By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

If the game had been televised on ESPN, it would have been dubbed an “instant classic.”

It was a symbolic rivalry game. Teutopolis never trailed and St. Anthony never gave up.

When the game started at Paul Smith Field, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing and temperatures were in the mid-60s. Ten innings and three hours and 12 minutes later, it was total darkness. The chilly wind was still whipping through the ball park and the temps had dropped to near 50 degrees.

Players from both teams delivered key hits, made important defensive plays and pitched their way out of numerous jams. The host Bulldogs trailed most of the game, but rallied three different times to tie the score.

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By Steve Raymond

The Sports Report

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Little League or Major League, the ability to collect timely hits with runners in scoring position is a key statistic in virtually every baseball game.

Such was the case Friday afternoon in Teutopolis.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs had numerous scoring opportunities, but went just 2-for-12 with runners on second and/or third base.

The host Shoes, however, were a little better, collecting three hits out of eight tries. Plus, they took advantage of a costly error and a wild pitch to add a couple runs, en route to a 6-2 victory.

The top of the first inning proved to be a forecast of things to come for the Bulldogs. With one out, Kennan Walsh ripped a ground-rule double and Eli Moore followed a double off the center-field fence. Since Walsh had to make sure Moore’s hit was not caught, he was only able to advance to third base.

St. Anthony’s next two batters were retired, ending the threat and setting the stage for the rest of the contest.

“This score could very well have been flip-flopped,” said St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke. “But a few timely hits didn’t come our way. Our kids had plenty of fight, but give T-Town credit. They were able to get a few of those hits and came away with the win.”

In the bottom of that first inning, again with two outs, Evan Wermert grounded a base hit up the middle and Matt Deters lined the first pitch he saw into left for a single. Evan Addis followed with a line drive into right field that brought home the first run of the contest and gave the Shoes a lead they never relinquished.

“I was pleased with how we responded in that first inning,” THS coach Justin Fleener said. “They (St. Anthony) hit two balls off the fence, but we held them. Then we bounced back with three straight hits to get off to a good start.”

THS made it 2-0 in the third without getting a hit. Kayden Althoff struck out, but reached first base when the third strike got away from the catcher. Matt Deters and Addis were both hit by pitches and Althoff eventually scored on a wild pitch.

St. Anthony had baserunners in scoring position in the second and third innings, but couldn’t deliver that timely hit. The Bulldogs finally broke through in the fifth.

Logan Antrim got a one-out single, went to second on a wild pitch and then stole third base. With two outs, Eli Moore got his second double of the game to drive in Antrim and cut the lead to 2-1.

But the Shoes responded again in the bottom of the frame. Sam Bushur walked, advanced to second on an error and scored when Wermert delivered a ground-rule double that bounced over the fence in right-centerfield. Wermert went to third on a wild pitch and scored on the second error of the inning to increase the T-Town lead to 4-1.

“Wermert had some big at-bats and really came through for us today,” Fleener noted. “He’s an example of what happens when you put in extra time. He’s been working after practice and has gotten better. That’s exactly what you have to do.”

St. Anthony got its final run in the sixth. With one out, Will Hoene was hit by a pitch, stole second base and scored on a two-out single by Eli Levitt.

But T-Town came back and added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. Derek Deters reached on a fielder’s choice, Bushur got a base hit and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Althoff then delivered a key two-out, two-run single that pushed the Shoes lead to 6-2.

“We had some good scoring opportunities,” Kreke admitted. “We had people on base with our big boppers coming up. I’ll take that every game. We just weren’t able to get the big hits.”

In addition to that key single in the sixth, Althoff also turned in a strong pitching performance, improving to 4-0. He went six innings, allowing six hits and two runs, while walking three and striking out five. Derek Konkel came in to get the final three outs in the seventh.

“Kayden really battled on the mound,” Fleener noted. “That’s his calling card. He goes deep into counts, but is generally able to get out of jams. He’s a real competitor and got us through six innings. He did a good job.”

Colton Fearday took the loss for St. Anthony. The junior left-hander went five innings. He allowed four hits and four runs (two earned), while walking one and striking out four. Seth Hotze pitched the sixth and gave up two runs on three hits.

