2017: A season in review
Aquinas' Jess Ondell (far left) is swarmed by his teammates after winning the WIAA spring baseball Division 3 state championship on June 15 in Grand Chute (Alex Strouf/Wisconsin Baseball Central).
The 2017 high school baseball spring and summer seasons are all wrapped up. It was yet another exciting year on the diamond as baseball continues to prove to be one of the most loved sports in Wisconsin.
This year was marked by teams either getting over the hump to win a state title.
In the WIAA spring season, Kimberly took home the Division 1 state crown after finishing as runner-up in two of the previous three years. West Salem claimed its first-ever Division 2 title after falling in the state semifinals two years in a row. Aquinas won the Division 3 championship, helping put their heartbreaking loss in the 2015 title game behind them. Athens won its first state title since 1982 in Division 4.
West Bend West made history in the WIAA summer season, finishing the year as state champion with a perfect 33-0 record. The Spartans cemented their legacy as one of the best teams to ever take the field in Wisconsin.
In American Legion baseball, Eau Claire won its first state title since 1986 by beating Oshkosh in the Class AAA championship game. Holmen managed to turn around a .500 season in the spring by winning the Class AA title in the summer. West Salem won its second state championship of the year by taking the Class A championship over Clintonville, and also finished as runner-up at the Division 2 Central Plains tournament.
Other items of note from the year include:
-The new pitch count rule in WIAA play certainly had an effect, changing the way that games were managed. In the end, it figures to be a good thing as it protects young arms from overuse.
-St. Mary Catholic held the longest winning streak in the nation for most of the season. Their streak was snapped at 49 games by Coleman in the Division 3 sectional semifinals.
-Green Bay Preble entered the spring state tournament unbeaten at 29-0, but fell at the hands of Eau Claire North in the quarterfinals.
-Oak Creek decided that it will make the switch from WIAA summer baseball to the spring season in 2019. The Knights have been a powerhouse in the summer, and it will be a significant loss for the summer season. Time will tell if the move will have a domino effect on other schools.
-Holmen native Jeren Kendall was taken in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kendall starred at Vanderbilt during his college career. It was the second straight year the Dodgers took a Wisconsinite in the first round, with Kenosha’s Gavin Lux going in 2016’s first round. Kenosha’s Ryan Hoerter was selected as a prep pitcher in the 36th round by Pittsburgh, but did not sign. Former Viroqua star Mitch Stalsberg was taken in the 23rd round by the Detroit Tigers. Stalsberg famously struck out 21 batters in the 2014 Division 2 state semifinals.
-Prescott’s Peter Brookshaw was named our 2017 Player of the Year. The junior committed to North Dakota State a couple of months later. Hoerter won our 2017 Pitcher of the Year award, and Aquinas’ Jess Ondell was chosen as our Newcomer of the Year.
-Waukesha West’s Jarred Kelenic continued to impress scouts throughout the country, and should hear his name called early in the first round of next year’s MLB Draft.
