The Remsen St. Mary’s baseball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to end their season at the State Baseball Tournament on Monday afternoon losing to eight-seeded Hillcrest Academy by the score of 3-1.
Whether it was pitching, hitting, or fielding, Hillcrest Academy had the edge for the entire game. Remsen St. Mary’s head coach Dean Harpenau says it was from the first batter in the first inning that the Hawks were playing on their heels.
The Hawks knew going into the game that Hillcrest Academy pitcher Seth Ours was not an overpowering arm. Rather, he was one that would try and induce weak contact. He certainly did that forcing the first five batters to hit weak fly balls for outs. Coach Harpenau says the change of speed threw his guys for a loop in the game.
Defensively, Remsen St. Mary’s did not do themselves any favors. The Hawks kicked around four errors with a couple leading to two decisive runs in the third inning. Coach Harpenau says it is very tough to win games at state playing defense like his team did against the Ravens.
Despite the loss, the Hawks did a good job of limiting big innings. The Ravens had their chances to put the game out of reach leaving a total of 12 runners on base. Coach Harpenau says he liked that the guys got out of those innings, but there was too much pressure put on his guys to make plays.
The Hawks put a bow on the 2025 season with a 23-2 record and at the state tournament for the 10th-straight season. Eleven seniors will graduate this year’s team disappointed with how it ended. Coach Harpenau says they may feel that way, but they have nothing to be disappointed about when it comes to their whole body of work.
With that many seniors graduating, the Hawks will have some big pieces to fill for next year’s team. Coach Harpenau says the work towards that starts right away, and he will be looking for some guys to be leaders throughout the offseason.
Hillcrest Academy moves on to the state semifinal round with a record of 18-7. They will face off with Martensdale-St. Marys at 4:30 PM on Wednesday in Carroll.
