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Top 10 Stories of 2022: Regis Captures D4 State Title

December 20, 2022
By: Maddox Durst
PBR Wisconsin Staff

At the end of the year, our staff reflects back on some of the best moments that came from the past 365 days. As the final month comes to a close, we wanted to highlight the 10 most interesting headlines from around the state, finishing with our number one storyline that will be released on New Year’s Day.

To cap off another high school season, the 2022 WIAA State Tournament took place at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI. Between June 14th-16th, four champions were crowned, the first one being the WIAA Div. 4 State Champions in the Eau Claire Regis Ramblers. 

Including Regis, the other teams who represented the Div. 4 field were Bangor, Columbus Catholic, and Oakfield. Each team entered the state tournament with six losses or less. 

In the semifinals, every offense was clicking between the four teams. In the first matchup, Oakfield took an early lead before letting up 11 runs to the Regis offense in the sixth inning, where they eventually went on to 10-run the Oaks with a final score of 14-4. The second game brought a back-and-forth affair, with the Bangor Cardinals sneaking out a win after a 7-run seventh inning. Columbus Catholic answered with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame, but the Cardinals held on for a 9-8 win, setting up the championship matchup for the next day.

Both teams used their aces on the mound in the semifinals, Regis’s RHP Cole Selvig (2023; Texas commit) and Bangor’s LHP Ashton Michek (2022; Augustana - SD), testing their pitching depth in game two. RHP Cooper Dykes (2023; St. Norbert College commit) took the ball for Regis, countered by RHP Eli Tucker (2025). 

Each squad put up two runs in the first inning, staying hot offensively from the day before. Michek and INF Chase Horstman (2024) got the scoring started for Bangor with back-to-back hits. C Sam Knickerbocker (2023) had the answer for Regis right away, as he had a 2-RBI single, tying the game at two. 

The Regis offense did not slow down from there, taking advantage of the errors and depth of Bangor. OF Zander Rockow (2023; Minnesota Football commit) got his first of three hits on the day, scored, and gave Regis a slight edge at 4-3 after three innings of play. 

Regis put up crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth innings, combining for eight runs in the two frames as the Bangor offense went cold. LF Payton Loomis (2023), 1B Mason Kostka (2022), and CF Alex Leis (2022) did the majority of the damage in the five-run fifth inning for Regis. Along with Bangor’s five errors, Regis strung together eight hits and scored 12 runs.

RHP Patrick Callaghan (2023) closed out the last two innings for Regis, after a quality appearance from Rockow, who was the winning pitcher. Regis, after losing in the state semifinals a year before this, took home a 12-3 victory over Bangor. The Ramblers outscored their opponents 26-7 in the two games. 

Regis capped off their season with an impressive 23-1 record, and look to continue that success in their upcoming 2023 campaign, as multiple players make their return for the Ramblers. 

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