Holden Clifton raced home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 12th inning Saturday, giving North Clay a 9-8 victory over Teutopolis and the championship of the Wooden Bat Classic.

The host Shoes led by as much as 8-4 earlier in the contest, but the Cardinals rallied to tie the game in the seventh and then won it in the 12th to remain unbeaten in four games and claim the tourney title.

North Clay jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, but THS then went to work.

With one out in the top of the fourth, Mitch Hardiek and Trenton Schwerdt walked. One out later, Evan Wermert also drew a walk, followed by a two-run single off the bat of Evan Addis. A passed ball and an error allowed the final two runs to score.

Brady McMahon then started things in the fifth with a lead-off single and raced to third on an error. Luke Ungrund drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI double by Schwerdt and a run-scoring single by Mitch Hemmen.

Two errors and a gound out boosted the T-Town lead to 8-4 in the sixth. But North Clay tallied three times in the bottom of that frame and tied the game on a two-out RBI single by Elijah McCrary in the bottom of the seventh.

It stayed 8-8 until the 12th. Clifton led off with a double. With one out, McCrary singled, sending Clifton to third, and Brady Ingram was given an intentional walk to load the bases. Five pitches later, Clifton was able to scamper home on a wild pitch to give the Cardinals the victory.

Four teams will compete in this year’s Wooden Bat Classic, which will be played Saturday in Teutopolis.

The host Wooden Shoes will face St. Anthony at 9 a.m., followed by the North Clay-Dieterich contest at 11 a.m.

The third place game is scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by the championship contest at 3 p.m.

Only wooden bats will be used during the tournament.

Trenton Schwerdt pitched four scoreless innings and delivered the game-winning hit in T-Town's 2-0 victory Wednesday night over St. Anthony

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Teutopolis baseball coach Justin Fleener was happy to see Trenton Schwerdt come to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Wooden Shoes had runners at first and second and two outs in a scoreless game at home Wednesday night against St. Anthony.

The senior delivered the key hit, ripping a triple to the fence in right field, driving in both runners to give T-Town a 2-0 lead that it preserved to the end.

“Trenton has come up in those situations before,” Fleener noted. “It was a big at-bat for us.”

And it all happened after the first two batters had been retired. But with two outs, Luke Ungrund blasted a pitch over the centerfielder’s head for a double and Mitch Hardiek followed with a walk, setting the stage for Schwerdt’s game-winning hit. He took a 2-1 pitch and lined it over the rightfielder and to the fence, allowing Ungrund and Hardiek to score easily.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes notched their third win of the fall season Thursday afternoon with a 4-2 victory at home over Neoga.

Luke Ungrund, Brock Deters and Evan Addis combined to throw a three-hitter and Mitch Hemmen drove in a pair of runs to help the Shoes improve to 3-0.

The visiting Indians struck first when Isaac Walk blasted a solo homer in the top of the second inning. But T-Town answered in the bottom of the frame. Evan Wermert singled, and with two outs, Addis and Brady McMahon delivered back-to-back singles with McMahon getting the RBI.

Teutopolis then took the lead for good in the third. After the first two batters were retired, Trenton Schwerdt singled and Hemmen ripped a double to right, allowing Schwerdt to come all the way around to score the go-ahead tally.

The Shoes added some insurance with a two-run fifth. Brock Deters led off with a double. Ungrund then singled and Schwerdt walked to load the bases. Hemmen drove in the first run with a fly ball and Ungrund eventually scored on a passed ball.

Neoga added an unearned run in the sixth to account for the final score.

Ungrund pitched the first 3.1 innings to get the win. The only hit he allowed was the Walk home run. He walked just one and struck out five. Deters pitched the next 1.2 innings and Addis hurled the final two frames to earn the save. Those two combined to allow just two hits and the one unearned run, while walking three and fanning four.

The Wooden Shoes will host their own Wooden Bat Classic Saturday.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes opened their 2019 fall baseball season on a winning note Monday afternoon, posting a 5-1 victory at Windsor/Stew-Stras.

The Shoes banged out nine hits and four pitchers combined to allow just three hits.

T-Town got off a fast start. The first batter of the fall season, Luke Ungrund, ripped a double and Mitch Hardiek followed with a base hit to put the Shoes on top 1-0.

It stayed that way until the fifth. Evan Addis led off with a single and Hayden Ruholl was hit by a pitch with one out. After a wild pitch moved both runners up a base, Ungrund hit a ground ball to the WSS third baseman. The ball was misplayed and Addis scored on the error. Mitch Hardiek drove in a run with a ground ball and Trenton Schwerdt capped the three-run frame with an RBI double.

The Shoes added a final run in the sixth. Evan Wermert received a lead-off walk, Justin Hardiek was hit by a pitch and Ruholl delivered a two-out run-scoring single.

Brock Deters went the first three innings to get the win. He allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out two. Ruholl, Schwerdt and Addis pitched the final four innings. They combined to allow just one hit, while walking three and striking out five.

The Shoes will return to action Wednesday night against St. Anthony. It will be T-Town’s home opener and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The Shoes will also play Thursday at Casey-Westfield and then host their Wooden Bat Classic Saturday.