Neoga scored two first-inning runs Thursday afternoon and made them stand up, posting a 3-1 victory at St. Anthony.

The Indians combined a lead-off double by Nate Lacy, two walks, three passed balls, a balk and a sacrifice fly by Brady Reynolds to take a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. Neoga used two singles and an error to add an insurance tally in the third.

The Bulldogs scored their only run in the bottom of the first. Eli Moore led off with a triple and scored on a ground out by Logan Antrim.

St. Anthony had plenty of opportunities to score more runs, putting runners on base in six of the seven innings, including loading the bases in the second. But the Bulldogs left nine runners stranded and had one runner thrown out at the plate. St. Anthony finished with four hits – two by Brody Niebrugge – and received six walks.

Niebrugge pitched just the first inning, but took the loss. Kennan Walsh pitched four innings and Josh Blanchette the final two.

The Bulldogs dipped to 6-3 on the season. They play again Friday at Stew-Stras/Windsor.

By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

It was just another ho-hum baseball game between St. Anthony and Altamont.

Not.

When these two teams play, it doesn’t seem to matter what happens in the early or middle portions of the game. It always comes down to the final at-bat.

Such was the case Saturday morning at Paul Smith Field in Effingham.

The host Bulldogs exploded for eight runs in the fourth and held a seemingly comfortable nine-run lead. But the Indians responded with a nine-run outburst of their own, setting up another last-inning finish.

Earlier in the week, St. Anthony scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a one-run lead, only to have Altamont push across two runs in the bottom of the frame to post the win.

It was the Bulldogs turn Saturday.

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Logan Antrim was almost unhittable Tuesday afternoon.

St. Anthony’s senior lefthander was in total control. He allowed just one hit and struck out nine and his teammates provided plenty of offensive support in a 10-0, five-inning victory at home over Dieterich.

Antrim threw 91 pitches. He gave up a fourth-inning single to Bushur and walked four.

At the plate, the Bulldogs banged out 11 hits and scored in four consecutive innings, tallying three runs in the third, fourth and fifth. Colton Fearday had three hits, Kennan Walsh two and Brody Niebrugge ripped a two-run homer.

After Walsh got St. Anthony on the scoreboard in the second with a two-out RBI double, the Bulldogs scored three times in each of the next three frames.

Niebrugge blasted his two-run homer in the third and Will Hoene added an RBI single. After scoring three times in the fourth on just one hit, the Bulldogs ended the game with a three-run fifth. Eli Link, Eli Moore and Fearday each collected run-scoring singles.

St. Anthony improved to 6-2 on the fall season. The Bulldogs will play at home Thursday against Neoga and then travel to Stew-Stras/Windsor on Friday.

The Altamont Indians continue to find ways to post late-inning wins over St. Anthony.

Whether it’s been during the regular season or post-season, the Indians have been able to push across late runs to come away with several victories over the past couple seasons.

Such was the case again Tuesday afternoon.

Altamont combined one hit, three walks and two passed balls to score twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a 6-5 victory at home over the Bulldogs.

St. Anthony’s Colton Fearday ripped a bases-clearing double in the top of the seventh that capped a four-run rally and put the Bulldogs on top 5-4.

But Tyler Robbins led off the bottom of the frame with a double that sparked the Indians comeback. Logan Cornett and Brayden Stuemke both walked to load the bases and two passed balls allowed the tying and winning runs to cross the plate.

Altamont led most of the game. Mason Robinson’s RBI double helped the Indians grab a 2-0 lead in the first. They made it 3-0 in the second and added a tally in the sixth on a run-scoring double by Jared Hammer.

The Bulldogs pushed across a run in the fourth. Eli Moore doubled and Fearday brought him home with a base hit.

In the top of the seventh, Kyle Stewart walked, Josh Blanchette was hit by a pitch and Kennan Walsh singled to load the bases for SAHS. With one out, Moore walked to force in the first run. Then with two outs, Fearday lined a pitch into right for a double that drove in three runs and gave the Bulldogs a short-lived lead.

Bradin Baucum, who relieved in the seventh, got the win, while Fearday, who relieved in the bottom of the seventh, took the loss.

The Bulldogs dropped to 3-3 on the season. They will play Friday at Neoga and then return home to face Altamont again on Saturday.