By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The last time St. Anthony won the annual City Series softball championship, Makayla Walsh was playing shortstop for the Lady Bulldogs.

That was 2014.

This year, Makayla (Walsh) Taylor was standing in the coaching box near the third base bag and was still very active. By the time the game was over, she had waved in 16 runners, which was plenty.

The Lady Bulldogs posted a 16-9 victory Friday afternoon, giving them a 2-1 edge in the series and clinching that traveling plaque for the first time in eight years. The Lady Hearts still own a 14-8 edge overall.

“This is my first one as a coach. It feels awesome,” Taylor admitted. “We’ve won the Cross Creek Classic and the NTC. Now, I can check the City Series off the list. It feels great.”

It looked like the game wouldn’t be as close as it ended up. In fact, it appeared headed for an early ending due to the 10-run rule. St. Anthony led 15-3 after four innings.

But to the Lady Hearts credit, they didn’t quit play. They scored four runs in the fifth to continue the game and added two more tallies in the sixth.

“We never gave up,” EHS coach Jerry Trigg noted. “It’s been that way all year. The girls always keep working hard. We were down 15-3 early, but there was a lot of game left and they just kept playing. But getting in that big of a hole is hard to come back from, especially against a good team like St. Anthony. They’re very good.”

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Makayla Taylor said Maddie Kibler needed a confidence boost.

She got a big one Thursday afternoon.

The sophomore catcher blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning. Her twin sister Sydney followed with a solo shot that capped the eight-run inning, sparking the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs to an 11-7 win over Effingham that knotted the 24^th annual City Series at one game apiece.

“Maddie just hasn’t been hitting as well the past few games,” Taylor, the head coach at SAHS, said. “That grand slam should help. Then her sister steps up and hits one. You don’t see back-to-back homers very often. But those sisters are very competitive. I loved it.”

After dropping the series opener Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves trailing 2-1 after three innings. But they sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and combined six hits and two walks.

Anna Faber started the inning with a walk and went to second on a base hit by Abbi Hatton. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base, Cameron Rios laid down a perfect bunt single that allowed Faber to race home with the first run of the inning. When the throw home got past the Effingham catcher, Hatton also scored to put St. Anthony on top, 3-2.

Rios raced all the way to third base and scored when Addie Wernsing blooped a double into short rightfield. Hailey Niebrugge then singled and Lucy Fearday walked to load the bases. That stage for Maddie Kibler, who drove a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield fence to clear the bases.

Two pitches later, it was Sydney Kibler’s turn to go deep, belting a pitch over the rightfield fence to increase the SAHS lead to 9-3.

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The postseason will get underway for the Class 1A and Class 2A softball teams next week.

Both St. Anthony and Teutopolis will compete in Class 2A this year.

The Lady Bulldogs are a No. 1 seed, while the Lady Shoes will open as a No. 5 seed.

The Lady Bulldogs will play in the St. Joseph Regional and the Lady Shoes will compete in the Tolono Unity Regional.

The regional schedules are below:

Tolono Unity Regional

Monday, May 16

Game 1 – 4:30 p.m. – Sullivan (9) at ALAH (6)

Game 2 – 4:30 p.m. – Shelbyville (10) at Teutopolis (5)

Tuesday, May 17

Game 3 – 4:30 p.m. – Tolono Unity (2) vs. Winner Game 1

Game 4 – 6 p.m. – Westville (4) vs. Winner Game 2

Saturday, May 21

Game 5 – 10 a.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Winners of the St. Joseph, Tolono Unity, Monticello and Normal (University) will compete in the Maroa-Forsyth Sectional. Games will begin Tuesday, May 24.

St. Joseph Regional

Monday, May 16

Game 1 – 4:30 p.m. – Fithian (Oakwood) (11) at Marshall (8)

Tuesday, May 17

Game 2 – 4:30 p.m. – St. Anthony (1) vs. Winner Game 1

Game 3 – 6:30 p.m. – St. Joseph (3) vs. Paris (7)

Saturday, May 21

Game 4 – 11 a.m. – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3

Winners of the St. Joseph, Tolono Unity, Monticello and Normal (University) will compete in the Maroa-Forsyth Sectional. Games will begin Tuesday, May 24.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

When the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs came to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, you would have never known they were the team trailing on the scoreboard.

Music to “Cotton Eye Joe” started blaring from the dugout and the girls started singing, dancing and twirling around. And their coach loved it.

“I guess that’s kind of our rally song,” said SAHS coach Makayla Taylor. “Sometimes you just have to find ways to build momentum. The girls love to dance to that song. I think it helped them relax and have some fun, which is exactly what I want to see."

It certainly seemed to help.

The Lady Bulldogs immediately put together a four-run inning, which was more than enough to carry them to a 4-1 victory over Windsor/Stew-Stras and earn them the championship of the National Trail Conference Softball Tournament Monday night at Evergreen Hollow Park in Effingham.

Through the first four innings, the Lady Hatchets’ Karlie Bean had limited St. Anthony to just two hits – and neither one of those left the infield.

But Bean went to a 3-2 count on each of the first four SAHS hitters in the bottom of the fifth and three of them reached base. Anna Faber worked a walk to start the inning. One out later, Addison Rios beat out an infield single. Her sister, Cameron, then lined a 3-2 pitch off the third baseman’s glove. The base hit rolled into shallow leftfield, allowing Faber to score. Addison Rios raced to third and her sister scampered to second on the throw.

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