KIEL — The Kiel Raiders punched their ticket to the Division 3 State Tournament with a 2-0 win over Amherst on Tuesday in the WIAA Sectional Final.
It’s their first trip to state since baseball has become a Spring sport after the WIAA disbanded summer baseball. It’s their third trip to state overall.
“We’re not here to win those two (regional and sectional) plaques,” said senior Brett Hartlaub. “We’re here to win the big one." We’re here to win that (gold) ball.”
“It’s like a childhood dream come true,” said senior Tate Hartlaub. “You dream about it since you start playing baseball, you want to make it to state and here we are. Everybody is beyond excited.”
And it sounds like someone else wants the title just as much as the players.
“Coach definitely wants it more than all of us - guaranteed,” joked junior Eyan Dessellier.
Head coach Brad Mey has been coaching Kiel baseball for 14 years and he says this team has brought out the best in each other and him as a coach.
“To win would be something really special, it’s never been done in Kiel,” Mey said. “It would be nice to have your name attached to that.”
The Raiders team motto has propelled them to Appleton. The motto: Prove it.
“We may talk about all the stuff we want to do, what we can do, but at the end of the day if you don’t go out on the field and prove it, it means nothing,” said senior Nathan Stephany.
The team describes themselves as one big family. After all, there’s a couple siblings making big contributions to the Raiders this season.
“We’re just a family man,” said Brett Hartlaub. “Every single one of us we’re back for each other and we’re all here for each other. That’s what it’s all about. Every inning we step on the field it’s for each other.”
Like they have all season, Kiel has three pitchers they can rely on in the state tournament, seniors Brett Hartlaub and Nathan Stephany and junior Eyan Dessellier.
We got three solid pitchers on the mound that take it everyday. Right there, that gives you a whole bunch of confidence. We don’t need to score a bunch of runs when they’re on the mound. Their ERA’s are under 2, two under 1.
The Raiders earned a 3 seed and will take on 2 seed Saint Croix Falls Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Fox Cities Stadium.
