Baugh Has Two Hits, Drives In One, Dunnill Fans Four In Brilliant Two-Hit Shutout As Tigers Blank Lancers 4-0

EDWARDSVILLE — Miller Dunnill allowed two hits over seven innings Tuesday, April 28, 2026, as Edwardsville opened its Southwestern Conference series against Belleville East with a 4-0 win at Tom Pile Field.

Dunnill scattered a second-inning single by Logan Walter and a fifth-inning infield single by J.J. Cates, helping Edwardsville raise its conference mark to 6-1 on an overcast, cool afternoon. Hunter Baugh had two hits and an RBI for the Tigers to lead the hitting crew.

“Miller was outstanding,” Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said. “I’m so proud of the way he went out and competed throughout the game. He’s got great stuff, and his confidence continues to grow as he has more success each time out. We really needed his performance today. We didn’t swing the bats much, and he held down the opponents really well. So, that was a big game for us.”

Funkhouser said Dunnill responded when he was tested.

“There were some times where he wasn’t as sharp,” Funkhouser said, “but really, for the most part, he was really good, or if he made one or two bad pitches, he was able to bounce back. He showed a lot of maturity that way. I’m really impressed; he’s been a key to our season.”

Edwardsville scored in the first inning after a fly ball to left by Andrew McCutchen dropped for an error. Hunter Baugh followed with a double to left, and Tyson Wampler’s sacrifice fly brought home McCutchen for a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers made it 2-0 in the third. Baugh walked, and after two more walks, he scored on a wild pitch.

Edwardsville added another run in the fourth. Ty Hunt walked to start the inning, and Zane Maxwell later walked. Hunt moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-0.

In the sixth, Maxwell had a two-out bunt single down the third-base line, McCutchen walked, and Baugh singled to center to score Maxwell for a 4-0 lead.

Baugh had two hits and an RBI for Edwardsville. Joel Fields and Maxwell had the other hits. Dunnill walked three and struck out four.

Belleville East coach Ryan Wiggs credited Dunnill while also pointing to the Lancers’ offense.

“We didn’t get to their bullpen at all. He pitched seven strong innings; he did a really good job,” Wiggs said. “I thought Nas and Aiden both did really well on our end, too, to keep us in it. But we didn’t do enough offensively, obviously.”

Nasir Fares took the loss for Belleville East, allowing three runs, one earned, on one hit while walking five and striking out three in three-plus innings. Aiden Briscoe pitched the rest of the way, giving up one earned run on three hits, with three walks and two strikeouts.

Funkhouser said recent weather disruptions were a concern for the Tigers’ timing at the plate.

“I was a little concerned about two days off,” Funkhouser said, “a Sunday off, and then Monday, we pretty much got sent home because of the weather. That messes with your timing, etc., but really, not many excuses, because we really should have had some better at-bats and swings on balls. We’ll just continue to practice and get better at that, but you’ve got to find ways to score when you're not doing that. We were able to do that enough today.”

The teams meet again on Thursday at Belleville East at 4:30 p.m.

“Yeah, right back at it,” Funkhouser said. “Every game’s a little different, so we’re fortunate to come away with today’s victory, and we’ll be back at it on Thursday.”

Also announced Tuesday, Edwardsville will host an IHSA Class 4A regional at Tom Pile Field.

“We knew that was coming,” Funkhouser said, “and we’ll just try to play the best we can to play to win the conference, get a seed, and then, when that time comes, we’ll hopefully have everything rolling, and be ready for it. So, that’s nice to know, because we’re familiar with the facility, etc. But it’s one of those things where we’ve got a lot to do before we get to that point.”

Edwardsville is 12-8. Belleville East is 8-14-1.

Edwardsville will host East Peoria on Friday, then host a doubleheader against East St. Louis next Tuesday, starting at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers also will host the Tiger Classic round-robin tournament May 8-9, facing Teutopolis May 8 at 7 p.m., Highland on May 9 at 10 a.m., and Chatham Glenwood at 12:30 p.m.

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