By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

It was simply another fantastic baseball game between St. Anthony and Altamont.

Whether it’s for a conference win or to advance in the post-season, these two teams always battle each other to the very end.

And Friday’s contest was no exception.

Both teams led in the game, but the Indians put the final surge together, scoring single tallies in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game and set the stage for a dramatic eighth-inning finish.

That came off the bat of Jared Hammer, who sent a blast down the left-field line. There was never a doubt if it was far off. The only question was would it stay fair?

It did and the celebration in the Altamont dugout erupted. Hammer’s solo home run gave the Indians a walk-off 5-4 victory and also secured their second consecutive National Trail Conference Tournament title.

“You just come to expect this type of game,” St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke said. “It was two good teams; two rivals going at it. It just didn’t work out for us.

“I hurt for our boys,” Kreke added. “We were just one pitch away from winning this thing. But give credit where credit is due. Coach (Alan) Whitt always has his team ready to play every game. And give credit to Hammer. He put a good swing on it and delivered the big hit.”

The Bulldogs were, indeed, one strike, one pitch or one out away from bringing the championship plaque back to St. Anthony High School. But Brayden Stuemke’s clutch single brought home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh that sent to game to extra innings.

It appeared as if the Bulldogs might escape that seventh-inning jam. Kaden Eirhart led off with a ground ball up the middle. SAHS shortstop Eli Levitt made a nice play to field the ball, but the speedy Eirhart beat the throw to first for an infield single.

The Altamont senior, who started on the mound and pitched the first seven innings, went to second on a wild pitch and then thought about scoring when Logan Cornett singled to right. But Eirhart got caught in a rundown between third and home and was tagged out.

Cornett advanced to second on the throw home and went to third on a wild pitch. The next Indians’ batter struck out, but Stuemke kept the game alive, lining a base to left to bring in the run that knotted the score 4-4 and set the stage for Hammer’s eighth-inning heroics.

St. Anthony took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Kennan Walsh reached base on a bunt single and came all the way around to score when Colton Fearday’s fly ball was misplayed for an error.

The Bulldogs had a chance to add to their lead in the top of the third. Beau Adams led off with a single, went to second on a balk and to the third on a wild pitch. Logan Antrim then laid down a bunt along the third base line. It appeared as if Adams would score on the play, but Eirhart bounced off the mound, gloved the ball and made a perfect throw to the catcher, who tagged out a sliding Adams.

The host Indians took a 2-1 lead in the third. Eirhart walked and Cornett singled to get things going. A wild pitch accounted for the first run and two more runners came across on an error.

The Bulldogs regained the lead with a big fifth inning. Josh Blanchette led off with an infield single that glanced off Eirhart’s glove on the mound. Beau Adams grounded out, but only because of a sensational play by Altamont shortstop Bradin Baucum, who went deep into the hole to field the ball and then made a strong throw to first.

But with one out, Logan Antrim walked and Walsh then lined a base hit into left-centerfield. His single drove home Blanchette. On the throw back into the infield, Antrim and Walsh advanced to second and third base. Fearday then ripped a pitch down the right-field line for a two-run double that put SAHS on top 4-2.

“We got that two-run lead and gave ourselves a shot,” Kreke noted. “But Altamont made some winning plays today. On that safety squeeze in the third, Eirhart made a phenomenal play that saved a run. And then that play by Baucum was unbelievable. They are good players and they made some outstanding plays that made a difference in this game.”

And as Altamont baseball teams tend to do every year, they refused to quit and began their comeback in the bottom of the sixth. An unearned run narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the sixth and the Indians completed their rally with decisive runs over the next two innings.

Baucum, who relieved in the eighth inning, got credit for the win. Seth Hotze pitched the final 3.1 innings for St. Anthony and took the loss. Fearday pitched the first four innings for the Bulldogs and also went 3-for-4 at the plate.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how our team finished the season,” Kreke said. “We have five underclassmen in the lineup today. At the beginning of the year, if you had told me we’d be in the championship game, I might not have believed you. But we’ve come a long ways. I thought we really came together and were playing our best ball at the end, which is what every coach wants to see.

“We did have some ups and downs this fall, but we gained some valuable experience,” Kreke added. “I’m already excited about what this team can do next spring. We’ve got a lot of talent here and I think they’ll be ready to go.”

The Indians, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, finished the fall season with a 16-7 record. The Bulldogs, the No. 3 seed, were 10-10.