The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes fell behind by four runs, but rallied to post a 5-4 win at home Monday afternoon over Altamont.

The Indians got a two-run double by Bradin Baucum and added two more runs on a pair of wild pitches to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

But as they have already done several times this fall season, the Shoes were able to come back. They scored once in the bottom of the first and then tallied three more in the third. Evan Addis and Sam Bushur both walked to get things started. Evan Wermert drove in one run with a double, the second run scored on a passed ball and Matt Deters drove in the tying run with an RBI single.

T-Town pushed what proved to be the winning run across in the fourth without getting a hit. They combined a walk, a hit batter, an error and a wild pitch to take the lead.

Kayden Althoff, after allowing those four first-inning runs, blanked the Indians until he was relieved with one out in the seventh. He allowed six hits, while striking out six and walking four. After reaching the 105-pitch limit, Althoff was relieved by Derek Konkel, who inherited a two-on, one-out situation. Konkel responded by striking out both batters he faced to record the save.

The Shoes improved to 7-2 on the season. They will return to action Friday at home against Neoga.

Altamont 10, Teutopolis 6

In the completion of a game that was started August 31, the Indians banged out 13 hits, en route to a 10-6 win over the Shoes.

T-Town jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening inning, but Altamont scored in every at-bat to rally for the win. The Indians scored twice in both the first and second, added single tallies in the third, fourth and sixth and pushed three runners across in the fifth.

Mason Robinson went 3-for-4 in the contest, while Nathan Shepard had a pair of hits and drove in three runs to pace Altamont. Jack Scott also had two hits. Jared Hammer, who relieved in the third inning, got credit for the win.

Brayden Gaddis had a pair of hits and two RBI to lead the THS seven-hit attack. After scoring six runs in the first three innings, the Shoes were held in check over the final four. Kendall Schmidt took the loss.

Kayden Althoff drove in three runs, three pitchers combined to keep Altamont in check and Teutopolis took advantage of eight errors Monday to post a 7-1 road victory.

The tone was set in the opening inning. After two were out, the next six T-Town batters reached base – four of them on errors. Sam Bushur walked, the next two batters reached on errors and Kayden Althoff then delivered a two-run single. The next two batters also reached on errors, allowing two more runs to cross the plate and stake the Shoes to an early 4-0. Lead.

THS added a single tally in the second and two more runs in the seventh and errors directly led to each of them. All seven Teutopolis runs were unearned. Kayden Althoff drove in his third RBI of the game in the seventh and Mitch Althoff capped the scoring with a run-scoring single.

Evan Addis was the starter and got the win. He, along with Caleb Siemer and Dylan Pruemer, combined to allow one run on seven hits. They walked three and struck out four.

Bradin Baucum and Wyatt Phillips both had three hits for Altamont. Tyler Robbins took the loss.

The Shoes improved to 5-1 on the fall season. They will return to action next Monday, Sept. 7, at home against Altamont.

Cade Buehnerkemper turned in five strong innings on the mound and Logan Roepke drove in five runs Saturday afternoon, leading the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes to a 13-3, five-inning victory at home over Altamont.

The Indians got a two-run double from Jared Hammer and scored three times in the opening inning, but Buehnerkemper shut them out the rest of the way. He allowed six hits, while striking out six and not walking a batter.

The Shoes started their comeback in the third. They had two walks, two passed balls, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Roepke to get within 3-2.

THS then took the lead with a four-run fourth. Roepke’s two-run double capped the inning and put the Shoes on top to stay.

The hosts then wrapped it up with a big fifth inning, combining four hits, three walks and a hit batter to tally seven times. Buehnerkemper had a two-run double and Roepke added a two-RBI single in the frame.

The Shoes improved to 6-1, while Altamont dropped to 5-3. T-Town and Altamont will play again Monday afternoon at THS. The Shoes will also host Neoga on Friday and then play at South Central on Saturday.

By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

Baseball players, fans and coaches have learned to never chalk up a victory until the final out is recorded.

Just ask the Texas Rangers, who were one strike away from winning the 2011 World Series title two innings in a row, only to have it snatched away.

“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” is an old adage that’s been heard many times through the years.

Well, that overweight gal never did actually sing Saturday, but she was certainly warmed up and ready to let loose.

Twice.

The North Clay Cardinals and St. Anthony Bulldogs can both attest to that.

In both games, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes escaped what looked like two defeats and rallied in their final at-bat to post a couple victories and claim the championship of the annual Wooden Bat Classic.

“It feels good to come back and win these two games,” said THS coach Justin Fleener moments after winning the four-team tournament. “You just have to stay confident and never give up. It says a lot about our kids.”

In Saturday’s opener, North Clay’s Dakota Teague was in complete charge for six innings, shutting out the Shoes on just one hit.

But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Dylan Pruemer and Derek Konkel both walked and Evan Wermert beat out an infield single to load the bases. Justin Hardiek followed with a ground ball to shortstop. The force out at second base was made, but the relay to first was wild.

Rather than a game-ending double play, the errant throw allowed two runs to score and give T-Town the 2-1 victory.

That set up the championship contest with St. Anthony, who defeated Dieterich 14-5 in the other first-round game Saturday morning.

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