For the first time since 2000, the BC Boys’ Varsity Baseball team won the WIAA summer state championship July 25 against Homestead High School. By a score of 9-2, the Lancers dominated the Highlanders and won their fourth state title.
Last year, the team went 19-11 in the regular season and qualified for the WIAA state playoffs. With many returning varsity players, it was predicted that the momentum from the previous year would carry over into a successful 2014 season.
The Lancers showed signs of success right off the bat, as they went 21-1 in their first 22 games of the season. They suffered a 1-5 stretch following that, but retaliated by finishing the season with a seven game winning streak to obtain the final record of 29-6. Homestead, their opponent in the state final, finished with a 26-8 record after going to their first title game since 2003.
Both teams were going for their fourth state title when they met at Kapco Park in Mequon for the championship game. With a score tied at 2-2 in the second inning, Matthew Ausloos (‘14) came in to take over starter Luke Summerfeld (‘14). “I just didn’t have it tonight,” Sommerfeld told the Journal Sentinel. “I wasn’t feeling it… It’s all about the team, it’s ‘we,’ not ‘me.’”
Ausloos, who was described as “lights out” by coach Jeff Bigler, was able to end the inning without allowing any more runs to score.
In the third inning, BC took a 5-2 lead over the Highlanders after a two-run single by Jonathan Keane (‘15) and a one-run single by Aaron Hammond (‘16). Continuing their offense in the fourth inning, the Lancers added three more runs to their lead on two sacrifice flies and a wild pitch. After later scoring an additional run, Central finished on top of Homestead by a final score of 9-2, earning BC the state title.
“It was an amazing moment to share with a bunch of great guys,” Zach Schmidt (‘15) said. “It was a great feeling knowing all the hard work everyone put in during the offseason and during practice.”
After ending on such a high note, the BC boys’ baseball team is already looking forward to the next season and is hoping that their success will carry over.