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By Ken Roberts
Of The Post-Dispatch
With one swing of the bat apiece, Matt Bogle and Beau Moody made sure the Edwardsville High baseball team would be able to defend last year's title in the Illinois Class AA tournament.
Moody, the Tigers leftfielder, smacked a three-run homer and Bogle, the third baseman, hit a grand slam in a seven-run fifth inning while pitcher Chris Johnson threw a five-inning seven-hitter to lead the 1998 state champs to a 12-1 rout over Belleville East in the sectional championship of the Edwardsville Sectional at the Sports Complex on Monday.
The game was called after five innings because Edwardsville had a 10-run lead. Edwardsville (33-6) faces Winnetka New Trier, which beat Buffalo Grove 15-6, at 10 a.m. Friday in the quarterfinals at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva.
The semifinals are at 9 a.m. Saturday. The third-place game is at 3 p.m. with the championship game at 7 p.m.
East, trying to get to the quarterfinals for the first time in three years, ended its season at 33-4.
Johnson "has thrown some good ones and that was a nice performance by him," said Tigers coach Tim Funkhouser. "We needed that today, and he stepped up today."
East, known for its offense up and down the lineup, was kept off balance by Johnson's curve balls. The Lancers' best hitter, first baseman Andy Schutzenhofer, had the only RBI for East when he hit a one-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the fifth.
"Belleville East is a quality hitting club," Funkhouser said. "That just shows you how well Chris threw today. He really threw well and located well
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