By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Chances are, when Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball, he didn’t envision his new game being played in adverse weather conditions.
Gray skies with no hint of sunshine. Temperatures that dipped well into the 40s. And strong winds that made it feel even colder than that.
But those were the conditions the Effingham and Teutopolis squads encountered Monday afternoon at the THS ball diamond.
And the two teams handled it all pretty well.
Heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hearts were clinging to a slim 3-2 lead.
But the Wooden Shoes then put together a seven-run rally that turned that deficit into a 9-5 victory.
T-Town had just three hits in the frame, but took advantage of five walks – three with the bases loaded – a hit batsman and a throwing error to notch its ninth win of the young season.
“We managed to pull it out,” said THS coach Justin Fleener. “The weather wasn’t very good. I think both coaches would like to see better execution at times. But at the same time, we also saw some good things.”
In that decisive inning, the Shoes’ rally started with one out. Gavin Addis walked and Cooper Tegeler singled to right, sending Addis to third base. When Tegeler then attempted to steal second, an errant throw allowed Addis to come home with the tying run.
Aiden Niemerg then got an infield single and Davin Worman walked to load the bases. Mick Niebrugge followed with a fly ball to right that brought in Tegeler with the go-ahead run.
The next five batters then all reached base to widen the lead.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Justin Fleener has a formula for success in the postseason.
“You have to make the routine plays and cut down on the free passes, plus you need big hits and great pitching,” the coach explained.
Let’s see.
In three postseason games thus far, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have made just one error, allowed only three runs and 10 hits, and have issued six walks – three in each game. And, they’ve scored 25 runs, while banging out 25 hits.
So, it’s no surprise the Shoes are still alive.
It was that pitching and defense that really came through Wednesday afternoon.
Sophomore Austin Borries went six stellar innings and that THS defense turned a pair of key double plays, helping T-Town post an impressive 3-0 victory over Columbia in a semifinal game of the Greenville Class 2A Sectional.
“We expected a close game today,” Fleener admitted. “At this point of the season, all the teams are good and all the games should be close ones.”
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 10th-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.
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 14th 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.”
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.
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