Aquinas captures Division 3 state championship
Aquinas freshman Jess Ondell (far left) is mobbed by teammates after winning the state championship on Thursday afternoon (Alex Strouf/Wisconsin Baseball Central).
GRAND CHUTE -- Coach Cooney would’ve been proud.
The La Crosse Aquinas Blugolds lost a loved one over the last weekend of May, just days before their historic postseason run began.
James Coonan, a coach at Aquinas for over three decades who was still involved with the team, passed away on May 27, 2017. The postseason began just three days later for the Blugolds.
Thursday, Aquinas had a near-perfect ending to a run they dedicated to ‘Coach Cooney.’
“Coach Cooney would be proud. That’s what we ended with,” said Aquinas head coach Scott Bagniefski.
“We had his urn in the dugout yesterday. He would’ve enjoyed this a lot.”
The team and the small amount of fans that made the road trip to Grand Chute enjoyed it for him.
Aquinas didn’t really ever give the scolding hot Laconia Spartans a chance.
Freshman Jess Ondell was on the mound for the Blugolds, and he was on fire all afternoon long. Ondell pitched a complete game shutout, striking out five and allowing only three hits.
“I just came out and three strikes,” said Ondell. “We hit our zones well. The defense just made some great plays.”
It was not just the defense that allowed Aquinas to go onto win the Division 3 state championship game 10-0. It was also the high powered offense of the Blugolds.
Junior third baseman Nick Schlicht has been phenomenal through the state tournament. Thursday capped off one of the best offensive performances at state in recent memory.
Schlicht, in two games, was 6-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI.
“Nick Schlicht. What a performance here at state of all places and atmospheres,” said Bagniefski.
Schlicht doesn’t know where his sudden spark came from. Coming into the state tournament, he only had 11 hits on the season.
“I don’t know,” Schlicht said of this outburst. “I just tried to spot up on the ball and did it for my teammates.”
Aquinas outscored their opponents 17-0 at state. The run goes before that, though.
Since Coonan’s passing, the Blugolds went a perfect 6-0 with four shutouts, and outscored opponents 55-5.
That’s an unheard of run. It ended with a gold trophy.
