Top 10 Stories of 2015: No. 3 Lake County Lutheran Wins D3 State Title

December 29, 2015

By Matt Huck
Area Scout

Over the next few weeks in addition to highlighting the Top 10 Player Profiles of 2015, we will also highlight the Top 10 Stories in Wisconsin High School Baseball during 2015.

After winning the D4 state title in 2014 and going undefeated at 32-0, the Lightning would move up to Division III in 2015. At one point during the season they held the longest wining streak in the nation at 42, before losing 13-12 to Milwaukee Lutheran in extra innings. They went on to only lose once more the rest of the season and finished at 28-2. In the D3 title game the lighting scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to walk off against Aquinas 5-4.

WIAA Finals: Lake County Lutheran Wins Second Straight State Title

Thu June 18, 2015

By Spencer Flaten
Staff Writer

APPLETON, WI – Lake Country Lutheran won its second consecutive state championship with a dramatic win over Aquinas in the Division 3 title game on Thursday afternoon. They beat the Blugolds 5-4 in walk-off fashion.

LCL’s Ben Wilkins and Aquinas’s Rudy Rott both pitched well for most of the game, which made runs hard to come by.

The Lightning plated the game’s first run in the 2^nd inning. Jack Euclide doubled in Jake Hall to give Lake Country Lutheran a 1-0 lead.

The Blugolds answered in the top of the 3^rd with a run of their own. Alex Dee ripped an RBI double to center to tie the game.

Lake Country Lutheran immediately broke the tie in the bottom of the 3^rd thanks to an RBI by Hall. The score remained at 2-1 until the 7^th inning, which turned out to be about as dramatic as it can get in high school baseball.

The Blugolds nailed off three straight hits in the top of the frame, highlighted by an RBI single by Alex Schulte to tie the game back up at 2. The damage didn’t stop there, though. A fielding error by Lake Country Lutheran allowed another run to score and the Blugolds to take the lead. Jacob Horstman finished the run-scoring for Aquinas with a sac fly to make the score 4-2 headed to the bottom of the 7^th.

The Lightning’s explosive offense was on full display in the frame. They bashed out four straight singles to bring the score to 4-3, thanks to an RBI by Jake Hall. Then Joe Lipsky stepped up to the plate for the Lightning with the bases loaded.

Lipsky ripped a walk-off single to right field to win the game and state title for the Lightning. His teammates chased him all the way to the left field wall in celebration.

Ben Wilkins pitched 6.1 innings for the Lightning, and allowed two earned runs on seven hits and five walks. He struck out six. Rott went six innings for Aquinas and got a no-decision. He allowed two earned runs and six hits. Alex Dee took the loss for the Blugolds. He pitched 0.2 innings and allowed three earned runs.

Hall, Lipsky, Euclide, and CJ Teske all had 2 hits for the Lightning. Rott, Schulte, and Dee also had two hits for Aquinas.

It is Lake Country Lutheran’s second consecutive state title, and first in Division 3.