ST. PETERS - In a playoff clash marked by momentous innings, Lutheran St. Charles struck with the one that mattered most.
Lutheran wiped out a six-run deficit by piling on nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday as the Cougars went on to jolt the South Callaway Bulldogs in a wild 15-11 victory in the Class 3 quarterfinals.
South Callaway - which owned an 11-5 lead going to Lutheran's half of the fifth - had an eight-game winning streak halted in ending its season with a 20-8 record. The Bulldogs were attempting to return to the state semifinals for the first time since winning a Class 2 state championship in 2012.
The Cougars (16-12) will now move on to meet Fatima (20-7) in the Class 3 semifinals at 7 p.m. Monday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon. Fatima advanced with an 8-1 quarterfinal triumph over Stockton on Wednesday.
Lutheran - which tallied four runs in the first to establish a fast advantage and eventually led 4-2 - found itself down by six runs after South Callaway erupted for six in the fourth and three more in the fifth to gain control. The Cougars responded by sending 13 batters to the plate in the fifth to break the game open.
Matthew Westpahl immediately ignited Lutheran's rally by hitting a leadoff home run to left off South Callaway senior starter Terry Miles. After three straight singles loaded the bases, Mathew Seacrist came through with a two-run single to right, bringing the Cougars within 11-8.
Lutheran then made it a two-run game when John Hurayt hit an RBI sacrifice fly. After Bulldogs sophomore reliever Graysan Peneston issued a walk, Kory Carter's run-scoring single to right pulled the Cougars within 11-10.
Justin Hunt followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to tie the game and Westpahl knocked in his second run of the inning with a single to left, putting Lutheran on top 12-11. Patrick Seacrist added an RBI single to left and the Cougars tacked on their final run of the inning, aided by a South Callaway error, to stretch their advantage to 14-11.
Lutheran put up its final run in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk.
The Bulldogs had one final chance to rally in the seventh when senior shortstop Dax Helsel and senior third baseman Trevor Adams delivered consecutive singles with one out. However, sophomore reliever Dillon Stone struck out and freshman right fielder Kaden Helsel grounded out to second, ending both the game and South Callaway's season.
Quickly down 4-0, the Bulldogs sliced their deficit in half by responding with two runs in the second. Stone - who started the game in right field - put South Callaway on the board when he scored on a throwing error by the Cougars. Senior center fielder Cory Hanger then made it 4-2 when he drew a bases-loaded walk to force home senior designated hitter Harold Woods.
The score remained that way until the fourth, when South Callaway blitzed the Cougars with a six-run uprising to take the lead. Senior second baseman Trevor Miller opened the inning with a single to right and raced to third on senior first baseman Caleb Sconce's double to right.
Junior catcher Cameron Richardson followed with a sacrifice fly to score Miller, closing the Bulldogs within a run. After senior left fielder Mason Shoemaker struck out, Hanger reached on an error and Sconce sprinted home from third on the play to tie the game at 4-all.
Dax Helsel then drew a walk and Adams followed with a single to center, bringing home Hanger to put South Callaway in front. Stone's RBI single to left scored Helsel and the Bulldogs were up 6-4. Peneston then reached on an error by Lutheran in center field, with Adams and Stone both scoring on the play to push South Callaway's lead to four runs.
After the Cougars countered with a run in their half of the fourth to make it 8-5, the Bulldogs seemed to be on the verge of securing a trip to the Class 3 semifinals when they answered with three runs in the top of the fifth. Adams produced an RBI single and Stone supplied a two-run double to give South Callaway a six-run cushion.
However, Lutheran rocked the Bulldogs with its mammoth surge in the bottom of the fifth and South Callaway couldn't recover.
Adams finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored as the Bulldogs collected 10 hits. Stone was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and scored two times, while Dax Helsel also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Richardson finished 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Peneston - lasting just two-thirds of an inning in relief of Miles - was tagged with the loss. He surrendered six runs, five earned, on five hits, walked one and struck out none.
South Callaway committed four errors and Lutheran had three.