The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs had their nine-game winning streak to come to an end Saturday, dropping a 10-0 decision at Freeburg.

Elizabeth Ludwig threw the five-hit shutout. She didn’t walk a hitter and struck out 10. Calli Smith went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in four runs. Freeburg scored six runs in the third and added two runs in both the fifth and sixth.

Sydney Kibler took the loss for St. Anthony. She worked the first 2.1 innings.

The Lady Bulldogs got singles by Cameron Rios, Maddie Kibler, Sydney Kibler and Hailey Niebrugge, plus a double by Addie Wernsing.

The Lady Bulldogs dipped to 9-2 on the season. They will play today (Monday) at home against Shelbyville.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs scored early and often Monday afternoon, rolling to a 16-0, four-inning victory at Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City.

SAHS scored two runs in the first, added eight more in the second, two in the third and capped the game with a four-run fourth.

In that eight-run second, Ava Faber reached base after getting hit by a pitch. Two runs scored in the inning on errors and two more on wild pitches. Grace Karolewicz had an RBI double and Faber capped the inning by lining a bases-clearing double.

Sydney Kibler pitched the first two innings to get the win. Stacie Vonderheide pitched the final two frames. They combined to allow just one hit and one walk, while striking out seven.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 8-1 on the season. They will play today (Tuesday) at home against Arcola and then travel to Charleston on Wednesday.

After the season-opening loss to Tolono Unity, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs have proved to be unbeatable.

They stretched their winning streak to nine Wednesday afternoon after posting a 9-2 decision at Charleston.

During that nine-game stretch, SAHS has received strong pitching from both Lucy Fearday and Sydney Kibler and has scored 92 runs, an average of 10 per game.

It was Fearday’s turn on the mound Wednesday. She scattered seven hits and allowed two runs, while walking two and striking out six during her seven-inning, 114-pitch outing.

At the plate, the Lady Bulldogs scored a single tally in the first and then added a pair of four-run frames in the third and fifth.

Cameron Rios, who led off the game with a double and scored St. Anthony’s first run in the opening inning, had a lead-off single again in the third. Hailey Niebrugge walked and Fearday then drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single. Ava Faber added a run-scoring single, plus an error and a wild pitch accounted for the other two runs.

The Lady Trojans committed five errors in the game and the Lady Bulldogs took advantage, scoring five unearned runs. Two of those errors helped SAHS tally four more times in the fifth. They also had three hits, including Faber’s second RBI single and a two-run double by Abbi Hatton.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 9-1 on the season. They will return home Friday to face Freeburg.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs are one of the top softball teams in the state and they continue to prove that.

Over the weekend, they won four straight games to capture the Rantoul Invitational.

SAHS started things off with a 13-0 shutout over Villa Grove on Friday. Lucy Fearday pitched a three-hit shutout. She struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

St. Anthony banged out 12 hits and used an eight-run fifth to break the game wide open. Hailey Niebrugge and Abbi Hatton both had two hits and three RBI, while Fearday also collected two hits and drove in a pair.

On Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs beat Grant Community 10-2; Bradley Bourbonnais 5-2; and Pekin 15-0 to capture the invitational championship.

A six-run third carried St. Anthony against Grant Community. They combined six hits and an error, and got a two-run double by Addie Wernsing.

Cameron Rios, Niebrugge and Ava Feber each had two hits in the 11-hit attack. One of the hits by Rios was an inside-the-park home run. Hatton and Wernsing both drove home two.

Sydney Kibler got the win, allowing four hits and two runs. She struck out eight and walked four.

The Lady Bulldogs toughest game was against Bradley Bourbonnais. They fell behind 2-0, but scored single runs in the third and fourth and then tallied three times in the fifth. Rios had another inside-the-park homer in the third.

In the deciding fifth, Wernsing had a one-out triple and then scored on an error. Later in the inning, Maddie Kibler had an RBI double and Sydney Kibler followed with a run-scoring single.

Fearday was the winning pitcher.

In the final game against Pekin, the Lady Bulldogs took control early, scoring six runs in the first inning. Fearday had an RBI triple, Maddie Kibler drove home a run with a base hit and Hatton delivered a two-run double in that opening inning.

St. Anthony added two runs in the second and then wrapped up the scoring with a seven-run third. Maddie Kibler blasted a two-run homer in that seventh. Fearday won her third game of the invitational.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 7-1 on the season. They will play today (Monday) at Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City.