The Remsen St. Mary’s baseball team defeated Gehlen Catholic by a score of 3-0 in Cherokee on Tuesday night to send the program back to the state tournament for the 10th year in a row.
While the Hawks have been to state consistently for 10 years, that does not mean that road has been an easy one. Remsen St. Mary’s head coach Dean Harpenau says the guys had to earn their way back to Carroll again this year.
Both pitchers came to play and shut down two great offenses in the first two innings with neither team able to score early. In the bottom of the third, Landon Waldschmitt reached with a two-out single that gave Daenon Loucks an at-bat in the inning. He hit a two-run home run to give the Hawks the first lead of the night. Loucks says he got the pitch he was looking for and knew what to do with it.
The Hawks have only gotten to enjoy Loucks’ services for two seasons, but they have been two great seasons. Coach Harpenau says he is a player that has made great strides in his time as a Hawk.
The home run was extra special for Loucks who is a native of Cherokee and played on Kenny Bern Field for the first half of his high school career. He says hitting a home run in his final game on that field was very special.
With the lead in tow, Collin Homan could continue to dominate Gehlen hitters without worry. Homan allowed three hits, no runs, and struck out 11 batters to send the Hawks to state. Coach Harpenau says Homan’s velocity was turned up a notch in a big game.
Homan’s velocity was up a notch thanks to great preparation leading up to the game. He says being prepared for what may come mentally was big in allowing him to weather tough scenarios in the game.
When Homan pitches like he did on Tuesday night, it is tough for hitters to make contact making it tough for his defense to get to do anything for the game. Loucks, who plays shortstop, says he can tell when it is going to be a day where Homan is on his A-game.
The Hawks put another run on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Landon Waldschmitt RBI single that scored Brady Koenck. That paired with a pair of hits from Austin Klein, and Coach Harpenau could be very happy with the number of players that made a mark in this game.
There was one last hurdle the Hawks would have to get over in the seventh inning. Gehlen Catholic loaded the bases in the last frame putting the tying run on first base. Homan says he was motivated by his desire to finish the game he started.
Remsen St. Mary’s enters the state tournament as the top seed in Class 1A. It is a moniker that has been granted to the Hawks all season going wire-to-wire as the state’s top ranked team. Homan says this team is resilient making them a tough team to beat in Carroll.
The Hawks take a 23-1 record into the state tournament with the one loss coming right away to start the season on the road at Newell-Fonda. Coach Harpenau says that put things in perspective for the team who is motivated to get back to the state title game and win it like they did two years ago.
Remsen St. Mary’s will start their state tournament run on Monday, July 21 with a quarterfinal matchup against the Ravens of Hillcrest Academy. First pitch is set for 11:00 AM with pregame coverage beginning around 10:45 on KLEM Radio.
