The Cardinals took advantage of some early wildness by St. Anthony starter Eli Levitt. The first three hitters reached base via two walks and a hit batter. After Levitt struck out Donnie Zimmerman, Carson Burkett walked on four straight pitches to force in the first run of the contest.

A throwing error allowed the second run to score and the Cardinals then strung together four hits, two as a result of the heavy winds that were present throughout the game. When the third out was recorded, North Clay had sent 12 batters to the plate and led 7-0.

But the Bulldogs wasted no time getting back in the game. Logan Antrim led off with a walk and when Kennan Walsh’s ground ball resulted in a throwing error, the runners were at second and third. Colton Fearday followed with a wind-blown single that dropped in shallow right field and drove in two runs and ended up at second base on the throw home. Fearday went to third on a wild pitch and scored when Eli Moore hit a fly ball.

But with two outs, Will Hoene banged a triple off the centerfield fence and scored with Angelo Mendella lined a base hit to left to get St. Anthony within 7-4.

When Zimmerman led off the second inning with a base hit for North Clay, Kreke made a pitching change and brought in Fearday.

“This was Levitt’s first pitching start,” Kreke said of his sophomore hurler. “He had some control problems, but he also made some good pitches and we didn’t make some plays behind him. I won’t hesitate to bring him back and pitch again.”

Zimmerman eventually scored on an error, but Fearday completely changed the tone of the game.

The lefty pitched the final six innings and allowed just three base runners – one walk and two hits, including a home run by Zimmerman in the fourth. But after Zimmerman’s blast, Fearday set down the final 12 batters in order.

“You saw the experience, growth and maturation process of Colton,” Kreke said. “He’s a real competitor and wants the ball in that situation.

“He has a lot of movement on his pitches and he was hitting his spots,” Kreke added. “When he came in, he got some quick outs and was able to shut them down after we scored. He really took the wind out of their sails.”

After sending nine batters to the plate in the first, the Bulldogs batted around again in the third and took the lead.

Moore started the six-run uprising with a long home run that easily cleared the leftfield fence. Brody Niebrugge then walked, Hoene got another one of those wind-aided base hits and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Niebrugge scored when Eli Link’s ground ball was booted for an error.

Then with two outs, Antrim delivered an RBI single and Kennan Walsh capped the inning with a two-run blast that soared well over the rightfield fence.

“Eli and Kennan smoked those balls,” Kreke noted. “Wind or no wind, those are both gone. Overall, I thought we squared up a lot of balls today. The kids are trusting the process. They’re going up the middle or going the other way, but can still turn on the fastball.”

The Bulldogs scored their final run in the fourth. Moore singled, went to third on a base hit by Niebrugge and scored when Hoene hit into a double play.

Fearday took care of the rest by dominating on the mound. In his six innings of work, he allowed just the two hits and one run, while walking one and striking out eight.

Walsh, Moore and Hoene each finished with a pair of hits in the 11-hit attack, while Walsh, Fearday and Moore each drove in two runs.

“With that wind, I didn’t feel comfortable until the last out was made,” Kreke admitted. “Any time you score 11 runs against North Clay, that says something. They have a very sound team and an excellent program. This was a nice win for us today.”

The Bulldogs stayed unbeaten and improved to 6-0 on the spring season. They are scheduled to play Wednesday at Casey-Westfield.