The only other batters to reach were after two were out in the sixth. Summer Wall actually struck out, but reached first base when the pitch got away from St. Anthony catcher Hailey Niebrugge. The next batter, Olivia Copple, was hit by a pitch.
“I started with a lot of first-pitch strikes tonight. That always helps,” Fearday said. “I was able to find the outside part of the zone. I don’t throw super hard. I’m more of a location pitcher.”
Fearday had a bit of a slow start to the season due to tendinitis in her wrist. She said it is feeling much better now.
And that change-up?
“I threw it a lot more often tonight,” Fearday noted. “It’s been off lately. But I felt very comfortable with it tonight.”
“Lucy came out determined. You could see the fire in her eyes,” St. Anthony coach Makalya Taylor added. “She was ready to go tonight.
“Her change-up was awesome,” Taylor added. “She really kept them off-balance. Every inning was 1-2-3, 1-2-3. What more can you ask?”
The game was close for four innings.
The Lady Bulldogs scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the second inning. Sydney Kibler and Anna Faber both walked to start the inning. Abbie Hatton followed with a line drive that appeared headed to the outfield. But THS shortstop Emily Konkel made a nice catch, followed by a strong throw to first to get Faber before she could get back to bag for a double play.
But Vonderheide then looped a single into short right-centerfield that brought in Kibler to put St. Anthony on top to stay.
Kibler made it 2-0 in the fourth when she blasted a 3-1 pitch well over the leftfield fence for a solo home run.
“I knew that gone off the bat,” Taylor admitted. “It all goes back to quality at-bats. When Sydney stays loose at the plate, that’s a good sign. That home run was awesome.”
The Lady Bulldogs began to pull away in the fifth.
With one out, Addie Wernsing singled and came all the way round to score when Niebrugge lined a pitch down the leftfield line. Dani Sarchet made a diving effort, but the ball glanced off her glove. Niebrugge was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
With two outs, Fearday reached on an infield single and courtesy runner Nora Gannaway raced all the way home when Kibler’s fly ball was dropped in the outfield. Faber then capped the inning with an RBI single to increase St. Anthony’s lead to 5-0.
“Our goal tonight was to have quality at-bats and make their pitcher (Courtney Gibson) work,” Taylor noted. “I thought we had a good approach at the plate, plus we had no errors in the field. I was really pleased.”
SAHS put the game away with a six-run sixth inning.
Vonderheide walked, followed by back-to-back singles by Cameron Rios and Addy Rios to load the bases with no outs. Wernsing then lined a single to center, driving in a pair, and Niebrugge followed with a drive that sailed over the centerfielder’s head and rolled to the fence, driving in two more runs with a triple.
Before the inning was over, Fearday and Abbie Hatton both added RBI singles to close out the scoring.
Every starter had at least one hit in the SAHS lineup. Wernsing finished with three hits and a pair of RBI, while Niebrugge had two hits and drove home three runs. Cameron Rios, Fearday and Vonderheide also had two hits.
This win followed last year’s 7-1 victory in the Cross Creek Classic. But the Lady Shoes still hold a 7-3 edge in the annual rivalry game.
T-Town dropped to 11-9 on the season. The Lady Shoes will play Monday at Shelbyville.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 12-3. They will also play Monday, traveling to Mt. Zion. St. Anthony will then play in the National Trail Conference Tournament. They are the No. 1 seed and received a first-round bye. They will face either Dieterich or Altamont in the semifinals at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
All games will be played at Evergreen Hollow Park.
