By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

After the first inning was over, the proverbial “fat lady” wasn’t singing yet.

But she was certainly starting to warm up.

As it turned out, she had a rather long wait.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs erupted for eight first-inning runs to grab a big early lead Monday and appeared headed to an easy win in an opening-round game of the National Trail Conference Baseball Tournament.

But somebody forgot to tell Neoga the game was over.

The Indians battled all the way and managed to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning.

But thanks to freshman Connor Roepke, the Bulldogs managed to survive and advance. Roepke lined a 1-1 pitch up the middle for a two-out, walk-off RBI single, sending SAHS into the semifinals with an 11-10 victory.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we lived to play another day,” said St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke. “My hat’s off to Neoga. They really battled tonight. I knew they would continue to compete.”

After the Indians got an RBI single from Kaden Young and scored a second run when that base hit got past the St. Anthony outfield, their comeback from a one-time seven-run deficit was complete.

But that just set the stage for Roepke’s heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning. Colton Fearday led off the inning when he lined the firsts pitch he saw into centerfield for a base hit. Freshman Beau Adams went in to run for him. After the next two batters were retired, Adams stole second base.

That brought in Roepke, who responded with the game-winning hit. Neoga centerfielder Adam Fearday made strong throw to the plate, but Adams was able to avoid the tag and slide across the plate.

“I couldn’t be happier for Connor,” Kreke admitted. “I felt good when he was coming up. He’s just a freshman, but he’s been one of our better hitters the last half of the season. He’s really worked hard. Connor is just a good ballplayer.”

It ended a game that most thought would be over much sooner, especially after that opening inning.

Neoga scored a single tally in the top of the first, but the Bulldogs wasted no time in responding.

Lead-off hitter Logan Antrim got his first of four hits, lining a ball off the centerfielder’s glove for a triple. Kennan Walsh then laid down a perfect bunt for an infield single that also drove in Antrim.

But that was just the beginning.

Eli Moore then ripped a pitch to the right field fence for an RBI triple and Brody Niebrugge grounded a ball deep into the hole between short and third for an infield single that brought in Moore to make it 3-1.

Neoga’s defense then fell apart, committing four errors that allowed four more runs to score. Antrim capped the inning with a run-scoring single that plated the eighth run. All total, the Bulldogs sent 11 batters to the plate.

“That inning shows how we want to play,” Kreke noted. “We want to hit, run and steal bases. That’s fun baseball and it’s the type of baseball that brings everybody together.”

The Indians scored two runs in the top of the third, but St. Anthony came back with two tallies of its own, and it all started after two were out.

Josh Blanchette walked, Antrim ripped an RBI double and Walsh followed with a blast that sailed over the rightfielder’s head for a run-scoring triple, giving SAHS its seven-run lead back, 10-3.

But over the next four innings, the Indians continued to hit the ball and have runners all over the base paths.

They started with a three-run third that featured  a two-run single by Isaac Walk and a run-scoring base hit by Will O’Dell. Neoga scored two more in the sixth and had the bases loaded with just one out when Bryar Hennessey hit a soft liner back to St. Anthony pitcher Colton Fearday, who then threw to third base for a double play that ended the threat.

Then in the seventh, the Indians tied the game and had the potential go-ahead run on third base with just one out. But Antrim, St. Anthony’s fourth pitcher of the game, got a strike out and pop up to end the threat.

Neoga finished with 13 hits in the contest, but left 14 runners stranded on base. St. Anthony had 11 hits. The first four batters in the Bulldogs lineup accounted for eight of those, plus combined for six RBI and five runs scored.

“Offensively, the top of the order did a great job, but we’ve got to clean some things up defensively,” Kreke said, referring to the four errors that accounted for five unearned runs.  “We have to field the ball better.

“Pressure is a privilege,” Kreke added. “Nobody is going to back down when they play us. Since they left that many runners on base, we were able to get some timely outs. But we have to be able to close the door on the mound and in the field.”

The Bulldogs, who improved to 9-9 and are the No. 3 seed in the tournament, will travel to Kinmundy Wednesday and face the South Central Cougars, the no. 2 seed. Game time is 4 p.m.

The two teams met a little over a week ago. St. Anthony jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but South Central came to win 7-4.

Other Opening-Round Scores

Altamont 11, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 1

South Central 10, Dieterich 0

North Clay 2, Windsor/Stew-Stras 0