It was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel.
St. Anthony’s Gavin Braunecker and North Clay’s Tyson Jones matched each other pitch-for-pitch through six scoreless innings Friday.
But the Bulldogs took advantage of a key error and Kaden Fearday then delivered a clutch two-out hit, helping St. Anthony tally four times in the seventh, en route to a 4-1 road victory.
Braunecker allowed only five hits and one unearned run, while walking five and striking out four in his 105-pitch, complete-game performance. North Clay had two runners on base in three different innings, but the Bulldogs lefty continually made good pitches and prevented the Cardinals from getting a key hit.
Jones, meanwhile, quieted the St. Anthony bats, giving up only a double by Kaden Fearday through six innings. He walked four and fanned three in 6.2 innings of work.
In the seventh, Logan Antrim led off with a double and Colton Fearday walked to get St. Anthony rally going. With one out, Angelo Mendella reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. With two outs, Jack Hoene then hit a ground ball that was misplayed, allowing two runs to score, and Kaden Fearday followed with a base hit to drive home two more.
North Clay scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Bulldogs improved to 10-5 on the season. They will play today (Saturday) in the North Clay Showcase.