Six errors and five unearned runs is not normally a formula for success.

Such was the case Monday afternoon.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs did commit six errors and the Altamont Indians did what a good baseball team will do.

It took advantage.

And one of those errors led to two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, helping the Indians post a 6-5 win at home.

It was a 4-4 game when Altamont came to bat in the sixth. A walk and a base hit got the inning started. The Bulldogs sixth error of the game let one run score and Mason Robinson’s base hit drove in what proved to be the winning tally.

The Bulldogs scored one run in the seventh, but the rally fell short and they dropped their third straight game.

It was a typical St. Anthony-Altamont contest. The two teams battled all the way and a late score determined the winner. When these two schools get together on the ball diamond, that’s been the pattern in recent years.

The Bulldogs scored a single tally in the second and added three more runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Seth Hotze had an RBI double in the second. St. Anthony then used three walks to load the bases in the third. Will Hoene was a hit by a pitch to force in the first run and Eli Link then delivered a two-out, two-run single.

The Indians had two hits in the opening inning and both runners scored on an error. They took advantage of three more errors to push two runs across the plate and tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the third.

It stayed that way until the Indians scored two runs in the sixth.

In the seventh, the Bulldogs used a lead-off double by Eli Moore, followed by a run-scoring single by Brody Niebrugge to close the gap to one run in the seventh. But the final three batters were retired to end the game.

Josh Blanchette, who relieved in the fifth, took the loss. He gave up two hits and two runs in his 1.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out two. Seth Hotze was the starter and pitched the first 4.1 innings. He allowed three hits and four runs, while walking three and striking out five.

The Bulldogs dropped to 14-4 on the season. They will play Wednesday at Windsor/Stew-Stras and Thursday at Neoga.

Three games.

Three terrific pitching performances.

Three wins.

Yes, the St. Anthony Bulldogs have locked up the city’s baseball bragging rights.

They had already clinched their first City Series championship since 2018 the night before, but made it a clean sweep Friday night, coming from behind to post a 5-2 victory over Effingham at Paul Smith Field.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the first two games, but were on the down side of a 2-1 score entering the sixth inning in the series finale. That’s when their bats came alive and they put together the game-winning rally.

Kennan Walsh started things with his second base hit of the game and Colton Fearday followed with a line drive that rolled through the rightfield fence for a ground rule double.

But those were just the first two of five consecutive hits.

Eli Moore singled to center, driving in Walsh with the tying run and Brody Niebrugge slapped the first pitch he saw between shortstop and third base to bring home Fearday with what proved to be the winning tally. When his single was misplayed in the outfield, it left runners at second and third.

Will Hoene followed with a high pop up that got lost in the lights and fell right behind second base for another base hit that brought home the third run. One batter later, Eli Levitt lifted a fly ball to left that allowed Hoene to race home with the fourth run of the inning and provide the three-run cushion.

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In the first game since sweeping the City Series, the St. Anthony bats were a little quiet.

The Bulldogs managed only five hits and dropped just their second game of the spring season, a 3-2 decision Wednesday at Flora.

The Wolves scored two runs in the opening innings and added another tally in the fourth and that proved to be enough.

The Bulldogs got on the board in the second. With two outs, Will Hoene walked and Angelo Mendella followed with an RBI double.

St. Anthony got within a single run in the sixth. Logan Antrim led off with a base hit and went to second on a pop up. Then with two outs, Eli Moore delivered an RBI single.

Eli Levitt started and was the tough-luck loser. He pitched the first 3.1 innings and gave three runs – two unearned – on only one hit. He walked four and struck out five. Brody Niebrugge and Josh Blanchette also pitched.

The Bulldogs dropped to 14-2 on the season. They will return to action today (Thursday) at home against cross-creek rival Teutopolis. Game time is 4:30 p.m.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was quite the contrast after the game.

One coach was talking about the different ways his team could manufacture runs.

The other was lamenting the fact his team didn’t have a single hit.

One was talking about outstanding pitching.

The other was talking about poor defense.

One was all smiles and celebrating a championship.

The other was scratching his head, trying to figure out what went wrong.

The happy coach was Tony Kreke.

For the second night in a row, he saw one of his pitchers totally control a game.

After Logan Antrim threw a four-hit shutout Wednesday night, fellow lefthander Colton Fearday was even stingier Thursday night.

He threw a five-inning no-hitter and received plenty of support from his teammates, as the St. Anthony Bulldogs posted a 10-0 victory over Effingham and captured the title of the annual City Series.

“Two years ago, we got beat on the last play of the game and saw Effingham celebrate with a pile-on,” Kreke recalled. “That just showed you the magnitude of this series and how important it is to both teams. It’s nice to be on the other end of that this year.”

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