Josh McGee’s two-out, two-run single capped a four-run sixth inning and helped Flora rally for a 5-3 win at home Tuesday against Teutopolis.

The Shoes held a 3-1 lead as the Wolves came to bat in the sixth. Flora was able to combine two walks, an error and three hits, including what proved to be the game-winner by McGee, to come back and record the victory.

T-Town used the long ball to take the early lead.

Andy Niebrugge went deep leading off the second to put THS on top 1-0. The Shoes made it 3-0 in the third. Logan Roepke reached first when a strike three pitch got away from the catcher. One out later, Sam Bushur blasted a pitch over the leftfield fence.

Flora scored a single tally in the fourth.

Derek Deters, the third Teutopolis pitcher, took the loss. Kayden Althoff started and went three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and one walk, while striking out four. He was followed by Cade Buehnerkemper, Deters and Derek Konkel.

The Shoes dropped to 19-9 overall. They will wrap up their regular season Thursday at home against Neoga.

T-Town will then compete in the Class 2A Regional and is seeded No. 1. The Shoes will play either Lawrenceville or Salem at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 4. The game will be played at the Teutopolis baseball diamond.

The winner will then face Greenville or Flora for the regional championship. That game will be played Monday, June 7. Site and game time has not yet been determined.

This was a clear case of role reversal.

After committing 11 errors and allowing 12 unearned runs in a doubleheader loss to Mattoon on Tuesday, Teutopolis was on the receiving end Wednesday afternoon.

North Clay committed five errors and the Shoes took advantage by scoring six unearned runs, en route to an 8-2 victory at home.

The Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the opening inning, but T-Town took over from there, scoring eight times over the first four innings.

The Shoes tied the game in the bottom of the first. Sam Bushur was hit by a pitch, Evan Wermert singled and Andy Niebrugge walked to load the bases. Bushur scored when Evan Addis grounded into a fielder’s choice.

THS took the lead for good with a three-run second – all starting after two outs. Derek Deters doubled, Bushur was hit again and an error loaded the bases. Wermert walked to force in the first run and Niebrugge then delivered a clutch two-run single.

The Shoes added three more runs in the third. Deters had an RBI single and two more runs scored on an error.

Two more errors and a walk accounted for T-Town’s final tally in the fourth.

Cade Buehnerkemper pitched the final five innings to get the win. He allowed two hits and a run, while walking one and striking out four. Kayden Althoff pitched the first two innings, giving up three hits and a run. He also walked two and struck out four.

The Shoes improved to 17-8 overall. They will play at home Saturday against Effingham in an Apollo Conference contest. Game time is set for 11 a.m.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Coaches always want their teams to be playing their best at the end of the year.

With the high school postseason now on the horizon, that’s exactly the case with every baseball team in the state.

The two teams on the field Saturday, however, are finishing their regular season schedules with differing results.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have racked up 19 victories and are winners of 7 of their last 10 contests after sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader at home.

The Effingham Flaming Hearts have been struggling. After starting the season 9-0, they have had difficulty scoring runs and have dropped 9 of their last 10 games.

But both coaches are optimistic when talking about their team’s chances as the regional tournaments loom next week.

“The last three to four weeks has been a struggle,” EHS coach Curran McNeeley admitted. “We’ve been pressing at the plate and the number of quality at-bats we’ve taken has gone down; and that’s really hurt us.

“But we’ve still got another week,” McNeeley added. “We just have to find a way to get some timely hits. Sooner or later that’s going to happen for us and we’re going to bust out. I’m still very confident in this team.”

“You know how we coaches are. We’re always pushing and we always believe we can be better,” THS coach Justin Fleener noted. “Yes, there’s always room for improvement, but I like where we are. I feel like we’re ready.”

Saturday’s opener was a terrific high school baseball game. It was well-pitched and well-played.

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Errors are generally costly.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes found that out Tuesday.

They committed 11 errors and allowed 12 unearned runs to cross the plate. As a result, they returned home with a pair of losses.

Mattoon scored four unearned runs in its 8-5 victory in the opener and then took advantage of eight T-Town errors and posted a 10-5 decision in the nightcap to complete the doubleheader sweep.

In the first game, things started out pretty well. The Shoes immediately loaded the bases after base hits by Mitch Althoff and Kayden Althoff and a walk to Evan Wermert. Evan Addis then delivered a single to put THS ahead 2-0 in the opening inning.

But the Green Wave came right back in the bottom of the frame. They combined two hits, two hit batters and two errors to push five runs across the plate. They added another tally in the third to increase their lead to 6-2.

But the Shoes scored three times in the fourth to close the gap. Addis led off with a base hit and scored on a double by Derek Konkel. With two outs, Logan Roepke singled, bringing in a run, and Mitch Althoff followed with an RBI double to make it 6-5.

Mattoon added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth.

Addis took the loss for the Shoes. He pitched the first four innings and allowed five hits and six runs – just two were earned. He walked one and struck out one. Cade Buehnerkemper and Konkel both pitched one inning.

The nightcap started off the same way with the Shoes scoring twice in the opening inning. Max Niebrugge singled and Mitch Althoff walked to get things started. Wermert delivered an RBI single and the second run scored on a ground ball by Konkel.

But in the second and third innings, Mattoon took advantage of seven T-Town errors to score 10 runs – four times in the second; six more in the third. The Green Wave had three hits, a hit batter and four walks during those two frames as well.

Max Niebrugge had an RBI triple and then scored on a ground ball in the fourth and Brayden Gaddis had a run-scoring single in the fifth, but that’s as close as the Shoes were able to get.

Hayden Ruholl pitched the first 2.1 innings and took the loss. He only allowed just three hits, but was charged with nine runs – only one of which was earned. Kendall Schmidt and Derek Deters also pitched.

The Shoes dropped to 16-8 overall and 3-3 in Apollo Conference play.  They will return to action at home today (Wednesday) against North Clay.