MANHATTAN – St. Mary’s Colgan added yet another trophy to its historic baseball legacy on Friday in Manhattan at Tointon Stadium.
With a four-run seventh inning, Colgan took down Thomas More Prep 7-3 to claim its second straight 2-1A title, third in four years and 23rd in school history, adding to one of the most storied high school baseball programs in the state.
“We felt like we could be the best team in 2A again, but we had to earn it; nothing was going to be given to us,” Colgan head coach Mike Watt said. “We challenged ourselves with our schedule, we challenged ourselves in practice. And we talked about it before the game, ‘this is our last challenge, let’s get it done.’ And I’m just so proud of them.”
The two foes were tied 3-3 after five innings, and Colgan was especially struggling to find a groove against Monarch pitcher Ty Schmeidler. However, he was knocked out of the game in the sixth after reaching the 105-pitch limit, giving the Panthers a chance to rally in the final inning.
St. Mary's Colgan won the Class 2-1A state title Friday over Thomas More Prep.
And they made full use. Colgan finally broke away in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Brady Badart to make it 4-3. After a walk, Brady Crossland added another with an RBI double, one of his three RBIs on the day. By the end of the seventh, the Panthers were well in front, 7-3, with four runs coming across.
Although Watt said knocking Schmeidler out of the game was a big boost, he gave all the credit to the way his team handled the situation.
“The kids were intense the whole time,” Watt said. “We were able to compete up and down the lineup. It was an awesome baseball game and that’s the way a state championship game should be. Give TMP a ton of credit. They’re a very good team, and our kids just battled them and were able to win.”
Monarch head coach Aaron Breit said many of the issues they faced in the seventh were self-inflicted and were too numerous for the Panthers not to benefit.
Colgan's Brady Badart celebrates a big play during Friday's state title game against Thomas More Prep.
“I think it was just a culmination of free passes and then they took advantage of it,” Breit said. “With a good team like that, you give them free passes, they’re going to make it hurt. And at the end, that’s what happened.”
The Monarchs took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Panthers would rally a few innings later. Despite facing the Kentucky commit in Schmeidler, Colgan tied things up after an RBI single from Brock Radell and then took the lead a batter later when Crossland tripled to make it 3-1.
TMP responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning and threatened to add more. But Panther pitcher Crossland worked out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs to limit the damage and maintain a 3-2 lead for Colgan. But the Monarchs tied things up in the fourth, thanks to an RBI double from Grant Nehls to make it 3-3 headed into the fifth.
Colgan's Brady Crossland started Friday's title game for the Panthers.
That was when the seventh rolled around, and Colgan took a commanding 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh with the Monarchs unable to answer the bell and make a comeback.
On the mound for Colgan, Crossland got the start, going four innings while allowing two earned runs (three total) and striking out five. Badart also threw three innings in relief, striking out three while allowing no runs.
For the Monarchs, Schmeidler finished his outing on the mound with 11 strikeouts and three earned runs after 5 ? innings pitched. He also added an RBI at the plate along with Nehls.
TMP's Carson Liles races around third Friday during the Class 2-1A title game.
One of the deciding factors that helped Colgan stay calm under pressure was its experience in these types of situations. Although the Monarchs had only lost once all season – to a 6A foe in Manhattan no less – many contributors for the Panthers were in last year’s title game. And the senior group had already been in two title matchups before Friday’s.
Watt said that extra experience, along with the tough schedule they faced this year, definitely came into play during the late innings.
The St. Mary's Colgan baseball team celebrates the final out Friday in their championship victory over TMP.
“Give our league props. Girard is in our league, and they just won the 3A state title, and we battled them to a couple of close games,” Watt said. “Frontenac was really good in our league and we battled all those guys. Our non-conference schedule is really good and we challenge ourselves with our schedule.”