Three games.

Three terrific pitching performances.

Three wins.

Yes, the St. Anthony Bulldogs have locked up the city’s baseball bragging rights.

They had already clinched their first City Series championship since 2018 the night before, but made it a clean sweep Friday night, coming from behind to post a 5-2 victory over Effingham at Paul Smith Field.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the first two games, but were on the down side of a 2-1 score entering the sixth inning in the series finale. That’s when their bats came alive and they put together the game-winning rally.

Kennan Walsh started things with his second base hit of the game and Colton Fearday followed with a line drive that rolled through the rightfield fence for a ground rule double.

But those were just the first two of five consecutive hits.

Eli Moore singled to center, driving in Walsh with the tying run and Brody Niebrugge slapped the first pitch he saw between shortstop and third base to bring home Fearday with what proved to be the winning tally. When his single was misplayed in the outfield, it left runners at second and third.

Will Hoene followed with a high pop up that got lost in the lights and fell right behind second base for another base hit that brought home the third run. One batter later, Eli Levitt lifted a fly ball to left that allowed Hoene to race home with the fourth run of the inning and provide the three-run cushion.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Dominant.

There’s just no better word to describe Logan Antrim’s pitching performance Wednesday night.

The senior lefthander pounded the strike zone, mixed up his pitches and was in total control.

And when his 106th pitch resulted in a strikeout, he walked off the mound with a four-hit, complete-game shutout.

And the St. Anthony Bulldogs had taken a 1-0 lead in the annual City Series with a 3-0 victory over Effingham at Paul Smith Field.

“What a game and what a competitor,” St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke said. “In these types of games, you know the kids you can rely on. And Logan is one of those kids. He was absolutely dominant.

“He commanded the strike zone the entire game,” Kreke added. “He was able to get ahead of a lot of batters, and when he does that, his off-speed pitches are real affective. He mixed up his pitches well and was able to throw any pitch on any count. And he trusted his catcher. Angelo (Mendella) does a great job calling a game.”

There wasn’t a lot of offense in the game, but the Bulldogs had just enough to get the job done.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was quite the contrast after the game.

One coach was talking about the different ways his team could manufacture runs.

The other was lamenting the fact his team didn’t have a single hit.

One was talking about outstanding pitching.

The other was talking about poor defense.

One was all smiles and celebrating a championship.

The other was scratching his head, trying to figure out what went wrong.

The happy coach was Tony Kreke.

For the second night in a row, he saw one of his pitchers totally control a game.

After Logan Antrim threw a four-hit shutout Wednesday night, fellow lefthander Colton Fearday was even stingier Thursday night.

He threw a five-inning no-hitter and received plenty of support from his teammates, as the St. Anthony Bulldogs posted a 10-0 victory over Effingham and captured the title of the annual City Series.

“Two years ago, we got beat on the last play of the game and saw Effingham celebrate with a pile-on,” Kreke recalled. “That just showed you the magnitude of this series and how important it is to both teams. It’s nice to be on the other end of that this year.”

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Luke Landrus belted a grand slam Monday afternoon, helping the Charleston Trojans post an 8-5 victory over St. Anthony at Evergreen Hollow Park.

The loss knocked the Bulldogs from the unbeaten ranks after opening the spring season with 11 straight wins.

The Trojans took the lead with a six-run third. They had five of their eight hits in the inning, along with a walk and a hit batter. Landrus capped the inning with a bases-clearing blast that sailed over the rightfield fence.

Charleston added two runs in the fourth and carried an 8-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh. But the Bulldogs refused to go quietly.

Brody Niebrugge started things with a walk and scored on an RBI double by Will Hoene. Angelo Mendella walked and Eli Levitt followed with a double to drive in the second run. Logan Antrim added an RBI single and runs scored on a ground ball and an error.

St. Anthony had two runners on base and just one out, but the final two batters were retired to end the rally.

Niebrugge pitched the first three innings and took the loss. He allowed five hits and six runs, while walking three and striking out two. Colton Fearday, Seth Hotze and Levitt also pitched in the game.

The Bulldogs, now 11-1, will face Effingham in the City Series on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Effingham will host games on Wednesday and Friday at Paul Smith Field and the Bulldogs will host Thursday’s contest at Evergreen Hollow Park. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. each day.