But in the 10th inning, it was Kayden Althoff that delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit, helping T-Town score twice and come away with an 11-9 victory.

“There were so many ups and downs and twists and turns in this game,” said THS coach Justin Fleener. “This was just a great high school baseball game.”

“It was back and forth. Both teams really battled,” added St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke. “My hat’s off to T-Town. They are always a good team that never quits playing. It’s just in their DNA.”

In the decisive 10th inning, Sam Bushur was hit by a pitch with one out. Coach Kreke then brought in Seth Hotze to relieve and the left-hander was greeted by a line drive off the bat of Kayden Althoff. The ball was hit down the left-field line and rolled deep into the corner.

Bushur raced all the way around from first base to score and Althoff ended up at third base with an RBI triple. Althoff later scored on a wild pitch to provide the two-run cushion.

The Bulldogs, who were down to their final out in both the seventh and eighth innings before rallying to tie, didn’t have one last comeback left. Bushur, the sixth pitcher of the game for THS, retired the side in order to secure the win.

“I was really proud of how the guys kept battling back,” Kreke said. “This is an identity we can hang our hat on. We played with a great mindset and competitive edge tonight. If we can maintain that, we’ll be a tough out in the (National Trail Conference) tournament next week.”

The Shoes built a 4-0 lead after four innings. Dylan Pruemer had an RBI double and Bushur added a run-scoring single in the second to make it 2-0. Pruemer and Bushur both delivered sacrifice flies in the fourth to help T-Town go up 4-0.

St. Anthony then battled back to tie in the bottom of the fifth. Eli Levitt walked and Eli Link singled to get the rally started. One run scored on an error and another on a ground out by Eli Moore. Brody Niebrugge and Colton Fearday added RBI singles to knot the score at 4-4.

And then the fun really began.

The Shoes regained the lead in the sixth when Bushur drove in his third run of the game with a base hit.

But even with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the seventh, the Bulldogs simply refused to quit. Niebrugge and Fearday both singled and Will Hoene sent the game into extra innings with a ground ball single up the middle.

T-Town followed a similar pattern in the top of the eighth. After the first two batters struck out, Pruemer beat out an infield single, followed by walks to both Derek Deters and Bushur. And Kayden Althoff delivered again, lining a pitch into left field for a two-run single.

But once again, back came St. Anthony. Levitt and pinch-hitter Connor Roepke started the inning with base hits. Logan Antrim’s ground out moved the runners up to second and third, and then with two outs, Moore came through with a clutch single to left, driving in both runners to once again tie the score, 9-9.

Teutopolis had two hits in the ninth, but failed to score. St. Anthony also hit a base hit, but then hit into an inning-ending double play.

That set the stage for the decisive 10th inning.

“I know there were a lot of runs scored, but I thought the pitchers did a pretty good job tonight,” Kreke noted. “But give credit to T-Town. They got a couple more timely hits than we did.”

“Neither team ever quit,” Fleener added. “I’m proud of our effort, but I also have a lot of respect for that team over there (pointing toward St. Anthony) and their coach. That is a very good ball club. When that tournament starts next week, they are going to be a tough out.”

Both coaches wanted to use several players in the game and accomplished that. When it was over, 31 kids had played and 11 had pitched. Teutopolis used six hurlers, while St. Anthony used five. They all combined to throw 329 pitches.

The Bulldogs actually out-hit the Shoes, finishing with 14 hits, compared to 11. For St. Anthony, Moore, Niebrugge, Fearday, Hoene and Levitt each had a pair hits and Moore drove in three runs.

The Shoes got two hits from Bushur, Kayden Althoff, Justin Hardiek and Pruemer. Bushur and Althoff drove in three runs, while Pruemer had a pair of RBI.

T-Town also benefitted from the productivity by the bottom four batters in their lineup. They were all over the base paths, combining for six hits and scoring seven runs.

“The bottom of the order really came through for us,” Fleener said. “They had quality at-bats. They saw plenty of pitches, put the bat on the ball and got on base. That was a key for us tonight.”

The Shoes improved to 14-6 and will play their final game of the fall season tonight (Friday) at home against Neoga.

The Bulldogs, who dipped to 9-10, will enter NTC Tournament play next week. They are the No. 3 seed and will face Neoga at 4 p.m. Monday. The two teams split their two earlier games this fall. The contest will be played at Paul Smith Field.

“We were the No. 3 seed last year and made a run to the championship game,” Kreke noted. “I think we can do the same thing this year. I think this tournament is up for grabs and anybody could win it. But I like our chances.”