By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Teutopolis and winning baseball has become a synonymous thing.

Whether it’s winning 20-plus games during the regular season or playing at a high level in the postseason, there’s a reason why the Wooden Shoes program is considered one of the very best in the state.

And entering this year’s postseason, T-Town was in the midst of two winning streaks that are virtually unheard of – 12 straight regional championships and 10 consecutive sectional titles.

The string of regional success continued this week with a victory over Salem in the championship game.

But the sectional streak came to a halt Wednesday afternoon.

A talented Columbia team came into Teutopolis red hot and took control from the outset. They sprayed hits all over the diamond and received a strong pitching performance from a hard-throwing right-hander.

That combination was too much for the Wooden Shoes as they dropped a 13-2, five-inning decision in a Sectional 7 semifinal contest. It was the first sectional loss for Teutopolis since losing to Stanford Olympia in the sectional final back in 2009. The Shoes haven’t lost a regional game since 2007.

Columbia, 20-10 on the season, will now return home to face Freeburg for the sectional title on Friday. The Midgets, who are 32-3 and ranked No. 2 in the state, defeated Newton 16-1 Wednesday to earn a berth in the championship game. They also beat Columbia twice earlier in the season.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The last time the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes played in a postseason game was June 2019.

When the final out was recorded in that contest, the Shoes were seen doing their traditional “dog pile” and celebrating their fourth Class 2A state championship with a 12-6 win over Pleasant Plains at Dozer Stadium in Peoria.

After a two-year wait – thanks to COVID-19 – the Shoes returned to postseason play Friday night and did so in impressive fashion.

They reached double digits in hits and pitcher Andy Niebrugge reached double digits in strikeouts.

That combination resulted in a 10-0, five-inning victory over Salem in an opening-round game of the Class 2A Regional A Tournament, played at the Teutopolis baseball diamond.

“Double digits in hits and that pitching performance? I’ll take that every time,” said THS coach Justin Fleener. “This was a great way to open the postseason.”

The top-seeded Shoes wasted little time in taking control.

The first five batters reached base. Sam Bushur was hit by a pitch and raced all the way around to score when Kayden Althoff lined an 0-2 pitch into the right-centerfield alley for an RBI triple. Evan Wermert then singled up the middle to make it 2-0.

Andy Niebrugge and Evan Addis followed with a pair of ground balls deep in the hole between third and short for infield singles that loaded the bases. A fielder’s choice by Derek Konkel drove in the final run of the inning and staked THS to the quick 3-0 lead.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Things are returning to normal in the sports world.

The NBA playoffs are actually being played in NBA cities.

Major League baseball stadiums will soon return to full capacity.

And the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes won yet another regional title.

After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Wooden Shoes returned to the postseason winner’s circle Monday afternoon by posting an 8-5 victory at home over Greenville in the championship game of the Class 2A Regional A Tournament.

It was the 13th straight year T-Town has claimed the regional crown. The Shoes haven’t lost a regional baseball game since the 2007 season.

“It’s great to be doing this again,” THS coach Justin Fleener said.

For the second straight game, the Shoes got double-digit hits at the plate and double-digit strikeouts from their starting pitcher.

And jumping out to a 7-0 lead didn’t hurt either.

“Getting those early leads really helps,” Fleener admitted. “Everybody is able to relax a little at the plate and your pitcher doesn’t have to feel like he’s got to make pinpoint pitches every time.”

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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.