St. Anthony Advances to Final Four w/14-Inning Win

The St. Anthony Bullpups advanced to the Final Four of the State 1A Boys Baseball Tournament Friday with a 5-4 14-inning win over Springfield Christian.

The 14-inning contest is the longest in IESA state baseball history.

St. Anthony scored in the first to take a 1-0 lead, but Springfield Christian scored twice in the third and once in the fourth to pull ahead 3-1. St. Anthony bounced back, though, with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3. Springfield Christian scored in the top of the ninth to take a 4-3 lead, but St. Anthony scored in the bottom of the inning to keep the game alive.

Neither team scored until St. Anthony pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the 14th inning to claim the win. The winning run scored on a wild pitch.

Luke Ludwig had four hits to pace St. Anthony, scoring a run and driving in two runs. Ben Strullmyer had three hits including a double and scored two runs. Ben Mendella had two hits and scored a run. Aaron Webb, Bryson Wall and Davis Tingley each had a hit, and Wall and Colin Koester each drove in a run.

Ludwig pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four. Strullmyer pitched six innings of solid relief, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks while fanning seven. Webb pitched the final three innings and picked up the win, allowing no runs, hits or walks while striking out one batter.

The win improves St. Anthony's record to 15-4. The Bullpups will play in semifinal action Saturday at 9:30am. If they win, they'd play for the title at 4pm; if they lose, they'd play for third place at 2pm.