The South Central Cougars are headed to the NTC Baseball Tournament championship game after pulling off a dramatic upset over the tournament’s top seed.
South Central knocked off St. Anthony 5-3 in an eight-inning thriller, overcoming the top-seeded Bulldogs in a game that wasn’t decided until the final inning.
Sebastian Kruger, Eli Hiestand and Jordan Smith provided the offensive spark for the Cougars, combining for four of South Central’s eight hits. The trio accounted for two runs and an RBI in the victory.
The game was tied 2-2 heading into the seventh inning when South Central grabbed the lead. Luke Shumate delivered an RBI to put the Cougars in front, but St. Anthony answered in the bottom half of the inning to send the game into extra innings.
That set the stage for Garrett Shumate.
In the top of the eighth, Shumate came through with a clutch double that drove in what proved to be the game-winning run. South Central would add another run to push the advantage to 5-3 before Ryker Dodson closed the door on the Bulldogs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the upset.
Shumate was also instrumental on the mound, earning the victory after throwing 7 1/3 innings. He allowed six hits and two earned runs while striking out two.
Dodson then finished the job, preserving the Cougars’ two-run lead and sending South Central into the NTC Tournament championship game.
South Central will face Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg in the championship game as the Cougars look to finish their fall baseball season with a tournament title.
But before they can play for the championship, the Cougars can celebrate a memorable upset — knocking off the NTC’s top seed in an eight-inning battle that came down to the final three outs.
