The race for the Southwestern Conference baseball crown sharpened Tuesday, revealing one team on the outs and two in contention for the top prize.
Belleville West rallied for eight runs in the sixth and seventh innings -- the big blow being a grand slam from senior Mitch Matecki -- to beat Edwardsville 13-9 at Tom Pile Field.
At O'Fallon, Panthers starter Miles Quintal handcuffed Belleville East on five hits in a 4-1, six-inning victory. The game was called in the top of the seventh because of rain and lightning.
O'Fallon (25-6) improved to 10-3 in the SWC and can clinch at least a tie for the conference crown with a victory Thursday at Collinsville. West (18-9, 9-3) is a half-game behind the Panthers with two league games remaining against Granite City today and Alton on Thursday.
Waiting backstage if the two leaders stumble is Edwardsville (21-8, 9-4), which plays its final league game at Belleville East on Thursday.
"This win is only as good as tomorrow's game," said West coach Lee Meyer. "We have a lot of confidence right now and we did what we had to do against Edwardsville to win that game and compete for this conference crown. Now we have to back it up with Granite City. We know in this conference, anything can happen."
O'Fallon coach Jason Portz concurred.
"We just have to go out and play and prepare like we have all year," Portz said. "I feel like our preparation has been great as a team. They just come out and go about their business the same way every day. We'll go out and prepare for Collinsville like we know how and see where the cards fall."
Belleville West 13, Edwardsville 9
Trailing 8-5 after five innings, the Maroons tied it in the sixth on a two-run double by Tyler Burk and an RBI single by Brett Kobernus.
In the seventh, sophomore Luke Matecki's RBI single scored the go-ahead run for the Maroons. His older brother, Mitch, provided some big-time insurance with a grand slam.
"In the sixth and seventh, we just hit the ball really well," said Meyer, whose club had 15 hits. "That's encouraging, especially against Edwardsville's pitching staff."
Mitch Matecki drove in six runs, Burk was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Joe Bendick had three hits for the Maroons.
West ace Otto Roberts struck out nine but was battered for eight runs on nine hits. The Tigers ripped five doubles and three home runs off the Creighton University recruit.
"Otto didn't pitch that bad -- he struck out nine -- but you have to give credit to Edwardsville's hitters," Meyer said. "Everybody expects him to go out there and shut people down, but Edwardsville does a good job with the bats. It was a game where both teams really wanted to win, and we were fortunate enough to do it."
Andy Burns, Daniel Caulk, Zach Frey and Michael Failoni all homered for Edwardsville.
O'Fallon 4, Belleville East 1 (6 innings)
Quintal improved to 8-1 with a tidy effort against the Lancers.
After issuing his only two walks in the first, Quintal methodically worked his way through East's lineup, letting his defense do much of the dirty work as he fanned just two.
"He was very good early in innings," Portz said. "His ability to go out and control the game with his off-speed stuff and pitch low in the zone was key. After that first inning, he coasted pretty well."
Quintal's only rough spot came in the third when Erik Watkins drove in East's lone run on a RBI single.
"We really didn't get too many good scoring chances," said East coach Todd Blomberg. "Quintal did a really good job. He had some quick innings. We hit the ball pretty good, but they made all the plays they needed to make."
East starter Kenny May pitched effectively, holding the Panthers to one run through the first four innings. The sophomore benefited from some superb defense by third baseman Josh Hoguet, who made four nifty plays.
"Josh Hoguet was like the second coming of Brooks Robinson today," Portz said.
O'Fallon forged a 3-1 lead in the fifth on an RBI double by Caleb Piatt and RBI single by Dakota Curlee. In the sixth, John Pilackas' third hit of the night drove in O'Fallon's fourth run.
"I was really proud of Kenny's performance," Blomberg said. "I know he ended up getting the loss, but I thought he really competed."
Contact reporter Rod Kloeckner at rkloeckner@bnd.com or 239-2663.
