EHS Baseball Struggles to Meet Expectations

Sophomore+Joseph+Chiarodo+hits+the+ball+during+a+April+6+game+against+OFallon+at+the+District+7+Sports+Complex.

Abbie Miller

Sophomore Joseph Chiarodo hits the ball during a April 6 game against O’Fallon at the District 7 Sports Complex.

Destiny Albrecht, Staff writer

Tigers Baseball starts off with a bang in the beginning of the season, winning several games until their defeats during the Spring Break.

EHS lost against Father McGivney’s Griffins on April 1 and the loss to the O’Fallon Panthers on April 6 didn’t make things better.

The team walked on both fields with their heads high, ready to capitalize on their “importance of on-field execution,” according to the Intelligencer.

They ended up losing 6-4 against McGivney and 2-0 against O’Fallon. Head coach Tim Funkhouser wasn’t all too pleased either way.

We didn’t play the game within the game really well and it caught up to us,” Funkhouser told the Intelligencer.

The shock is still present after the McGivney game. EHS wasn’t expecting the match to be so strenuous in terms of play.

“We haven’t really been meeting some of the expectations that we have set,” senior Kayden Jennings said. “But, it’s still early in the season, and you can tell everyday that we are figuring more things out.”

While the recovery from the McGivney game still takes place, the friendly rivalry between the Tigers and Panthers simmers as both teams tie 1-1 in the Southwest Conference as well.

The tension is building and EHS is determined to play the best they can and end on top.

“I think it took us a little to mold into our new team,” Jennings said, “but now we are starting to become that brotherhood that we had last year.”

Funkhouser plans to practice and be prepared from this moment forward.

“We just need to compete better,” Funkhouser told the Intelligencer. “We had a lot of pitches within the game that we didn’t take competitive at-bats. We need to do better than that. If we don’t, we know what the result will be.”

According to Jennings, there are many sophomores that have “taken big steps into the lineup,” working hard to make a name for themselves.

Some seniors are doing the same.

“Logan Geggus has been great for us on the mound after being injured most of last year,” Jennings said. 

There are many games left of the season, and EHS plans to make the most of them.

In the future, head coach of O’Fallon’s baseball team, Joe Bauer, believes that he predicts the teams will get to face one another again, according to the Intelligencer.

“I think if we see them in the playoffs again, we just need to come out and jump on whoever’s pitching,” Jennings said. “Be aggressive and play with some energy.”