Colton Fearday drove in the tying runs and then raced home with the winning tally on a ground ball in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the St. Anthony Bulldogs a walk-off 3-2 win Monday over Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City in the a quarterfinal game of the National Trail Conference Tournament.

The No. 2-seeded Bulldogs needed that three-run rally to avoid falling to the upset-minded Bobcats, the seventh seed. St. Anthony had defeated CHBC 14-4 just a week ago.

Through seven innings, the two teams were hooked up in a pitcher’s duel. St. Anthony’s Brody Niebrugge and CHBC’s Silas Buzzard both turned in outstanding performances on the mound.

The Bulldogs had base runners in every inning but the sixth, but were unable to deliver a key hit to bring a runner home. Niebrugge, meanwhile, limited the Bobcats to one hit – a lead-off single by Wes Radloff in the second inning – through seven innings of work.

Eli Levitt came on to pitch for SAHS in the eighth and CHBC mounted a scoring threat quickly. Drake Davis reached on an error and Carson Evans walked to start things off. A fielder’s choice and a passed ball had runners at second and third when Quaid Schlanser delivered a base hit, driving in two to put the Bobcats on top.

But the Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the frame. Brady Hatton singled and Angelo Mendella walked to get the rally started. Colton Fearday then lined a pitch into rightfield and raced all the way to third base with a game-tying two-run triple.

After a short pop up for the first out, Niebrugge grounded a pitch to the shortstop. Fearday streaked home ahead of the throw for the winning run, earning St. Anthony a berth in the semifinals.

Niebrugge struck out nine and walked three, while throwing 100 pitches. Buzzard allowed seven hits, while striking out three and walking two.

The Bulldogs, who improved to 15-5, will now face Windsor/Stew-Stras. That game will be played at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Evergreen Park.

The other semifinal will feature Altamont at North Clay, also set for 4 p.m. Wednesday in Louisville. The fifth-seeded Indians advanced with a 3-1 win over No. 4 South Central; and the top-seeded Cardinals beat No. 8 Dieterich 10-0.