West is best: West Bend West completes unbeaten season
MEQUON – On Saturday morning, there was one obstacle left to overcome on the road to history for the boys from West Bend. And by noon, they proved they were up to the challenge.
West Bend West cemented its legacy as one of the best high school baseball teams to ever take the field in Wisconsin with a 6-4 win over Marquette in the WIAA summer state championship game to win the title with a 33-0 record.
The Spartans’ dominant pitching staff held the power-hitting Hilltoppers to just five hits and one big inning in the contest. Meanwhile, their offense came to life in the middle innings to pull ahead for good.
Marquette struck first in the bottom of the first inning. The HIlltoppers scored a run on a Spartan error to take a 1-0 lead.
Neither team got much else going until the fourth inning, when West Bend West broke through with three runs to take the lead. Anthony Schlass tied the game with an RBI single. Nate Fleischman gave the Spartans the lead with an RBI fielder’s choice, and Gavin Hinckley extended it to 3-1 with an RBI double.
West Bend West’s bats got right back at it in the fifth, scoring two runs on bases loaded walks by Jack Thelen and Lucas Broske.
Trailing 5-1, Marquette roared back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to one. Pat Sisk was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Zach Schmidt added an RBI with a fielder’s choice. Another run scored on an error by the Spartans.
After both teams went scoreless in the sixth, Schlass belted an RBI double in the top of the seventh for an insurance run for West Bend West.
Marquette went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sealing the state title for the Spartans.
Hickley, just a freshman, earned the win on the mound. He pitched 4.1 innings and allowed four runs on four hits and two walks. Logan Rupnow got the save in 2.2 scoreless innings of work.
Evan Albrecht led the Spartans with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Schlass finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Zach Nogalski had two of Marquette’s five hits.
The win gave West Bend West its first state title since 2007. It is the Spartans’ fourth overall championship.
For the second consecutive year, Marquette fell in the state title game. They finished the season with a 27-8 record.
