The next batter – Kevin Hall – then hit a grounder to SAHS third baseman Brock Fearday. He threw a perfect strike to catcher Angelo Mendella, who tagged out Maxey at the plate. Colton Fearday then struck out Jarrett Pasley to end the threat.

After that, Fearday was dominant. He scattered four more hits over the final six innings. He walked only one walk and struck out 14 in his 106-pitch, complete game.

“I didn’t think Colton was at his best at the beginning. He was a little out of sync,” Kreke noted. “But he really settled down. Fourteen strikeouts against a team that had just scored 10 runs against Altamont is impressive.

“Colton has that trait that’s hard to teach,” Kreke added. “He’s got that competitive spirit. That’s what puts him over the top.”

BSE’s Hall matched Fearday pitch-for-pitch for much of the game. The Bulldogs finally broke through in the fourth.

With two outs, Will Hoene lined a pitch over the leftfielder’s head for a double. Connor Roepke then drove a pitch into the left-centerfield gap that fell just out of reach of centerfield Pasley, who dove for the ball. Hoene raced home with the tying run.

St. Anthony then put together what proved to be the winning two-run rally in the fifth. Colton Fearday walked and courtesy runner Josh Blanchette advanced to third on a pair of wild pick-off throws by Hall. With two outs, it appeared the Bombers would get out of the inning, but Brock Fearday’s long fly ball was dropped, allowing Blanchette to score. Eli Link then followed with an RBI double to give the Bulldogs a two-run cushion.

Colton Fearday then retired the final six BSE batters – four by strikeout – to seal the win.

“I thought we played with too much pressure, especially at the plate,” Kreke said. “There’s no need to do that. You play hard and you either win or lose. Today, we did just enough to get the win.”

The Bulldogs had eight hits, with five of those coming from the bottom portion of the lineup. Link and Hoene both had a pair.

“I really believed the bottom part of our lineup had a chance to win this game for us today,” Kreke noted. “We’ve got a couple boppers down there that can really hit. I thought Will, Connor and Eli came through for us. Those were big hits.”

The Bulldogs, who improved to 19-9 on the season, will now play in the sectional, which they host. The St. Anthony Sectional will be played Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (weather permitting) at Community Park’s Paul Smith Field.

North Clay and Okaw Valley will play at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Bulldogs will then face Windsor/Stew-Stras at 4 p.m. Thursday. WSS advanced with a 3-0 win over Casey-Westfield in the final game of the Casey-Westfield Regional.

The sectional final will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“There are four really good teams in this sectional,” Kreke said. “It’s going to be fun being a part of that.”