SPASH baseball prepares for state tournament

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - SPASH baseball is preparing to play in their first state tournament since 2014, and 16th overall in their program’s history.

The Panthers will take on eight-seeded Hartford Union as the one-seed in Division 1. The Panthers earned the top seed by going 25-1, only losing to D.C. Everest in the fourth game of the season.

But Coach Kraig Terpstra was quick to remind the team that all four of the top seeds in Division 1 lost in the quarterfinals last year.

“It’s a state tournament so you can’t think we’re playing the worst seed,” senior Deacan Kobeck said. “They’re not going to be a bad team, so you can’t overlook that seeding wise.”

The Panthers lost their first round matchup in their last appearance in 2014. But this year’s group is a new group, unfamiliar with the state tournament. That means the moment when they walk onto the field will be a special moment.

“I feel like there will be a lot of jaw drops,” Kobeck said. ”We really made it here. We had high hopes for this season, especially me and a lot of this senior class, and now we’re here.”

But after that feeling sets in, the Panthers say they’ll shake off those emotions and be prepared to leave Appleton with a gold ball in hand.

“I’ll definitely be happy to be there but jobs not finished, we got games to win,” senior Benett Klish said. “We can still win three games and win state. So, we may be there to be all great that we’re there but we still got to win some games.”

The Panthers will play Hartford Union on Monday at 11 am or whenever the first game ends. If they win, they’ll advance to the semifinals on Wednesday.

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