Altamont, S. Central, St. A, N. Clay Reach Semifinals in NTC Baseball Tourney

BY GREG SAPP AND MILLIE LANGE

Altamont, South Central, St. Anthony and North Clay . . . the top four seeds . . . reached the semifinals in the 2020 National Trail Conference Baseball Tournament Monday. How they reached the semifinals certainly differed.

Top-seeded Altamont downed eighth-seeded Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 11-1 in a five-inning game heard on KJ Country 102.3 and www.kjcountry.com. Second-seeded South Central blanked seventh-seeded Dieterich 10-0. Third-seeded St. Anthony saw an 8-1 first inning lead evaporate but scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to nip sixth-seeded Neoga 11-10 in a game heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. Fourth-seeded North Clay won over fifth-seeded Windsor/Stew-Stras in the only pitcher's duel of the day, 2-0. 

That sets up the semifinal games on Wednesday. North Clay will play at Altamont in a game we will have on KJ Country 102.3 and www.kjcountry.com. St. Anthony will play South Central at Kinmundy in a contest we will have on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. Both games will begin at 4pm.

ST. ANTHONY 11, NEOGA 10

This was a wild one.

Neoga scored in the top of the first. Nate Lacy singled to begin the game and stole second. One out later, Adam Fearday singled Lacy home. 

St. Anthony then poured across eight runs in the bottom of the frame. Logan Antrim tripled and Kennan Walsh singled him home to tie the game. Eli Moore then tripled home Walsh to make it 2-1. Brody Niebrugge's infield hit plated Moore and it was 3-1. Colton Fearday and Will Hoene then reached on consecutive errors. After a strikeout, another error put Connor Roepke on base and Josh Blanchette singled. Antrim got his second hit of the inning, a single to score the eighth run of the frame.

Neoga never quit, though. With one out in the third, Isaac Walk walked and Luke Romack singled. One out later, Treyton Vaughn doubled home Walk and Romack to make it 8-3. 

St. Anthony had the answer, though. With two outs in the bottom of the third, Josh Blanchette drew a walk and Antrim drove him home, then Walsh tripled Antrim in to make it 10-3 to regain the seven-run lead.

Neoga responded, scoring three times in the fourth. Lacy walked to start the inning and Brady Reynolds reached on an error. After a double play, Kaden Young singled and Walk singled to drive in Lacy and Young. Romack reached on an error to bring home Walk to make it 10-6.

The Indians scored twice in the sixth to make it 10-8. Adam Fearday singled and Walk singled. Romack walked and Vaughn reached on an error to score the two runs.

Neoga finished its comeback to two in the seventh to tie the game 10-10. Lacy and Adam Fearday each singled and Young singled and the game was tied.

St. Anthony, after being held scoreless since the third, got the gamewinner in the bottom of the seventh. Colton Fearday led off the frame with a single then stole second base. After the next two hitters were retired, freshman Connor Roepke singled up the middle. Fearday sprinted around third and headed for home while Neoga's Adam Fearday charged the ball in center field and unloaded a great throw home. Fearday slid in ahead of the tag and the Bulldogs had the win.

Logan Antrim got the win for St. Anthony while Brady Reynolds took the loss for Neoga, which ends the fall season 8-10. St. Anthony is now even on the fall at 9-9. 

At St. Anthony

Neoga                    102    302    2    --    10-13-6

St. Anthony           802    000    1    --    11-12-4

WP -- Antrim. LP -- Reynolds.

Neoga -- Lacy, single; Fearday, 3 singles, 1 RBI; Young, 3 singles, 2 RBI; Walk, single, double, 2 RBI; Romack, single; O'Dell, single, double, 2 RBI; Vaughn, double, 3 RBI

St. Anthony -- Antrim, 2 singles, double, triple, 2 RBI; Walsh, triple, 2 RBI; Moore, double, 1 RBI; Niebrugge, single, 1 RBI; Fearday, 3 singles; Roepke, single, 2 RBI; Blanchette, single

ALTAMONT 11, CHBC 1

Standout pitching performances by Kienon Eirhart and Wyatt Phillips, who combined to hold Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City to only one hit and one run, and big bats by Altamont produced an 11-1 victory in five innings Monday.

Eirhart went two innings, allowing no hits, no walks while striking out three for the win while Phillips came on to go three innings, allowing one hit, two walks while striking out two.

Altamont took a 1-0 opening inning lead then added on two in the second and third, five in the fourth and finished the game by the 10-run rule in the fifth.

Phillips not only produced on the mound but also was a big hitter at the plate with three singles and two RBI. Jared Hammer had a single, double and three RBI while Brayden Stuemke had a double and an RBI.

Stuemke got the Indians off in the right direction in the opening inning, drawing a walk then stealing second and third and coming home on a single by Hammer.

Three singles in the second by Phillips, Eirhart and Nathan Shepard put the Indians up 3-0. Two balks, a walk, a single and an error brought home two more in the third.

In the fourth, doubles by B. Stuemke and Hammer along with singles by Bradin Baucum and Phillips combined with a walk and two errors put the Indians up 10-1.

CHBC's run came as Quaid Schlanser was hit by a pitch, stole second and came home on an error.

In the fifth, Altamont ended the game as Eirhart led off with a single and eventually came around on two throws by the first and third basemen that didn't get the outs.

Altamont will now play host to North Clay Wednesday at 4 p.m.

At Altamont

CHBC                000    10    --      1-  1-4

Altamont           122    51    --    11-10-1

WP -- Eirhart. LP -- Buzzard.

Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City -- Gray, single

Altamont -- B. Stuemke, double, 1 RBI; Baucum, single; Hammer, single, double, 3 RBI; Phililps, 3 singles, 2 RBI; Eirhart, single; Shepard, single; Cornett, single

SOUTH CENTRAL 10, DIETERICH 0

Spencer Johannes had an all-around good game Monday as he threw a no-hitter for South Central in a 10-0 win in five innings over Dieterich via the 10-run rule.

Johannes went the whole five innings, allowing two walks while striking out nine. He also was one of the leaders at the plate with two singles and a double.

Sam Rubin contributed a single, double and drove in three runs. Brandt Hiestand added two singles and two RBI while Chase Dodson had a double and Sebastian Cowger two singles and an RBI.

At Kinmundy

Dieterich                    000    00    --      0- 0-4

South Central           600    13    --    10-13-0

WP -- Johannes. LP -- Britton.

Dieterich -- no hits

South Central -- C. Dodson, double; Jolliff, single, 1 RBI; Cowger, 2 singles, 1 RBI; A. Dodson, single, 1 RBI; Rubin, single, double, 3 RBI; Johannes, 2 singles, double; Dunn, single, 1 RBI; Hiestand, 2 singles, 2 RBI

NORTH CLAY 2, WSS 0

Donnie Zimmerman guided the North Clay Cardinals to a 2-0 win over Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg Monday.

Zimmerman threw a seven-inning shutout. He also went two-for-two at the plate and drove in a run.