By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Production from the bottom portion of a lineup is always a welcome sight.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have reaped the benefit of that now for two games in a row.

On Saturday afternoon, the No. 6-7-8-9 hitters – Conner Hoelscher, Jason Kreke, Joey Niebrugge and Zac Niebrugge -- combined for seven hits and four RBI in the Shoes 15-8 win at St. Joe-Ogden.

They were at again Monday.

This time, it was Evan Waldhoff, Garrett Gaddis, Joey Niebrugge and Brett Kreke. That foursome collected six hits and drove in seven runs, helping T-Town post a convincing 12-1 win over Effingham at Evergreen Holler Park.

“We started getting that production in the second game Saturday,” THS coach Justin Fleener said. “We’re still a work in progress, but I like the way we’re looking right now. Things are coming along.”

Kreke got a key two-out, two-run single in the second inning that put the Shoes on top to stay. Joey Niebrugge collected a pair of hits and drove in two runs, Gaddis chipped in with an RBI double, plus he walked with the bases loaded, and Waldhoff added a run-scoring double.

All of that production was way more offense than the Hearts could match.

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The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes will compete in the Greenville Class 2A Regional, which will open play on Monday, May 15.

There are five teams in that regional, including Vandalia, Flora, Salem and Greenville. The Wooden Shoes are the No. 6 seed.

The winner of the Greenville Regional will advance to the Breese (Central) Sectional, which is scheduled for May 24, 25 and 27. Winners of the regionals at Roxana, Newton and Columbia will also advance to Breese (Central).

Here is the schedule for the Greenville Regional.

Monday, May 15

Game 1 – 4:30 p.m. – Vandalia (#9) at Teutopolis (#6)

Wednesday, May 17

Game 2 – 4:30 p.m. – Flora (#2) vs. Winner Game 1

Thursday, May 18

Game 3 – 4:30 p.m. – Salem (#3) vs. Greenville (#5)

Saturday, May 18

Game 4 – 11 a.m. – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 (championship)

Things seem much more back to normal now.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes are headed to the baseball sectional.

After winning 13 straight regional titles, the Shoes had that string snapped last year by Salem.

But T-Town made it 14-out-of-15, using a three-run inning and a strong pitching performance Saturday to post a 4-1 win over Salem in the championship game of the Greenville Class 2A Regional.

The Shoes now advance to the Breese (Central) Sectional.

Teutopolis, who beat Salem 10-2 earlier in the season, trailed the Wildcats 1-0 after allowing an unearned run to score in the bottom of the second inning.

But the Shoes knotted the score in the third. Caleb Siemer singled, went to second on an error and scored when Logan Roepke delivered an RBI single.

THS then took the lead with a three-run fourth. With one out, Connor Siemer, Garrett Gaddis and Caleb Bloemer each singled to load the bases. Caleb Siemer drove in one run with a sacrifice fly, Joey Niebrugge added a run-scoring single and Bloemer scored on an error.

That was more than enough run support for Logan Lawson. He pitched all seven innings, allowing just five hits and the one unearned tally. He walked only one batter and struck out six during his 94-pitch performance.

The Shoes, now 17-15 on the season, will face Father McGivney at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Father McGivney won the Roxanna Regional

Newton and Columbia, both winners of their own regionals, will square off at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The sectional championship is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 27.

Something will be very different in Monday’s regional championship game.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes won’t be part of it.

Coming into this year’s postseason, the Shoes had a string of 13 straight regional titles and 17 of the last 18. The last time they didn’t win a regional was 2007. George W. Bush was president.

But that streak came to an end Thursday night in Vandalia. The Salem Tigers took advantage of five T-Town errors, got a pair of clutch two-out hits in the sixth and came away with a 7-6 win in a semifinal game of the Class 2A Vandalia Regional.

The Shoes, who trailed 4-1 early, had battled back to take a 6-4 lead after five innings. But Salem used a single, an error and a hit batter to load the bases with two outs. Carter Rose then delivered a two-run single to tie the game and Charlie Hunter followed with what proved to be the game-winning base hit, bringing home the go-ahead run.

Griffin Day, the third Salem pitcher of the day, allowed only one baserunner in the final two innings, clinching the win for the Tigers and earning them a berth in the regional final against Vandalia. Due to rain, that championship game will be played Monday.

Defense did hurt the Shoes. Two errors allowed one run to score in the first and two more miscues resulted in three more runs crossing the plate in the second, helping Salem build the 4-1 lead.

The Shoes scored six runs on 12 hits through the first five innings and had opportunities to tack on even more. But they left 10 runners on bases – 11 total in the game -- including stranding the bases loaded twice.

THS scored in each of the first five innings. Mitch Althoff had an RBI in the first and Evan Waldhoff added a two-out run-scoring single in the second.

In the third, Kayden Althoff led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Mitch Althoff. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. But two pop-ups and a strikeout ended that threat.

The Shoes took the lead with a two-run fourth. With two outs, Kayden Althoff blasted a pitch over the leftfield fence for a solo home run. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Caleb Siemer came through with an RBI hit, but the bases were still jammed when the final out was recorded.

Teutopolis made it 6-4 in the fifth. Waldhoff walked, Sam Bushur singled and Buehnerkemper had an RBI single – again with no outs. But a double play and a strikeout ended that threat.

Bushur pitched the first 5.2 innings and took the loss. He allowed seven hits and seven runs, but only one of those was earned. He walked one and struck out six.

The Shoes finished their season with a 23-12 record.