It’s still early in the spring season, but St. Anthony remained unbeaten Thursday after posting a 14-4, five-inning victory at home over St. Elmo/Brownstown.
The Bulldogs had just seven hits, but received four walks and had seven hitters reach base after being hit by a pitch. And a pair of five-run innings didn’t hurt either.
SAHS and SEB were tied 2-2 when the Bulldogs came to bat in the bottom of the second inning. Angelo Mendella was hit by a pitch and Eli Link followed with an RBI triple to put St. Anthony on top for good. Another hit batter and an error brought home the second run of the inning, followed by a two-run triple off the bat of Kennan Walsh and a run-scoring single by Colton Fearday.
The Eagles closed to within 7-4 in the top of the third, but the Bulldogs responded with another five-run frame.
And it was déjà vu.
Mendella, again, was hit by a pitch to start things off and, again, Link ripped a triple to bring him home. Eli Levitt and Logan Antrim were both hit by a pitch to load the bases. St. Anthony then scored four more times without a hit. Walsh walked with the bases loaded to force home one run, Fearday had an RBI groundout, a wild pitch brought home a run and Brody Niebrugge’s ground ball allowed the final run to come in, increasing the lead to 12-4.
The Bulldogs added single tallies in the fourth and fifth. Niebrugge’s RBI single in the fifth produced the 10-run lead and ended the game.
Walsh and Link both finished with two hits to lead the seven-hit attack. Walsh had three RBI, while Link and Fearday both drove home a pair.
Seth Hotze pitched the first three innings to get the win. He allowed three hits and four runs, while walking four and striking out three. Josh Blanchette pitched the final two innings and gave up just one hit, while striking out four.
The Bulldogs are now 4-0. They will return to action today (Friday) with a home game against Altamont. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.