“Colton always wants the ball,” Kreke said. “I’m very happy with the progress he’s made this fall. He’s a real gamer and I thought he really pitched well today.”

St. Anthony dipped to 8-7 on the fall season. The Bulldogs will have two home games this upcoming week – Tuesday against South Central and Thursday against Teutopolis.

“I thought we made some winning plays today,” Kreke said. “Sometimes you play well and win; and other times you play well and don’t win. This is the type of game we can build from.”

The Shoes improved to 12-6. They will conclude their fall season with three games next week. They will play at Dieterich on Monday, at St. Anthony on Thursday and then close the season with a home game Friday with Neoga.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes got three RBI from both Matt Deters and Dylan Pruemer Monday afternoon and posted a 9-3 victory at Dieterich.

The Shoes scored four runs in the first and added four more in the second to take early control of the game, en route to their 13th win of the fall season.

In the opening inning, Kayden Althoff singled, Evan Wermert walked and Matt Deters singled in the first run of the contest. Evan Addis then drove in a run with a base hit and Mitch Althoff also singled to load the bases. Pruemer then capped the inning with a two-run single.

The Shoes were back at again in the second. Sam Bushur, Kayden Althoff and Wermert all singled to load the bases. Matt Deters delivered another base hit to drive in a pair, one run scored on an error and Pruemer made it 8-0 with an RBI single.

T-Town added its final tally in the sixth, while Dieterich scored twice in the fifth and once in the bottom of the seventh.

The Shoes had hitting up and down their lineup, finishing with 15 hits. Kayden Althoff, Matt Deters, Addis, Mitch Althoff and Pruemer each had two hits apiece.

Sam Bushur pitched the first 4.2 innings to get the win. He allowed two runs on two hits, while walking one and striking out six. Cade Buehnerkemper and Evan Wermert relieved and finished the game.

THS, now 13-6, will play two more games in the fall season. The Shoes will play St. Anthony Thursday afternoon at Paul Smith Field in Effingham and then close their season at home Friday against Neoga.

Justin Hardiek banged out three hits, including a home run, and Sam Bushur had a key two-run double, leading the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes to a 7-6 win over Altamont in the opener.

The Indians, behind four hits and five RBI from Tyler Robbins, gained a split in the doubleheader Thursday with a 9-5 victory in the nightcap.

In the first game, Hardiek had an RBI single in the first and solo homer in the fifth. Bushur capped the three-run fifth and drove in what proved to be the winning runs with his two-run double, putting the Shoes up 7-4 at the time.

Altamont got single tallies in the sixth and seventh to close the gap, but Dylan Pruemer got a double play ball to end the game and earn the save for the Shoes. Evan Addis pitched the first six innings to get the win.

The game was tied 4-4 when the Shoes came to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Hardiek led off with a blast over the left-field fence to put THS on top to stay. With two outs, an error and a walk gave T-Town a pair of runners and Bushur brought them both in with his two-bagger.

Altamont had taken a 4-2 lead in the third, but the Shoes came back to tie in the bottom of the frame. Matt Deters and Hardiek started things with base hits. With two outs, Pruemer drove in a run with a single and Derek Deters followed with an RBI double.

The Indians had their hitting shoes in the second game, banging 13 hits. In addition to the four hits by Robbins, Hayden Siebert, Mason Robinson, Lucas Shepard and Gage Wendling each had a pair.

Robbins, who only needed a home run to hit for the cycle, had an RBI single in the first, a two-run double in the second, a run-scoring triple in the sixth and got his fifth RBI with a bases loaded walk in the seventh.

The Shoes scored four times in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. They combined two hits, an error, a hit batter and awalk. Brayden Gaddis drove in the first run with a base hit, Joey Ruholl added an RBI on a ground out and Cade Buehnerkemper capped the inning with a two-run double. A wild pitch allowed T-Town to score the tying run in the third.

But the Indians took the lead with a tally in the sixth and then tacked on three more in the seventh to earn the split.

Josh Burrell took the loss for the Shoes.

Teutopolis is now 11-6. The Shoes have just two games left on their fall schedule. They will host St. Anthony on Friday and then travel to Dieterich on Monday. Game time both days is 4:30 p.m.