It was the type of game you might expect between two of the best high school baseball teams in the state.
The St. Anthony Bulldogs – ranked No. 3 in Class 2A – and the Father McGivney Giffins – ranked No. 1 in Class 1A – battled back and forth the entire game. In fact, seven innings wasn’t enough to determine a winner.
In the end, the host Griffins took advantage of two errors to push across two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning to come away with a 7-6 victory Thursday in Glen Carbon.
The Bulldogs never trailed until Isaac Wendler delivered a one-out, walk-off single in Father McGivney’s final at-bat. The inning started when the first two Griffin batters reached on errors. A sacrifice bunt produced the tying run and Wendler then lined a pitch up the middle to bring home the game-winner.
St. Anthony had taken the lead in the top of the 11th when Connor Roepke led off with a solo blast that sailed over the leftfield fence.
Roepke also gave the Bulldogs the lead in the sixth. With two outs, Aiden Lauritzen doubled, Brock Fearday was intentionally walked and Roepke followed with an RBI base hit that gave SAHS a 5-4 edge.
But Father McGivney, now 24-3 on the season, combined a single, two walks and an error to score the tying run in the bottom of the seventh and force extra innings.
Sam Link and Brock Fearday both drove in three runs Wednesday afternoon, helping the St. Anthony Bulldogs cruise to an 11-1, five-inning victory at Neoga.
Fearday helped the Bulldogs get off to a quick start. Beau Adams walked, Aiden Lauritzen was hit by a pitch and Fearday then unloaded, driving an 0-1 pitch over the rightfield fence to stake SAHS to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning.
Link added an RBI single later in that first inning and then delivered a two-run single in the team’s three-run third. Link finished with three hits.
The Bulldogs wrapped up the scoring with a three-run fifth.
Link also got the win. He pitched all five innings and allowed just two hits and the single run. He walked one and struck out three.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 18-1, will face a tough test today (Thursday). They will travel to Glen Carbon to face Father McGivney, the No. 1 ranked Class 1A baseball team in the state.
Brock Fearday turned in a strong, complete-game pitching performance and Connor Roepke delivered the big hit, leading the St. Anthony Bulldogs to a 3-1 win Wednesday at Windsor/Strew-Stras.
Fearday and the Hatchets’ Connor Manhart were locked into a pitcher’s duel through five innings. But the Bulldogs were able to break the 1-1 tie in the fifth.
Beau Adams singled, Aiden Lauritzen walked and Brock Fearday singled to load the bases with no outs. Roepke then came through with a base hit to drive in a pair of runs and put the Bulldogs on top to stay.
Fearday made that stand up. He allowed just one baserunner over the final two innings and struck out the side in the seventh to nail down the win. He allowed five hits and one run, while walking just one and striking out eight in his 82-pitch performance.
Both teams scored a single tally in the third. St. Anthony scored its run on a passed ball, while Ben Bridges had an RBI single for WSS.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 16-1, will return home Friday to face South Central.
Grand slams are rare.
And two in one game is virtually unheard of.
But that’s exactly what happened at Paul Smith Field on Friday afternoon.
Both Brock Fearday and Beau Adams belted home runs with the sacks jammed, leading the St. Anthony Bulldogs to a 16-1, four-inning win at home over South Central.
This game was decided in the first inning. The Bulldogs combined four hits, including two home runs, six walks and two errors to light up the scoreboard for 10 runs.
Adams’ grand slam was the highlight of the inning, but Fearday got his first of two round-trippers, capping the 10-run uprising with a two-run blast over the centerfield fence.
The hosts were back at it again in the second. Max Koenig drove in one run with a base hit, Brady Hatton added an RBI double and Fearday launched another pitch over the fence, this time to right field, clearing the bases for a six-RBI game.
Aiden Lauritzen pitched 2.2 innings to get the victory. He didn’t allow a hit, walked one and struck out two. Nick Ruholl pitched the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 17-1, will be home again Monday, facing North Clay.
Brock Fearday and Brady Hatton both belted homers and combined to drive in nine runs Monday afternoon, powering the St. Anthony Bulldogs to a 13-1, five-inning victory at Dieterich.
Hatton had a two-run double in the opening inning and Fearday delivered a two-run single in the four-run second, as the Bulldogs built a 6-0 lead after just two innings.
It was 7-0 when they came to bat in the fourth. Fearday blasted a 2-0 pitch over the rightfield fence for a three-run homer. After Connor Roepke singled, Hatton sailed a pitch over the leftfield fence to cap the six-run frame.
Four players had two hits in the 12-hit attack – Beau Adams, Fearday, Roepke and Hatton.
Hatton also got the win. He pitched the first four innings, allowing three hits and one run. He walked one and struck out one. Adams pitched the fifth.
The Bulldogs, now 15-1, will return to action today (Tuesday), traveling to Tolono Unity.
Page 3 of 27