The St. Anthony Bulldogs and Teutopolis Wooden Shoes showed why they are top two seeds in the postseason, opening regional play Wednesday in dominating fashion.

The No. 1 seeded Bulldogs scored four times in the opening inning and went on to beat Paris, 10-0, in a five-inning semifinal game of the Class 2A Paris Regional.

The Shoes, seeded No. 2, had an even easier time. They, too, scored four times in the first inning and coasted to a 16-0, four-inning victory over Flora in a semifinal contest in the Class 2A Newton Regional.

Both teams will return to action on Saturday.

St. Anthony will face Marshall for the regional championship. That game will be played at 10 a.m. in Paris.

T-Town will play Newton for the regional title. That contest is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Newton.

For the Bulldogs, Brady Hatton pitched four strong innings and added three hits at the plate. Will Fearday, Brock Fearday and Henry Brent each had a pair of hits, as SAHS banged out 13. The Bulldogs added five runs in the second and a final tally in the fifth.

Hatton gave up just one hit over four innings of work. He walked two and struck out three. Aiden Laurtizen pitched the fifth.

In Newton, Aiden Niemerg drove in four runs, Gavin Addis added three RBI, and Davin Worman belted a two-run homer, helping the Shoes roll to the lopsided win. After scoring four runs in the opening inning, they added six more runs in both the second and third.

Mick Niebrugge and Worman both had three hits, as the Shoes pounded out 12 in the game.

Addis pitched all four innings to get the win. He blanked Flora on three hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight.

The Shoes are now 25-5, while the Bulldogs improved to 20-7.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Justin Fleener has a formula for success in the postseason.

“You have to make the routine plays and cut down on the free passes, plus you need big hits and great pitching,” the coach explained.

Let’s see.

In three postseason games thus far, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have made just one error, allowed only three runs and 10 hits, and have issued six walks – three in each game. And, they’ve scored 25 runs, while banging out 25 hits.

So, it’s no surprise the Shoes are still alive.

It was that pitching and defense that really came through Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore Austin Borries went six stellar innings and that THS defense turned a pair of key double plays, helping T-Town post an impressive 3-0 victory over Columbia in a semifinal game of the Greenville Class 2A Sectional.

“We expected a close game today,” Fleener admitted. “At this point of the season, all the teams are good and all the games should be close ones.”

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Chances are, when Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball, he didn’t envision his new game being played in adverse weather conditions.

Gray skies with no hint of sunshine. Temperatures that dipped well into the 40s. And strong winds that made it feel even colder than that.

But those were the conditions the Effingham and Teutopolis squads encountered Monday afternoon at the THS ball diamond.

And the two teams handled it all pretty well.

Heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hearts were clinging to a slim 3-2 lead.

But the Wooden Shoes then put together a seven-run rally that turned that deficit into a 9-5 victory.

T-Town had just three hits in the frame, but took advantage of five walks – three with the bases loaded – a hit batsman and a throwing error to notch its ninth win of the young season.

“We managed to pull it out,” said THS coach Justin Fleener. “The weather wasn’t very good. I think both coaches would like to see better execution at times. But at the same time, we also saw some good things.”

In that decisive inning, the Shoes’ rally started with one out. Gavin Addis walked and Cooper Tegeler singled to right, sending Addis to third base. When Tegeler then attempted to steal second, an errant throw allowed Addis to come home with the tying run.

Aiden Niemerg then got an infield single and Davin Worman walked to load the bases. Mick Niebrugge followed with a fly ball to right that brought in Tegeler with the go-ahead run.

The next five batters then all reached base to widen the lead.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

When a coach talks about his pitcher being “dialed in” or “in the zone” or “dealing it,” that’s not generally a good thing for opposing hitters.

It certainly wasn’t for Flora.

Teutopolis lefty Garrett Gaddis had all his pitches working Saturday morning and consistently pounded the strike zone. The Wolves didn’t even hit many balls hard. They had four total baserunners and only two hits.

To say T-Town’s senior hurler was dominant would be an accurate description.

Offensively, the Shoes did enough, especially the bottom of the lineup.

And when the final out was recorded, it was the Shoes being handed the regional plaque.

Teutopolis posted a 6-1 victory over Flora to claim its own Class 2A regional title. It was the 14^th time in the last 15 years the Shoes have won a regional.

And after taking a year off from coaching, it was an especially nice feeling for THS coach Justin Fleener.

“It is nice to be back in the winner’s circle,” he admitted. “It’s fun to be a part of this. But every game is going to get tougher from here on out.”

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