The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs will be seeking their fourth straight National Trail Conference Softball Tournament title, thanks to a 6-2 win over Altamont in one semifinal game, played Wednesday at Evergreen Hollow Park in Effingham.

Wild pitches helped St. Anthony score three of its runs and an Altamont error let in a fourth. That, combined with the pitching of Sydney Kibler and Addie Wernsing, put the Lady Bulldogs in the championship game.

They will face Windsor/Stew-Stras at 6 p.m. Friday.

Three walks and two wild pitches staked SAHS to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Maddie Kibler walked and eventually scored on an error in the fourth and Hailey Niebrugge walked, advanced to third base after two more wild pitches and then came home on a ground out by Abbi Hatton in the fifth.

The Lady Bulldogs wrapped up their scoring with a two-run sixth. Stacie Vonderheide walked, Julia Schultz got a base hit and Addy Rios delivered a two-run single.

The Lady Indians scored on a pair of solo home runs – by Grace Lemke in the third and Laila Hankins in the seventh.

Sydney Kibler pitched the first four innings to get the win. She allowed five hits and one run, while walking three and striking out eight. Wernsing took care of the final three frames, giving up two hits and a run, while walking one and striking out six.

Lemke took the loss for Altamont. She allowed six runs and five hits. She walked six and struck out nine.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 21-2.

In other games Wednesday, WSS defeated South Central 11-1; Dieterich beat North Clay 18-4; and St. Elmo/Brownstown outlasted Neoga 13-11.

The tournament will conclude Friday. At 4:15 p.m., Dieterich will face SEB for the consolation title; and Altamont and South Central will play for third place. St. Anthony and WSS will then square off in the final game.

All games are played at Evergreen Green Hollow Park.

Addie Wernsing didn’t allow a hit and Abbi Hatton belted a home run Tuesday afternoon, helping the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs cruise to a 12-0, five-inning victory over North Clay in an opening-round game of the National Trail Conference Softball Tournament, played at Evergreen Green Hollow Park in Effingham.

Wernsing went the first four innings and was perfect – not allowing a baserunner. She struck out the first nine batters she faced and finished with 10 strikeouts. Nancy Ruholl pitched a scoreless fifth, as SAHS won its eighth straight game and improved to 20-2.

The top-seeded Lady Bulldogs got all the runs they needed in the first inning. Wernsing walked, Hailey Niebrugge singled and Hatton blasted a 2-1 pitch over the rightfield fence to stake SAHS to an early 3-0 lead.

St. Anthony scored three runs in the second, added two in the fourth and pushed across four more in the fourth.

Addy Rios, Niebrugge and Hatton each finished with two hits in the game. Hatton had four RBI.

There were four tournament games played Tuesday. In the other games, South Central beat St. Elm/Brownstown (SEB) 15-0; Altamont nipped Dieterich 3-2; and Windsor/Stew-Straws (WSS) rolled over Neoga 16-0.

The tournament will resume today (Wednesday). At 4:15 p.m., St. Anthony will face Altamont in a semifinal game and North Clay and Dieterich will also play. At 6 p.m., South Central and WSS will meet in the other semifinal contest and SEB will battle Neoga.

The final games are scheduled for Friday. All games are played at Evergreen Green Hollow Park.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The Cross Creek Classic plaque is staying put.

For the third straight year, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs posted a victory in this annual battle with Teutopolis, and as a result, the traveling plaque will remain at St. Anthony High School.

The Lady Bulldogs banged out 18 hits and the pitching duo of Sydney Kibler and Addie Wernsing allowed only two, helping the St. Anthony girls roll to a 14-1 victory Friday night at Evergreen Hollow Park.

SAHS scored five runs in both the first and last innings and added four more at the midway point. Abbi Hatton, Maddie Kibler and Stacie Vonderheide each had three hits and combined to drive in eight runs, as the Lady Bulldogs cruised to their 19th win of the season.

And they wasted no time taking charge.

It was 2-0 before an out was recorded. Addy Rios walked, Wernsing singled and Hailey Niebrugge grounded a base hit up the middle, driving in the first run. Hatton followed with an RBI double down the rightfield line.

With one out, Maddie Kibler walked to load the bases. A fly ball by Vonderheide drove home a run, a wild pitch accounted for another and Laney Coffin capped the inning with an RBI single to stake St. Anthony to the early 5-0 lead.

It stayed that way until the fourth. Again, it was Rios that got things started, this time with an infield hit. After Wernsing drew a walk, Hatton singled to drive home one run, Maddie Kibler smashed a pitch to the centerfield fence to drive in two more and Vonderheide made it 9-0 with an RBI single.

Marshall used three two-run innings to come away with a 6-3 softball victory Tuesday afternoon at Teutopolis.

The Lady Lions pushed a pair of runs across in the third, fifth and sixth innings.

The Lady Shoes also scored in three innings, but had single tallies each time.

With two outs in the first inning, Malea Helmink doubled, CJ Apke got her first of three hits, and Helmink was able to score on an error, giving T-Town the early 1-0 lead.

Apke accounted for the run in the fourth. She belted a home run over the centerfield fence to tie the game, 2-2.

The Lady Shoes scored their final run in the fifth. Olivia Copple singled, stole second and third base and scored on a throwing error. That got THS within 4-3.

Alyssa Tipton took the loss. She pitched all seven innings, allowing eight hits and six runs. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.

The Lady Shoes, now 12-14, will play at home again Friday, hosting Edwardsville.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs have received the top seed in the 2024 National Trail Conference Softball Tournament.

The annual tourney will be played Monday, Wednesday and Friday, April 29-May 3, at Evergreen Hollow Park in Effingham.

The top four seeds also included South Central (No. 2), Windsor/Stew-Stras (No. 3) and Altamont (No. 4).

There will be four games played Monday, four more Wednesday and the finals are set for Friday.

Games will be play on both the west diamond and the east diamond.

Here is the tournament schedule:

Monday, April 29

Game 1 – 4:15 p.m. – St. Anthony (#1) vs. North Clay (#8)

Game 2 – 4:15 p.m. – South Central (#2) vs. St. Elmo/Brownstown (#7)

Game 3 – 6 p.m. – Altamont (#4) vs. Dieterich (#5)

Game 4 – 6 p.m. – Windsor/Stew-Stras (#3) vs. Neoga (#6)

  1. Lady Bulldogs make two hits stand up in 5-0 win over Altamont
  2. Kibler, Wernsing combine on shutout; Lady Bulldogs win 8-0
  3. Wernsing pitches, bats Lady Bulldogs past Windsor/Stew-Stras
  4. Maddie Kibler's 7th-inning homer lifts Lady Bulldogs past Salem