St. Anthony vs. Altamont for NTC Baseball Tournament Championship Saturday

St. Anthony edged Windsor/Stew-Stras 8-7 Wednesday in one tournament semifinal game, while Altamont got by North Clay 4-2 in the other contest. The Bulldogs/Hatchets game was heard on Classic Hits 979XFM, while the Indians/Cardinals game was aired on KJ Country 102.3.

St. Anthony and Altamont will play at noon Saturday for the title, following the third place game at 10am between North Clay and Windsor/Stew-Stras. Both of the games will be played at Stewardson-Strasburg High School and both will be aired on 979XFM.

It was a back and forth contest from the get-go in the WSS vs. St. Anthony contest. The Hatchets scored a run in the first inning as Carter Chaney singled, stole second and came home on a single by Tyler Wetherell.

The Bulldogs came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the first. Beau Adams led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly ball by Eli Levitt. That set the tone of the game as both teams battled to the end.

St. Anthony moved ahead 2-1 in the second as Connor Roepke led off with a single and Will Fearday singled. Brock Jansen then brought Roepke home with a single.

The lead went to 4-1 in the third. Adams got his second hit of the contest with a single and Levitt followed with a single. Both runners came home on a double by Will Hoene.

But that lead didn't last long. The Hatchets moved ahead in the fourth. Chaney led off with a double, Wetherell singled and Jordan Wittenberg brought home a run with a single. Kendall Morris continued the single barrage and racked up an RBI. When the dust cleared,  Windsor/Stew-Stras led 5-4.

But that only lasted a blink of an eye as the Bulldogs tallied four in the bottom of the frame to move ahead 8-5. Fearday got his second single. With one out, Max Koenig doubled home Fearday. Adams picked up his third hit with a single and drove in a run. Levitt followed with an RBI double and Hoene doubled.

Then it was Windsor/Stew-Stras' turn in the fifth. Austin Wittenberg drew a leadoff walk and Chaney was hit by a pitch. Wetherell drew a walk to load the bases. Wittenberg then singled home two runs. But the Bulldogs got tough and didn't allow another run in the frame, getting the next three outs on two fly balls and a strikeout by Levitt and the Bulldogs held a slight 8-7 lead.

Things quieted down over the next inning and a half before the Hatchets put up a last effort in the top of the seventh. With one out, Wetherell got his third single of the contest and Wittenberg drew a walk. St. Anthony changed pitchers and Brock Fearday came on to get the final two outs on a grounder and a strikeout to end the threat and give the Bulldogs the victory.

"That was a barn burner," said St. Anthony Coach Tony Kreke. "Hats off to Windsor/Stew-Stras, they got the hits. We pride ourselves on answering back and having that big inning. We did everything but score in the first but we came back to hit the ball really well tonight. Beau was on base four times and Will Hoene had a big time three RBI. Connor Roepke called a good game and handles the pitching staff well. Will Fearday had a good day at the plate. It was just a team effort."

Adams finished with two singles, a triple and an RBI while Levitt had a single, double and two RBI, Hoene two doubles and three RBI, Fearday two singles and Koenig a double and an RBI. All this despite the fact Windsor/Stew-Stras got three double plays in the game. St. Anthony had one double play and neither team committed an error.

"We came up a little short," said WSS Coach Brett Harmeier. "They put the ball in play and pitched well. We got them earlier in the year but it's tough to beat a good team twice.

"We are grinders at the plate and have a ton of speed and we get guys on base. I'm very pleased the way we have been playing. We're a completely different team than in the spring. These are really good kids. As always though, we wanted to be in the championship but we just fell short. We look at the third place game as one more opportunity for a win this fall."

At Paul Smith Field

WSS                           100    420    0    --    7-  8-0

St. Anthony               112    400    x    --    8-12-0

WP -- Levitt. LP -- Rincker.

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg -- Chaney, single, double; Wetherell, 3 singles, 1 RBI; J. Wittenberg, 2 singles, 3 RBI; Morris, single, 1 RBI

St. Anthony -- Adams, 2 singles, triple, 1 RBI; Levitt, single, double, 2 RBI; Hoene, 2 doubles, 3 RBI; Roepke, single; W. Fearday, 2 singles; Jansen, single, 1 RBI; Koenig, double, 1 RBI

Altamont 4, North Clay 2

Altamont moved into the championship game with a three-run third inning.

North Clay took a 1-0 lead in the second. With one out, Ian Jones drew a walk. Cayden Craig followed with a single and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Jesse Weidner then followed with a single, driving in Jones. Altamont got out of the frame as Jared Hammer got tough with two strikeouts.

The Indians then took a 3-1 lead in the third. With two outs, Nathan Stuemke doubled and came home on a single by Mason Robinson. Robinson stole second and Hammer drew a walk. Robinson then stole third and Hammer second. With two runners on base, Keinon Eirhart followed with a double to left field that drove in both runs.

In the fourth, Altamont added on its fourth run. Kaiden Miller led off with a double. The Indians then got an out and a second out came on a grounder. Miller came home on a wild pitch and the Indians led 4-1.

The Cardinals came back with a run in the sixth. Logan Fleener and Alex Boose drew back-to-back walks. An infield single by Ayden Jones moved the runners to second and third. Then a ground out by Jones brought home Fleener.

The Cardinals put a runner on in the seventh but Altamont came up with a double play to end the game. It was the second double play for the Indians.

Hammer picked up the win on the mound, going five innings, allowing two runs on two hits, four walks while striking out six. Dillan Elam came on to go the final two innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out one.

At Altamont

North Clay                 010    001    0    --    2-4-0

Altamont                    003    100    x    --    4-6-0

WP -- Hammer. LP -- Craig.

North Clay -- A. Jones, single; I. Jones, 1 RBI; Craig, single; Weidner, single, 1 RBI; Warren, single

Altamont -- Stuemke, double; Robinson, single, 1 RBI; Hammer, single; Eirhart, double, 2 RBI; Miller, 2 doubles