Holmen wins Class AA state championship
Photo credit: Holmen Baseball
MERRILL – What a difference a couple of months can make.
On June 1, the Holmen high school team trudged off the field at Viterbo University, beaten by La Crosse Central in the WIAA Division 1 regional finals. The loss capped a middling season in which the Vikings finished around .500.
Fast forward almost two months to the date, and that team is long gone.
Holmen defeated Antigo 6-2 in the American Legion Class AA state championship game on Sunday to win its first state title since 2012.
Post 284 never trailed in the victory, largely thanks to the work of Ben Byom on the mound. The sophomore pitched six strong innings of three-hit baseball to hold the Typhoon to just one run during his time on the bump.
Antigo put up a fight, but in the end it wasn’t enough to stop Holmen from mobbing at the mound in a celebratory dogpile as newly-crowned state champions.
“Our whole dugout was on their toes waiting for that last out,” Holmen player Hunter DeSmet said. “I had the biggest grin on my face after we got the last out because I knew we had it. We all worked so hard for this moment, so it was awesome having it all pay off. I’ve never felt like that before.”
The win capped a remarkable run for Holmen, which completely turned around its fortunes after the spring high school season.
“During summer ball we had coaches that really believed in us and had high expectations. They put everything they had into making us successful because they knew the potential we had,” DeSmet said. “In the spring things didn’t go our way as much and that motivated us to go win a state title.”
That motivation was evident on Sunday. Holmen gave Byom plenty of run support, starting in the first inning. Austin Braund hit a two-out RBI single to put Post 284 up 1-0. They added another run in the bottom of the third on a bases loaded walk by Owen Gilbertson.
Antigo had its chances to score, too. The Typhoon got runners on second and third in the third inning, but couldn’t bring them in. They got a single runner in scoring position in both the first and fourth innings, but came up empty.
The game shifted strongly in Holmen’s favor in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Post 284 scored runs on an Antigo error, an RBI single by Mitchell Torud, and a first and third base running play to take a 5-0 lead.
“Scoring those three runs gave us all the momentum. It got our whole dugout pumped up and it took the air out of Antigo. We just kept rolling from there,” DeSmet said.
The Typhoon showed signs of life in the top of the fifth inning. Jake Husnick hit a solo home run to put Antigo on the board and cut the lead to 5-1.
Post 284 quickly got the run back in the bottom of the fifth. They scored a run on another Antigo error.
After Byom reached the pitch limit at the end of the sixth inning, Antigo managed to score a run off reliever Drake Walensky on an RBI single by Husnick. That was all the Typhoon had left in the tank though, and Holmen celebrated its state championship.
Drew Becker led Holmen at the plate with a 3-for-3 game. Thomas Carlson had a pair of hits for Post 284. Husnick finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Antigo.
The win gave Holmen (25-7) its second Class AA state title since 1974. They also won a Class A championship in 1993.
Post 284 advances to the Division 2 Central Plains Regional in North Dakota this week. They’re joined by Class A state champion West Salem in the tournament, which was won by Viroqua last year.
“We’re ready to go prove how good we are to some of the best teams in the country,” DeSmet said. “We know we can hang with anybody, so we’re excited to go and make a run against some of the best talent in the country.”
Antigo saw a phenomenal postseason run end just short of a title. After finishing the regular season with an 11-9 record, the Typhoon went on to win eight of their 11 postseason games to end the year at 19-12.
