St. Anthony moves to NTC Tournament championship game with 8-7 win over WSS
Oct. 7—Beau Adams didn't mind the big moment.
The junior leadoff hitter for the St. Anthony baseball team finished 3-for-3 with three runs and one RBI in the Bulldogs' 8-7 win over Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg in the semifinals of the National Trail Conference Tournament at Paul Smith Field.
"I felt confident today," Adams said. "I've been working in the cage the last couple of nights, working on some stuff, and changing the approach a little bit, and it worked out today. I hit well, got on base, and did my job."
The win lofted St. Anthony to the championship game on Saturday at noon against Altamont at Stewardson-Strasburg High School, but it didn't come without fans on pins and needles, as WSS always seemed to have an answer.
In the first inning, Adams led off the game with a triple to right field before scoring after a sacrifice fly by Eli Levitt one batter later.
The Hatchets then responded by tying the game in the bottom of the frame after Carter Chaney singled and stole second base before Tyler Wetherell drove him in on an RBI single.
The Bulldogs then took the lead right back in the second when Will Fearday hit an RBI single that scored Connor Roepke to make it 2-1.
Levitt would then strike out the WSS side in order in the bottom of the second before the Bulldogs scored two more in the third — after Levitt and Will Hoene RBI doubles — to make it 4-1.
St. Anthony then went on to double its lead in the fourth after Will Fearday led off the frame with a double and later scored on an RBI double by Max Koenig. Adams then drove in his aforementioned run on a double before Levitt drove in another on his second double and then scored on Hoene's second double of the game.
Hoene and Levitt both finished 2-for-3.
"He's put himself in the running to be the guy in the conference," said head coach Tony Kreke of Levitt. "He's been in that two-three hole and coming through in tight situations. But not only that, he's been consistent."
Someone who's also been consistent of late has been Will Fearday. Fearday also went 2-for-3 and has been one of the surprise contributors to the team for Kreke this fall.
"He got his chance a few weeks ago," Kreke said. "He came in, and DH'd against Christ Our Rock, and he hasn't looked back. He got his chance, and he has taken it. He's probably been one of the hottest hitters on the team."
As for WSS, Chaney went 2-for-3 with three runs. Wetherell went 3-for-3, and Jordan Wittenberg went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Kendall Morris also had one hit for the Hatchets.
On the mound, Jackson Gurgel started for WSS. He pitched three innings and allowed six hits and four runs — three earned — with one strikeout.
Rhett Rincker and Morris then relieved Gurgel. Rincker threw one inning and gave up five hits and four earned runs; Morris pitched two innings and gave up two walks with one strikeout.
As for St. Anthony, Levitt started and threw 6 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits, seven earned runs, and four walks with eight strikeouts in an otherwise unordinary start for the Bulldogs' ace.
"They hit the ball well, and Levitt, he'll say that he didn't have his best game tonight, but he's been our guy all year," Kreke said. "We knew Levitt has good off-speed, so we were trusting that, and we trusted our gut and kept with Levitt."
Levitt eventually exited after yielding a walk to Jordan Wittenberg before Brock Fearday came on and induced a groundout and a strikeout to end the game.
Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
