GRAND CHUTE – For the first time in program history, Pewaukee Pirates baseball is the WIAA state champion.
“Feels incredible. We’ve been chasing a long time, special for this group of kids. They earned it. Did not have high expectations coming in. Young team, rebuild-type year, and they just went out and got it. Twenty-six games in a row is unbelievable,” Pewaukee co-head coach Adam Dobberstein said.
The Pirates defeated Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic Academy 5-4 at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium to hang on despite nearly seeing their three-run lead evaporate in the top of the seventh.
A go-ahead two-RBI single by Pirates junior Jack Tabbert had given Pewaukee the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Coming off what he desribed as a rough day at the plate in the state semifinal, Tabbert said phone calls with his parents helped the UW-Madison football commit reset for the big moment in the title game. The junior faced his moment of retribution after drawing a full count with runners on first and second in a 2-2 game in the fifth.
“I just knew the game might be on the line here, so I gotta smoke one. One of my coaches was talking about just right-center approach, and just take it the other way. It was awesome. It was everything I’ve been working for for my whole life,” Tabbert said.
The potential extra-base hit liner to right was limited to a single as Tabbert was floating around first from his go-ahead hit, missed the bag and had to retreat.
“I didn’t know the technical rule, so I didn’t want to go to second and then have me call them out, and those runs don’t score,” Tabbert said.
With a state gold medal around his neck after playing a pivotal role in Pewaukee’s first WIAA baseball title, the future Badgers offensive lineman may have a new love after a spring fling on the diamond.
“Even though I’m a football guy, I mean, if you ask me right now, baseball is my favorite sport,” Tabbert said. “It goes back and forth, but it was just amazing to be able to go out there and do that for my team.”
Pewaukee led 5-2 with three defensive outs remaining and junior Max Metz on the mound for his third inning of relief looking to close the door. Metz was promoted from JV at the end of the regular season, got one regular-season outing and was suddenly thrust into pivotal spots throughout the Pirates’ playoff run. His contributions were emblematic of a program that relied on first-time varsity players throughout a 30-2 season.
“When I got pulled up for the last two games of the season, everyone was super welcoming. Everyone had my back from the first game. It was awesome. We all picked each other up, and everyone played a part and contributed,” Metz said.
After inducing a groundout to the leadoff hitter, KSJCA senior Dominic Santarelli reached on an infield single. Any hopes of a one-out game-tying rally were dealt a significant blow when Pewaukee catcher Hudson Bremberger gunned down Santarelli trying to steal second.
“Incredible leader, I mean, he’s our glue. Hudson’s dad Bryan was a captain on my first team at Pewaukee in 2001, and was a great athlete, so I’m at that phase where you get the second generation, but Hudson is just cerebral, tough and there were other things today. … He was doing little things every inning to help the team win,” Dobberstein said.
The Lancers proved they were not ready to lay down, as Christopher Kenesie walked before Zach Rizzo launched a two-run home run to dead center to make it a one-run game. Still an out away from the title, Dobberstein took a mound visit to lighten the mood for his junior pitcher.
“I just asked him if he ever in a million years thought that he would be here this year, and he laughed. I was hoping to get him to smile, and he said, ‘Never in a million years.’ I said, you’ve just gotta relax and fill up the zone and get the last out,” Dobberstein said.
“He just came out and smiled at me, and I cracked a smile, and I just started laughing. It was like, you just gotta laugh about something like that, and just get the last one,” Metz said.
He would do just that, inducing Patrick Davidson to fly out to center to send a band of happy Pirates flooding out of the dugout. Dobberstein, who had amassed over 500 career wins as a head coach with his brother Marc by his side, could finally raise a state title trophy with his brother on behalf of his baseball family.
“It’s a family deal, so I’m so happy for him. I’m happy for my nephew Brooks, happy that they got to experience that together. Just a really special thing,” Adam Dobberstein said.
Dobberstein added that a victory parade awaited in Pewaukee, something the city has grown accustomed to in other sports, but never before in baseball.
“In the last 12 years, we’ve been to eight sectionals, six sectional finals and four state tournaments, so we’ve had some state-caliber teams, but it takes a bit of good luck, right? You don’t throw that guy out on second base, that ball skips two inches the other way, and all of a sudden you’re in a tie game, so it means a lot. We’ve had a lot of great athletes at Pewaukee, especially in this last eight- to 10-year window,” Dobberstein said.
Metz pitched the final three innings in relief, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. Sophomore JonDavid Jacobs started the game and pitched four innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and four walks. Logan Peterson and Tabbert led the offense with two hits each, with Peterson scoring twice and Tabbert driving in two.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pewaukee baseball earns program-first state title with win over KSJCA
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
