Making history

For the first time in school history, the New Hampton baseball team has advanced to the state tournament.
“I don’t have the words to describe how proud I am for all 29 guys in our program to finally do what so many before them came just short of doing,” coach Cory McDonald said. “I know it’s just a game, but there so many Chickasaws who want this moment. These boys did it for them and did it for this entire community.”
The Chickasaws topped Oelwein by a score of 5-2 on Tuesday night in the substate game at Waverly.
New Hampton struck first, as Wyatt Stochl drove in Mason Cleveland on an RBI single to put the Chickasaws up 1-0 after the first inning.
Oelwein would answer this in the fourth frame with a run of their own. After Dillon Arndt doubled to start the inning, Mason Kunkle brought him home on a single to tie the game at one apiece.
However, a four-run fifth inning allowed New Hampton to jump back ahead. The Chickasaws took advantage of Husky errors and got timely hits in this frame to gain the 5-1 edge. This included an RBI triple by Hunter Pesek.
Errors by McDonald’s team allowed Oelwein to get back a run in the top of the sixth to make the score 5-2, but pitcher Keegan Kane weathered the storm by striking out the Huskies’ Riley Hamilton for the final out of the inning that stranded two runners on base.
After New Hampton failed to score in the bottom of the sixth, Kane set the Oelwein batters down in order in the seventh to get the win on the mound, and more importantly, claim a berth to the Class 2A state baseball tournament.
In total, Kane hurled all seven innings, conceding one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out six Husky batters.
“He’s not the flashiest or necessarily the best, but he does what we need,” senior Connor Hackman said. “As a team, we all back him up.”
The Chickasaws only totaled four hits, but they also drew four walks. Stochl boasted two of these four hits, both of which drove in timely runs. 
He, along with the rest of the Chickasaws, are excited to be moving on to play at Principal Park - the site of the state baseball tournament.
“It’s awesome. It’s about not just doing it for ourselves, but for my brothers before me, who couldn’t quite do it,” Stochl said. “We did it for us, we did it for the community. It was amazing.”
New Hampton’s state quarterfinal contest will be played on Monday at 4:30 p.m. against West Sioux.