EVANSVILLE — The message from day one was direct. This baseball team hadn’t accomplished anything.
That was perhaps a bleak perspective. It was also true.
Mater Dei finished the 2025 season as the IHSAA Class 2A state runner-up to cap the first time reaching Victory Field in 11 years. But that exact team, led by a large senior class, wasn’t here on the first practice in March. This group needed to turn the page immediately.
Message received loud and clear.
Mater Dei returns to Indianapolis for another shot at the second state championship in program history. The No. 1 Wildcats (30-3) face Bluffton (19-10) at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 20 as one of the two teams from Southwestern Indiana, including Northeast Dubois, who reached the final weekend.
“We had to do a good job of turning the page,” Mater Dei coach Adam Wildeman said. “Yes, we have capabilities and the potential to make a run. But we had to put in the work. Our guys have done a great job since day one of practice.”
How the Wildcats adjusted to a new voice in charge
Wildeman didn’t require any wholesale changes. He already saw the blueprint last season.
The 2018 graduate took over the program in August after Adam Schiff stepped down due to a change in his professional career. Wildeman was on staff the previous two years as Mater Dei built itself into a Class 2A contender once again. The Wildcats won 23 games, including its first conference title in 15 years, last year before losing to Boone Grove in the 2A title game.
The first-year head coach set the tone quickly. The Wildcats won 11 of their first 12 games before losing to North on April 30.
“It shows how well they’ve been running our program,” senior Jackson Schaefer said. “The message was putting in effort since day one. Never thinking any teams are bad and out-working everybody else.”
This team went into overdrive in May. First was a trip to Indianapolis with a pair of games against Bloomington South and Zionsville. The former is competing in the 4A championship this weekend. The latter won a regional title. The Wildcats split the weekend, only losing to Zionsville despite having a five-run lead in the fifth inning. But Wildeman described it as “our two best games offensively” to that point.
That day still proved something to him. This group had the hitting to match its pitching.
Mater Dei averaged 9.4 runs per game in May. Only one sectional opponent played within three runs. Not only has a core group of seniors (Max Miller, Nolan Schickel, Will Hoffman, Schaefer) provided consistency in the lineup, but a deep and talented sophomore class has fully arrived.
It’s matched a pitching group among the best in Southern Indiana. Mater Dei matched North as SIAC champions with only one loss.
“They’ve done a great job of taking it day by day,” Wildeman said. “… Everybody is contributing. That’s what I think makes it so special.”
How the Wildcats survived this postseason run
Nobody ever said it would be easy for the No. 1 team in the state.
Mater Dei has trailed in three of the last five postseason games. The semi-state championship went to nine innings.
This stretch is proving two larger points. One, nothing is ever guaranteed in the tournament. Two, the Wildcats were equipped to make this run.
Six runs over the final three innings beat Forest Park in the sectional semifinal. A shut-down pitching effort from Cole Breeden stumped Salem in the regional. Dylan Murphy hammered a three-run home run to answer two early runs by No. 9 University in the semi-state opener. The moments carried weight in the moment but also loom large in retrospect.
Mater Dei is doing what is required of great teams in the playoffs.
“You could just tell this team had the potential to do something,” Miller said. “We were confident all year and knew this was the end goal. The margin was really thin (last weekend) but we kind of just came together when we needed to and made the plays. Pitching, defense, hitting and base running. We just did it all.
“It’s good to be back on the map and get Mater Dei baseball known around the state.”
The latest outing drove that point home. The Wildcats surrendered a 2-0 seventh-inning lead against No. 12 Sullivan in the semi-state championship. The Golden Arrows had runners at second and third, but a terrific throw home by Jacob Caldemeyer for the second out and a strikeout from Darret Branson gave Mater Dei new life.
Sullivan loaded the bases in the eighth with one out. Branson got back-to-back strikeouts. Schickel and Miller took the lead in the ninth with a pair of singles to secure a 5-2 victory.
If the Wildcats do win a state championship, that could be the defining sequence of the season.
“That was probably the toughest situation we’ve been in all season,” Wildeman said. “Shows you the kind of heart and character these kids have.”
The final hurdle will be the toughest in their opinion. Bluffton has out-scored five postseason opponents 42-7 with three shutouts. Griffin Morgan (10 home runs) and Axton Beste (eight) both possess impressive pop in the lineup. Morgan or Colton Arnold (2.20 ERA in 51 innings) might be the starter on the mound.
Mater Dei was tied with Boone Grove in last year’s final before allowing five runs in the seventh inning. The lessons from that outcome, specifically the impact of any mistakes at this level, were heeded.
Mater Dei hasn’t won a state championship since 1999. Could this be the team to finally break that drought?
“There are a lot of distractions throughout the week,” Wildeman said. “We’ve got a lot of people telling us how good we are. We know there’s a big challenge at the end of the week. Bluffton is going to be a great team. You don’t get to Victory Field by accident. Need to take this week day by day.”
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How Mater Dei baseball earned a return trip to IHSAA state championship
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
