Altamont softball sees season end to Casey-Westfield; St. Anthony baseball dominates Casey in sectional semifinals
May 25—KINMUNDY — The ball just didn't fall Altamont's way on Wednesday.
The Lady Indians saw their season end with a 15-0, five-inning loss to Casey-Westfield in the Class 1A South Central Semifinals at Webster Park in Kinmundy.
The Lady Warriors got on the board first with two runs in the first.
Ava Goble started the contest by reaching first after an error.
Goble then stole second base and advanced to third after Maya Redman laid down a sacrifice bunt. Goble then scored after Paige Cutright reached on an error to make it 1-0.
Megan Cribelar then drew a walk and Whitney Fuller, who courtesy ran for Cutright, scored after Kam Smith reached on an error to increase the lead to 2-0.
Altamont hurler Grace Lemke rebounded, though, striking out Tristan Ring and Allyson Truelove to end the inning.
Cutright, however, was a mystery that the Lady Indians couldn't solve the entire game.
Cutright finished the game throwing 63 pitches, 49 for strikes, and striking out 13 batters.
Lemke, on the other hand, threw 129 pitches and allowed six hits, 15 runs (three earned) and four walks to nine strikeouts.
Altamont head coach Megan Burrus said she couldn't be happier with her team's effort the entire season.
"They have battled. I have changed my lineup, I don't know how many times; I have two seniors with a sophomore pitcher and catcher," Burrus said. "We've had our ups and downs, but every day, they've had to come out and battle to even have a chance and to pull through and win a regional; that flat-out comes down to the hard work they've put in for the last three months."
The Lady Indians finish the season with a 10-22 record and the program's first regional championship since 2014.
St. Anthony 13, Casey-Westfield 0
Following a thrilling regional championship win over Altamont, St. Anthony returned to the field on Wednesday evening.
The Bulldogs made quick work of Casey-Westfield, winning 13-0, in five innings.
After a scoreless first, Aiden Lauritzen started the second with a double.
Max Koenig then laid down a sacrifice bunt that pushed Lauritzen to third before Brock Jansen hit a single that put runners on the corners.
Will Hoene then cleared the bases with a double before Ryan Schmidt struck out and Beau Adams popped out to end the inning.
St. Anthony then scored eight runs in the third to push its lead to 12-0.
Eli Levitt started the frame with a double, later stole third and scored after Brock Fearday hit into a fielder's choice.
Connor Roepke then hit a single. Lauritzen drew a walk and Max Koenig hit a single that drove in Fearday to make it 4-0.
Jansen followed that with a bases-loaded free pass to make it 5-0 and Hoene hit an RBI single to push the advantage to a six-run lead.
Schmidt then struck out for the first out of the frame before Adams got hit by a pitch that pushed another run across.
Henry Brent then slid head-first into home plate after Eli Levitt grounded into a fielder's choice and Hoene scored after an error on the Warriors.
Fearday then ended the barrage of runs by hitting an RBI triple that scored Levitt.
St. Anthony then scored three more runs in the fifth to equal the 15-0 final.
The Bulldogs now advance to the Altamont Sectional Finals on Saturday against South Central. First pitch for that contest is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
