By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
It was an enjoyable summer for Marquette University High School's baseball team.
The Hilltoppers won the Wisconsin summer state baseball championship on Thursday with a 12-1 victory over Kettle Moraine at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point.
Marquette had defeated Oak Creek 8-3 in the semifinals earlier that day. Kettle Moraine topped Brown Deer 13-12 in an eight-inning semifinal game.
There's only one division in Wisconsin high school summer baseball. Marquette doesn't play during the spring season.
"We did think we had a good chance (of winning the title),” Marquette coach Jim Wilkinson said. “We had three good starting pitchers. We had two other good relief pitchers. With our team last season, we made it to the state semifinals. It was a team that had experience with state pressure. They and I were expecting to contend.”
Also during the week, Marquette beat New Holstein 11-4 in the quarterfinals.
“Our pitching had pretty much been there all season,” Wilkinson said. “Our hitting was really starting to come around at the beginning of July. We play in one of the best conferences in the state. We have a 12-team conference (Greater Metro), two divisions. That conference is very competitive. We're used to facing good pitching and facing teams that will keep coming at us. It really seasoned us for the postseason.”
In the title game for Marquette, which ended its season at 27-11, leftfielder Matt Krueger had two hits and four RBIs. Pinch-hitter Nick Derksen had one hit and three RBIs. Center fielder Luke Acker had three hits and scored three runs.
Marquette only led 2-1 going into the top of the seventh when it exploded for 10 runs. In that inning, Krueger had a three-run homer and Derksen a three-run double.
“We were fortunate to have more pitching left than the other team,” Wilkinson said.
Collin Weyer was the winning pitcher for Marquette while Brian Mulcahey finished the final two innings.
Kettle Moraine was out-hit 13-6 and committed five errors.
Catcher Fred Gromalak had two hits and an RBI for Kettle Moraine, which ends the season at 25-10.
“Brian Mulcahey is our best player and our top hitter” Wilkinson said. “He hit .405.”
Senior second baseman Tom Walters also played a key role for the Hilltoppers this season and hit .370 at the cleanup position.
Weyer and Tyler Jones were the team's top pitchers.
Marquette, 6-0 for the tournament, also won the summer title in 2006 while Kettle Moraine took first place in 1988.
Cody Smith scored Kettle Moraine's only run in the first inning.
"We'll lose seven starters,” Wilkinson said, looking ahead to 2009. “But on the other hand, we keep a roster of 18 or 19. Playing so many games, we do have eight guys with significant time coming back. We'll have a couple of good pitchers and some guys who will be able to step in. So we certainly won't be automatic but we will contend, I think, next year.”
This marked the 44th season for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association summer baseball tournament. West Bend West won the 2007 summer title with an 11-1 win over Holstein in the championship game.
Football
Stratford has claimed five consecutive football state championships in Division 7 and enters the 2008 season as a favorite to make it six straight under coach Cal Tackes.
“Once you get on a roll, you develop a lot of confidence,” Tackes said. “They know what it takes to get to that level. We have had a good run of excellent athletes.”
In last season's title game, Stratford beat Iola-Scandinavia 28-7.
“Our kids keep making the plays. We thought we'd have a strong team,” Tackes said, looking back to last year at this time. “We had some adversity during the year and had some guys injured. They came back and we had guys who gained a lot of experience. After the first game, one of our best all-around players (tight end and Jordan Bauman) got ill and we played (most of the season) without him. When he came back, it was an emotional boost.
“We've always had good athletes and good quickness and speed.”
Tackes likes his team's prospects for 2008. Practices begin this week and the regular season kicks off at the end of the month.
“We have a good team coming back on paper,” he said. “We don't know if we'll have a lot of depth. Our front line people will be very good.”
Bauman, who battled cancer a year ago and is in remission, hopes to be a key player for Stratford. Lineman Kyle Nowak, out with an injury last year, also hopes to return to the lineup.
Senior tight end/defensive end/placekicker Ben Frodl and senior linebacker Rick Drews are among the standout players this season for Tackes. Halfback Ryan Schalow was among the team's top running backs.
The Tigers are 69-1 over the past five seasons and have compiled that mark in dominant fashion. A year ago, Stratford limited 10 of 14 opponents to seven points or less while averaging nearly 40 of its own.