The baseball team from Thomas More Prep – Marian will be heading back to the Class 3A State Tournament for the third straight year after claiming the Regional Championship Tuesday evening at Louck’s Park in Lakin. After receiving a bye in the quarterfinals for being the #1 seed, the Monarchs defeated Goodland 14-4 in the semifinals and then held on to win 4-3 over Lakin in the title game.
TMP’s Brian Schumacher Post-Game Interview:
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TMP has now won 22 straight games to get their record to 22-1 heading into the state tournament in Manhattan next Friday. The Herd has finished as the state runner-up the past two years and will be considered one of the favorites to win it all this year as the #1 team in the state.
Highlights:
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Regional Semifinals: TMP-Marian 14, Goodland 4 (5 Innings)
A productive third and fifth inning put TMP past Goodland in the semifinals. TMP swept Goodland in a doubleheader earlier this year and earned their third win over the Cowboys (6-16) in 2012.
The Monarchs led 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. Goodland’s starting pitcher Taylen Smith started the third frame by giving up five straight walks. The Monarchs would send 11 batters to plate that inning while posting six runs.
TMP would score five more runs in the fifth inning to close out the game early due to the 10-run mercy rule after five innings.
TMP managed to get seven hits in the game led by Jacob Fouts who went 2-for-3 from the plate.
Pierce Schippers pitched all five innings for the win. Schippers (3-0) gave up six hits while striking out eight batters and issuing no walks.
Regional Championship Game: TMP-Marian 4, Lakin 3
In a rematch of last year’s Regional Championship game, the Monarchs held on for the win despite not hitting well. Only two batters from TMP came up with hits in the contest. Taylor Pfeifer and Colby Schippers both went 2-for-3 from the plate to account for the four Monarch hits.
TMP went scoreless the first three innings thanks in part to the excellent pitching from Lakin’s Ryan Swank. Along with only giving up four hits, Swank struck out 12 batters. He struck out two Monarchs in each of his six innings on the mound.
After tying the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning off a Colby Schippers’ single, TMP built their lead in the fifth inning. With two outs in the frame, Pfeifer came up with a 2-RBI double to help the Monarchs build a 4-1 lead.
After a couple of errors committed by the Monarchs, Lakin (19-3) would come right back and score two runs in the top of the sixth inning to make it a one-run ballgame.
The Broncs would have one more chance in the seventh inning with runners at second and third and with two outs, but TMP’s starting pitcher Nick Hammeke forced a pop-up to end the game. Hammeke (8-0) pitched a complete game giving up three runs on six hits while striking out five batters.