By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

When the third out was finally recorded in the top of the first inning, St. Anthony baseball coach Tony Kreke was watching how his team came off the field.

North Clay had just struck for seven runs putting the Bulldogs in an early hole.

Kreke liked what he saw.

“Nobody had their heads down,” he said. “They know we can hit the ball and score a lot of runs. I just told them to take a deep breath and gather their thoughts. And I reminded them we couldn’t score seven runs on one at-bat. We just needed to put a bunch of hits together.”

His team was listening.

St. Anthony started a comeback in the bottom of the first, finished with 11 hits, got a tremendous relief performance and ended up with an 11-9 win at home.

“These kids are resilient,” Kreke noted. “They never gave up. They just kept playing hard and got the job done.”

But it didn’t look good early.

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It’s still early in the spring season, but St. Anthony remained unbeaten Thursday after posting a 14-4, five-inning victory at home over St. Elmo/Brownstown.

The Bulldogs had just seven hits, but received four walks and had seven hitters reach base after being hit by a pitch. And a pair of five-run innings didn’t hurt either.

SAHS and SEB were tied 2-2 when the Bulldogs came to bat in the bottom of the second inning. Angelo Mendella was hit by a pitch and Eli Link followed with an RBI triple to put St. Anthony on top for good. Another hit batter and an error brought home the second run of the inning, followed by a two-run triple off the bat of Kennan Walsh and a run-scoring single by Colton Fearday.

The Eagles closed to within 7-4 in the top of the third, but the Bulldogs responded with another five-run frame.

And it was déjà vu.

Mendella, again, was hit by a pitch to start things off and, again, Link ripped a triple to bring him home. Eli Levitt and Logan Antrim were both hit by a pitch to load the bases. St. Anthony then scored four more times without a hit. Walsh walked with the bases loaded to force home one run, Fearday had an RBI groundout, a wild pitch brought home a run and Brody Niebrugge’s ground ball allowed the final run to come in, increasing the lead to 12-4.

The Bulldogs added single tallies in the fourth and fifth. Niebrugge’s RBI single in the fifth produced the 10-run lead and ended the game.

Walsh and Link both finished with two hits to lead the seven-hit attack. Walsh had three RBI, while Link and Fearday both drove home a pair.

Seth Hotze pitched the first three innings to get the win. He allowed three hits and four runs, while walking four and striking out three. Josh Blanchette pitched the final two innings and gave up just one hit, while striking out four.

The Bulldogs are now 4-0. They will return to action today (Friday) with a home game against Altamont. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Another match-up between St. Anthony and Altamont.

Another one-run game.

For the fifth time in a row, these two baseball rivals battled on even terms Friday afternoon.

But this time, the Bulldogs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Kennan Walsh delivering the key two-out hit, to lift St. Anthony to a 6-5 victory at Evergreen Park.

The game was a see-saw affair. St. Anthony led 1-0, but then trailed 2-1, 4-2 and 5-3 before tallying three times in the sixth to remain undefeated on the season.

With one out in the sixth, Will Hoene and Angelo Mendella ripped back-to-back doubles to close the gap to 5-4. With two outs, Eli Levitt and Logan Antrim both walked to load the bases and Walsh then lined the first pitch he saw into center field, driving in the tying and winning runs.

Colton Fearday, who came on in relief in the top of the sixth, got the win, but it wasn’t easy. Altamont had two runners on base in the seventh, but Fearday recorded a strike out to end the game.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the second, thanks to the Hoene and Mendella combination again. Hoene walked and Mendella got his first of two doubles to put SAHS on top.

The Indians got RBI singles from Braydon Stuemke and Kaden Eirhart in the third to gain a 2-1 lead. It was the first of four hits and three RBI by Eirhart.

After St. Anthony tied the game in the bottom of the third, the Indians took a 4-2 lead in the fifth. A single and two walks loaded the bases and Mason Robinson came through with a two-out, two-run single.

Fearday had an RBI single for the Bulldogs in the fifth and Eirhart drove in a run in the sixth to keep Altamont on top 5-3 and set the stage for the sixth inning comeback.

Fearday allowed two hits and one run in his two innings of work. He walked one and struck out three. Antrim went the first five innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out 11. Eirhart took the loss for Altamont.

The Bulldogs, now 5-0, will play at home Monday against North Clay and then travel to Casey on Wednesday. Game time is 4:30 p.m.

Brody Niebrugge used his arm and his bat Monday afternoon to help the St. Anthony Bulldogs notch their third baseball win of the spring season.

He allowed just two runs over five innings of work on the mound and drove in five runs at the plate, as the Bulldogs posted a 15-4 victory at Okaw Valley.

The hosts held a 2-1 lead after three innings, but St. Anthony then scored 14 runs over the final four frames to pull away.

SAHS took the lead for good with a 4-run fourth. Niebrugge walked and Angelo Mendella singled to get things started. Eli Link then had an RBI single, Eli Levitt a two-run double and Logan Antrim capped the inning with a run-scoring double.

But the Bulldogs were just getting started.

They scored three times in the fifth. Will Hoene and Levitt both had RBI singles and Link added a sacrifice fly. Niebrugge’s two-run double in the sixth increased the lead to 10-4.

Then in the seventh, St. Anthony put together five hits to tally five more times. Colton Fearday drove in a run with a base hit, Eli Morre added an RBI double and Niebrugge capped the day with a three-run blast over the leftfield fence.

The Bulldogs finished with 13 hits. Niebrugge and Fearday both had three hits, while Antrim, Kennan Walsh, Mendella and Levitt each had two.

Niebrugge allowed just three hits, while throwing 99 pitches. He walked five and struck out 10. Fearday and Levitt pitched the final two innings.

The Bulldogs, now 3-0, will play home games Thursday against Brownstown-St. Elmo and Friday against Altamont. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. both days.