays when we needed to, and making pitches when we needed to.

The Tigers' defense pulled off a key double play in the top of the third to keep Mater Dei off the board, then came back to score four times in the home half to help put things away.

"They (Breese Mater Dei) had runners on a lot of times, and we kept them from scoring, and it's going to be big for us down the stretch," Coach Happe said.

Pippins pitched well, as did Herbeck, Coach Happe explained.

"I don't think Makaela had her best stuff today," Happe said, "and still found a way to be pretty good, right? Which is special, especially for a freshman, and the same thing for Sammie. The more innings we can get those two, the better, and the better off we'll be as a team moving forward."

Both Pippins and Herbeck are turning into dependable pitchers for Edwardsville, and combined with ace Marley Fox, have the potential to be a very dangerous pitching staff.

"They gained a lot of experience during this portion of the season," Coach Happe said. "This win is just going to help us."

Although their record doesn't indicate it right now, the Knights are considered a very good team in the area, and the win for the Tigers was a big thing.

"Their record doesn't show it, but their first pitcher (Emma Diekemper) is really good," Happe said. "And they compete, they play hard, and so, it's good to come out and get a win against them."

The Tigers resume competition against the Southwestern Conference next week, with a key game against O'Fallon, and Happe is looking ahead to the challenges.

"I'm so excited to see how we continue to compete throughout the rest of the season," Happe said.

Mater Dei had their first opportunity in the top of the third, starting with a lead-off walk to Rylee Alberternst, who went to second on a ground out by Taylor Robers. Albertermst was thrown out a third on the back end of a double play that turned out to be a turning point in the game, as the Tigers scored four times in the home half.

It started with one out, when Remi Werden and Amelia Wilfong hit back-to-back singles, with Werden stealing second and going to third on Wilfong's hit. Wilfong stole second, and Bryar Ellinger's RBI single scored Werden and put Wilfong on third. Ellinger then stole second, and Brooke Burris lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring WIlfong to make it 2-0 for Edwardsville, and sent Ellinger to third. Lily Stone drew a walk, and De La Torre Cruz tripled to right to score Ellinger and Stone to make it 4-0 before the inning ended.

In the Edwardsville fifth inning, Burris hit a fly ball to left that dropped in for a double, and one out later, an RBI single by De La Torre Crus brought in Burris to make it 5-0 for the Tigers. In the top of the sixth, the Knights got a lead-off walk from Carissa Rich, and one out later, Riley Rolves reached on a fielder's choice, with Rich beating the throw and going to third, with Rolves going to second. Angeleen Wesselman drew a walk to load the bases, but Herbeck got a force out at the plate, and a ground out to end the inning with Edwardsville still leading 5-0.

The Tigers then scored five runs, all with two out. Wilfong and Ellinger drew walks, and Burris reached on an error by the first baseman, allowing Wilfong to score and making it 6-0, with Ellinger going to third and Burris taking second. Stone doubled both runners home to make it 8-0, then De La Torre Cruz singled home Stone to make it 9-0, and after Marissa Wiley was hit by a pitch to put her on first, Maggie Bray reached on an error when the second baseman missed the ball, allowing De La Torre Cruz to score the game-ending run that gave Edwardsville the 10-0 win.

De La Torre Cruz led the way with her three hits and four RBIs, while Ellinger had two hits and an RBI, Wilfong came up with two hits, Stone had a hit and two RBIs, Burris added a hit and an RBI, and Werden came up with a hit.

Pippins went for four innings in the circle, and picked up the win, allowing only two hits while walking three and striking out two, while Herbeck threw the final two innings, walking two without giving up a hit.

Mater Dei is now 7-9, while Edwardsville improves to 15-7, and next plays at East St. Louis on Tuesday, then hosts O'Fallon on Thursday, and plays at Triad next Friday, all games starting at 4:30 p.m. The game at Triad kicks off a 10-game road trip for Edwardsville.

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