That was just the start. The Bulldogs were back on the attack in the third inning.

Brock Fearday ripped a double over the centerfielder’s head and Henry Brent followed with a ringing double to right to bring Fearday home. After an error allowed Alex Mayer to reach base, Charley Spour launched the next pitch well over the leftfield fence for a three-run homer to increase the lead to 8-0.

“Charley has good power,” Kreke noted. “He’s been putting some good at-bats together for us in the No. 7 hole. This was his third start for us and his first varsity home run.”

The Bulldogs made it 9-0 in the fourth when Mayer bounced a base hit through a drawn-in infield.

But Kreke admitted he never felt comfortable, even with that big lead.

“We know they can swing the bats very well,” he said. “The top of their order, especially, is very good.”

The Shoes had plenty of scoring opportunities, putting runners on base in every inning but the second. They also reached double digits in hits, finishing with 10. But the inability to deliver key hits in several situations resulted in 10 runners stranded on the base paths, including six in scoring position.

But the hosts finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. An infield single by Carter Hoene, a walk to Addis and another infield hit by Dawson Hoene, loaded the bases with two outs. Davin Worman that drove a 2-1 pitch up the middle for a base hit, which drove in two runners. And when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Dawson Hoene came all the way around to score, as well, trimming the lead to 9-3.

“We wanted to come out and play a good game, but they smacked us in the face early,” THS coach Justin Fleener said. “I liked how the kids never quit. But we needed some more hits with guys on base. And we had some opportunities.”

The Shoes left the bases loaded in the first inning and stranded two more in the second. After the three-run fourth, T-Town got a double by Jason Kreke and two walks to load the bases again – this time with no outs. But the next three batters all struck out to end the threat.

“You can’t leave the bases loaded like that or strand 10 runners or strike out 14 times against a quality team like this,” Fleener added. “We had some good chances, but Brock was able to squash most of them.”

The THS coach was referring to St. Anthony’s starting pitcher, Brock Fearday. The senior righthander went the first five innings and threw 108 pitches. He gave up seven hits and three runs, while walking three and striking out 12.

“This was the first game we let him go the full pitch count,” Kreke explained. “Some of our guys were coming off a long basketball season, so we try to pace them.

“Brock had a good fastball today and his curve ball was sharp,” Kreke added. “He did a good job keeping them off-balance. But you could tell he started to labor a little in the fourth and fifth innings.”

“You can’t get behind early in the count when Brock’s pitching,” Fleener said. “He has good velocity on his fastball and his breaking ball was really good today. He’s got multiple pitches, and he can throw them all for strikes.”

St. Anthony added single tallies in the fifth and seventh to account for its final two runs. Will Fearday, who had four hits, doubled to lead off the fifth and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Hatton added an RBI single in the seventh.

The Shoes scored runs in the sixth and seventh. Austin Borries, who went 3-for-3 at the plate, had an RBI single in the sixth and Carter Hoene belted a lead-off homer in the seventh.

Addis pitched the first two innings and took the loss for the Shoes. Caleb Deters pitched the third and Worman took care of the final four innings.

The Bulldogs had hitting up and down their lineup, with eight batters getting at least one hit. In addition to Will Fearday having a multi-hit day, Brock Fearday collected three hits and Hatton and Brent both had two.

“We’ve been looking for a day like this all season,” Kreke noted. “With our strength of schedule, we’ve faced some really good teams. But you have to apply what you learn from those games and be ready to go. Getting 15 hits is a good sign.”

In addition to Borries having three hits, Dawson Hoene, Worman and Carter Hoene each had a pair for Teutopolis.

The Shoes lost for only the second time this season and are now 14-2. They will return to action Thursday at Mt. Zion.

The Bulldogs improved to 10-5. They will play again today (Wednesday) at Charleston.

“They are the team people are going to have beat when postseason comes around,” Fleener said. “They’re the team on top of the mountain right now.”

Kreke, however, says his team needs to keep improving.

“I’m not overly pleased right now,” he admitted. “Our last eight games have been a rough stretch. There’s always room to get better and to grow. You want to be playing your best at the end of the season. I thought today was a real good start.”