Baseball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

When a coach talks about his pitcher being “dialed in” or “in the zone” or “dealing it,” that’s not generally a good thing for opposing hitters.

It certainly wasn’t for Flora.

Teutopolis lefty Garrett Gaddis had all his pitches working Saturday morning and consistently pounded the strike zone. The Wolves didn’t even hit many balls hard. They had four total baserunners and only two hits.

To say T-Town’s senior hurler was dominant would be an accurate description.

Offensively, the Shoes did enough, especially the bottom of the lineup.

And when the final out was recorded, it was the Shoes being handed the regional plaque.

Teutopolis posted a 6-1 victory over Flora to claim its own Class 2A regional title. It was the 14^th time in the last 15 years the Shoes have won a regional.

And after taking a year off from coaching, it was an especially nice feeling for THS coach Justin Fleener.

“It is nice to be back in the winner’s circle,” he admitted. “It’s fun to be a part of this. But every game is going to get tougher from here on out.”

Zac Niebrugge, Austin Borries and Mitch Koester combined for six hits and nine RBI Wednesday, leading the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes to a 16-2, five-inning win over Cumberland in a semifinal game of the Teutopolis Class 2A Regional.

A 10-run second inning removed any doubts after the 10^th-seeded Pirates took a 2-0 lead over No. 2 T-Town in the opening inning.

The Shoes combined six hits, three walks and three Cumberland errors to push 10 runs across the plate. Zac Niebrugge had a two-run double and an RBI single in the inning, while Borries had a bases-clearing double.

Koester finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Niebrugge was 2-for-3 with four RBI and Borries had the one hit and drove in three.

The Shoes also received eight walks and took advantage of five Pirate errors to score 10 unearned runs.

Logan Lawson pitched the first four innings and got the win. He gave up four hits and two runs, while walking two and striking out six. Gavin Addis pitched the fifth.

The Shoes improved to 21-11. They will now face either Robinson or Flora for the regional championship. That game is set for 10 a.m. Saturday.

Both games came down to the seventh inning.

Nathan Simko delivered a walk-off RBI double for Williamsville in the opener and Cooper Tegeler delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit for Teutopolis in the nightcap.

As a result, the two teams split the doubleheader in Williamsville Saturday.

The host Bullets won the first game, 4-3, but the Shoes came back to take the second contest, 3-2.

In the opener, Williamsville scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Then in the seventh, with two outs, Singer doubled and Simko followed another two-bagger, giving the Bullets the walk-off win.

The Shoes scored an unearned run in the fourth and then added two more tallies in the fifth. After a Zac Niebrugge single and a fielder’s choice, Garrett Gaddis drove in the first run with a double and Mick Niebrugge followed with an RBI single.

Evan Waldhoff, the third pitcher of the game for THS, took the loss. Logan Lawson went the first 1.2 innings, Gaddis pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless and hitless baseball and Waldhoff took over in the sixth.

The second game followed a similar pattern.

The Shoes took the early lead and Williamsville came back to tie. This time, however, it was T-Town’s turn for some late heroics.

In the seventh, Carter Hoene walked and Gavin Addis singled. With one out, Tegeler singled to drive home the winning run.

The Shoes took a 2-0 lead in the second. Hoene and Addis got things started again and Gaddis came through with a two-out, two-run single.

THS used four pitchers in the nightcap. Gaddis was the starter, followed by Austin Borries and then Devin Kreke, who relieved in the fourth and got credit for the win. Andrew Probst pitched the seventh and earned the save.

The Shoes finished the regular with a 19-11 record. They will now host a Class 2A Regional. T-Town is the No. 2 seed and will play either Toledo or Vandalia at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes stuck quick Monday afternoon and it was the bottom of the batting order that proved to be the sparkplug.

Devin Kreke, Zac Niebrugge and Brett Kreke combined to collect eight of the team’s hits and drove in four runs, helping the Shoes close out their regular season with a 10-1 win at Mt. Vernon.

T-Town jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning. A pair of errors by the Rams led to all five of those runs being unearned.

Garrett Gaddis led off with a walk. Mitch Koester and Evan Waldhoff also drew walks. Back-to-back errors allowed one run to score and a balk brought in the second run. Devin Kreke, Zac Niebrugge and Brett Kreke then delivered consecutive RBI singles to stake THS to the early lead.

The Shoes added three more runs in the third and capped the scoring with a two-run fifth.

Carter Hoene went the first five innings to get the win. He allowed just two hits and a run, while walking four and striking out five. Andrew Probst pitched the final two frames.

The Shoes finished the regular season with a 20-11 record. They will now host a Class 2A Regional. T-Town is the No. 2 seed and will play Cumberland at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes were named the No. 2 seed in the Teutopolis Class 2A Regional, which will open play on Monday, May 13.

There are five teams in that regional, including Toledo (Cumberland), Vandalia, Robinson and Flora.

The winner of the Teutopolis Regional will advance to the Greenville Sectional, which is scheduled for May 22-25. Winners of the regionals at Carlyle, Columbia and Marshall will also advance to Greenville.

Here is the schedule for the Teutopolis Regional:

Monday, May 13

Game 1 – 4:30 p.m. – Toledo (#10) at Vandalia (#9)

Wednesday, May 15

Game 2 – 4 p.m. – Teutopolis (#2) vs. Winner Game 1

Game 3 – 7 p.m. – Robinson (#3) vs. Flora (#6)

Saturday, May 18

Game 4 – 10 a.m. – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 (championship)