Wichita Collegiate baseball wins first Kansas high school state title in two decades
The Wichita Collegiate baseball team believed it was the best in Class 3A this season, but it was lacking experience at the state tournament.
Once the team won its first game at the Class 3A state tournament at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan on Thursday, the program’s first state win in two decades, Collegiate coach Joe Gehrer said he knew the mental hurdle had been cleared for his team to finish the job.
Sure enough, Collegiate followed with a dominant Friday: a 7-2 victory over Girard in the semifinals, followed by a 10-3 win over Columbus in the championship game.
“Once we got that first win, we got back to ourselves and played with the weight off of our shoulders,” Gehrer said. “We got back to having fun. These guys have put so much work in, so they were just elated. We’ve been enjoying every minute of this and for good reason: they were the number one team in the state and they deserve this.”
It was the first state championship for the Collegiate baseball program since 2001, when Joe Gehrer was a player on the team and his father, Mike, was the head coach. On this year’s team, Joe was the head coach and Mike was the assistant.
“We just gave each other a big hug after that one and a lot of tears,” Joe Gehrer said. “It was an amazing moment that I’ll never forget.”
With all nine starters back from last season’s team, Collegiate knew this was the year it could make a run.
Behind a senior class of Drew Charbonneau, Ashtun Villagomez and Evan Eichenauer, Collegiate finished with a pristine 23-1 record.
But it’s worth pointing out that Collegiate rode the arms of two aces, Hayden Malaise and Brett Black, who combined to throw nearly three-quarters of the team’s innings this season.
In the biggest game of the season, Collegiate turned to seldom-used No. 3 starter Landon Ramsey, who had less than 13 innings of experience this season. Ramsey delivered when his team needed him the most, limiting Columbus to three runs through five innings before turning the game over to Charbonneau, who struck out three batters in the final six outs.
“We knew those guys were good, they just didn’t get very many chances this season to show it,” Gehrer said. “They are both great kids to have out there and we trusted them and we knew they were going to help us get the job done one more time.”
Malaise was brilliant in the 7-2 semifinal win over Girard, striking out 10 batters to earn the victory, while Collegiate exploded for all seven of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings in the win. Brett Wetta (2), Charbonneau, Villagomez and Jace Campbell all finished with RBI hits.
Bishop Carroll baseball falls in 5A title game
For a team replacing eight starters from last season, it was a bittersweet feeling for Bishop Carroll’s season to end in a loss in the Class 5A state championship game at Eck Stadium.
By any measure, Carroll had overachieved as City League champions, regional champions and a berth in Friday’s final, especially considering it lost three of five games to begin the season. The team matured and evolved, winning 18 of its next 19 contests, ultimately meeting the standard of excellence demanded by coach Charlie Ebright.
None of that lessened the heartbreak of falling in a 5-2 loss to Blue Valley Southwest, which successfully defended its Class 5A championship and prevented the Golden Eagles from experiencing the euphoria of their first title since 2012.
Austin Selenke doubled to open the game, then Carroll didn’t produce its next hit until the fifth inning. Van Haneberg briefly gave Carroll hope with an RBI double in the fifth, trimming the deficit to 5-2, but BV Southwest reliever Anson Seibert shut the door in the final two innings, allowing just one baserunner.
Carroll carried momentum into the game from a dramatic 4-3, walk-off victory against Valley Center earlier in the day in the semifinals.
The teams had traded rallies throughout the game, leaving the score tied, 3-3, entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Haneberg led off with a single, followed by a Selenke walk. Valley Center intentionally walked the next batter, Ryan Pacha, to load the bases and set up a potential double play.
Instead, Tate Blasi was hit by a pitch, forcing in the game-winning run for the rare walk-off win of the hit-by-pitch variety.
It was a devastating result for Valley Center, which came tantalizing close to its first appearance in a state championship game since 2001. The Hornets (17-8) ultimately finished in fourth place following a 13-3 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in their first state appearance since 2010.
After Blasi had put Carroll ahead, 3-2, on a RBI bunt in the bottom of the fifth, Valley Center responded with a RBI double from Grant Lehnherr to tie the score in the top of the sixth.
McPherson wins first 4A championship in program history
McPherson has a well-earned reputation as a sports town, but one championship the Bullpups had never won was a baseball title.
That changed on Friday when McPherson mowed through the competition as the No. 1 seed to claim the first baseball championship in school history with a 5-2 victory over Tonganoxie at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina.
McPherson capitalized on a Tonganoxie throwing error to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning, then Dawson Feil and Tucker Pelnar added RBI hits in the third inning and Pelnar added another RBI hit for a 5-0 lead.
Starter Jaret Myers nearly pulled off a complete game shutout in the championship, but Tonganoxie finally touched him in the seventh inning and rallied for two runs with two runners on base when Hunter Alvord closed out the victory for McPherson in the seventh inning.
McPherson finished the season with a 23-2 record, which included a 6-1 victory over Ottawa in the semifinals earlier on Friday.
KSHSAA baseball state tournament scores
Class 6A (at LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott)
Manhattan (19-3) vs. Blue Valley Northwest (14-8), 11 a.m.
Olathe West (18-4) vs. Lawrence Free State (15-7), 1:15 p.m.
Blue Valley West (20-2) vs. Shawnee Mission East (10-12), 3:30
Washburn Rural (17-5) vs. Derby (16-6), 5:45
Class 5A (at Eck Stadium in Wichita)
Blue Valley Southwest 12, St. Thomas Aquinas 2 (semi)
Bishop Carroll 4, Valley Center 3 (semi)
St. Thomas Aquinas 13, Valley Center 3 (third)
Blue Valley Southwest 5, Bishop Carroll 2 (first)
Class 4A (at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina)
McPherson 6, Ottawa (semi)
Tonganoxie 7, Paola 5 (semi)
Paola 6, Ottawa 0 (third)
McPherson 5, Tonganoxie (first)
Class 3A (at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan)
Wichita Collegiate 7, Girard 2 (semi)
Columbus 9, Bishop Ward 3 (semi)
Bishop Ward, Girard (third)
Wichita Collegiate 10, Columbus 3 (first)
Class 2-1A (at Great Bend Sports Complex)
Little River 10, Colony-Crest 8 (semi)
Mission Valley 14, Valley Falls 4 (semi)
Valley Falls 16, Colony-Crest 6 (third)
Mission Valley 5, Little River 4 (first)
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