Shelbyville softball knocked off Tuscola recently in the biggest upset in the area this season. Now, the Lady Rams have done it again, knocking off NTC 2nd place St. Anthony at St. Anthony, 7-5.

Tuscola is one the best teams in the area. Teutopolis is another. St. Anthony was the runner-up to Teutopolis (30-2) in the recent NTC tournament. St. Anthony knocked off Beecher City in the semifinal, then lost the close title game to the Shoes, 4-1.

The next day, St. Anthony the #3-seeded host of the upcoming regional had a “tune-up” game against regional #8-seeded Shelbyville. But, Tuesday didn’t turn into a “tune-up” game. Instead, it became a postseason wake-up call for the Bulldogs, courtesy of the Rams, who rattled the bats for 11 hits, including a Taylor Rhodes round-tripper.

St. Anthony drew first blood in the second, but the Rams came right back and erased that advantage in the next half-inning. With one out, Jennifer Hood launched a ball to right that couldn’t be caught. She got into scoring position and, with two outs, Shannon Boone singled Hood home for the 1-1 tie.

St. Anthony scored three runs in the bottom of the inning, looking like they could just turn it on when they needed to, 4-1 Dawgs. But, the Rams got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth and stayed within striking distance. With one out, Taylor Rhodes blasted a stinger missile that shot past the defense for a solo homer, 4-2 Dawgs.

Ram starter, Turaisa Welton, gave up a single to start the St. A fourth, but then struck out two of the next three batters, keeping the Dawgs heeled. In the fifth, however, the Bulldogs manufactured a run on a walk and a single to up their lead to three runs, then put their bats away with just a 5-2 lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Rams stoked the coals of a comeback, thanks to St. Anthony carelessness. Kaylee Agney led off with a single and Katy Langan drew a walk. After a pair of ground outs, one an RBI-groundout by Rhodes, and a pair of wild pitches, a dropped third strike allowed Hailey Eigsti to reach base and Langan to score, cutting the St. A lead to 5-4, heading into the bottom of the sixth, a mistake.

Welton and the Ram defense ruled in the clutch, as they sat the Dawgs down in the sixth 1, 2, 3 and brought their bats back to the plate for a destiny date.

In the top of the seventh, Chelsey Abendroth slapped a 1-out single to spark the rally. Boone followed with a single and Agney drew a walk to load the bases down by just one run. Langan then smacked a game-winning 2-run single to give the Rams the 6-5 lead. Rhodes added an insurance run with an RBI-double, 7-5 Rams.

St. Anthony had to try to restart their engines in the bottom of the seventh. They couldn’t. Welton got the first batter to hit right back to her for a ground out. She got the next batter to pop out to Agney at third base. The last batter hit a ground ball to third and Agney gunned her down to notch another upset.

Three Rams had multiple hits, led by Rhodes. Rhodes went 3-for-4, with two singles, a home run and a ground out RBI, being productive every time she came to the plate.

Abendorth also had multiple hits, going 2-for-4, as did Boone, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and scoring the winning run.

Shelbyville was to host Taylorville on Wednesday, then play two more games before heading to the St. Anthony Regional. Shelby hosts St. Teresa in the final varsity/JV conference doubleheader on Friday, then hosts Okaw Valley varsity/JV on Saturday. They will then start the postseason at Vandalia (7-seed) in the first round of the St. Anthony Regional on Monday. If Shelby wins, then will play top-seeded Teutopolis on Tuesday.

Shebyville 7, St. Anthony 5

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