Columbia baseball team has unfinished business at Class 2A state tournament in Peoria

Columbia’s baseball team placed third at the 2022 IHSA Class 2A state tournament in Peoria. The Eagles are now back with the hope they can finish the deal.

Columbia (33-4) will face Chicago DePaul College Prep High School (24-14) at 3 p.m. Friday, June 2, in the semifinals at Dozer Park in Peoria in search of the program’s third state crown.

And coach Neal O’Donnell is ready for the task at hand.

“We’ve got a good group of guys that I know the coaches enjoy being around,” said O’Donnell, in his seventh season as the Eagles coach. “Having a senior-laden group has helped us this season with handling expectations. This group of seniors lost their freshman year due to COVID (in 2020). Stuff like that is in the back of their minds.

“It’s been a good season. It’s been a good experience. And we are excited to play the weekend.”

Last year at state, Columbia lost 4-1 to Joliet Catholic in the semifinals before defeating Maroa-Forsyth 4-1 in the third place game. Eagles senior superstar Dom Voegele — committed to the University of Kansas to play baseball — said last year’s experience should benefit the 2023 club.

“It’s awesome,” Voegele said of returning to state. “Last year was pretty fun, but this year with all of us being seniors now it means a lot more to us. Having been there and having that experience, I think it’ll be more fun. And we’ll probably play better because we won’t be as nervous this time.”

Teammate Alex Schreckenberg, also a senior, echoed Voegele’s sentiments.

“There’s always nerves involved,” Schreckenberg said. “But I feel like since state last year, we knew how the big games felt and what we needed to do to win these games in the playoffs. With 14 seniors on the team from last year, we knew what to do to win the games. There’s been less nerves I feel like.

“Coming into year we thought we had all the pieces to go back to state and we obviously did.”

While Columbia features several talented and experienced players, Voegele is the linchpin.

On the mound, Voegele has posted a 9-0 record to go with a 1.17 earned run average and 102 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. At the plate, he’s hitting .504 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI.

Besides his on-field talents, Voegele has spent the past couple days playing scout. As a Major League Baseball prospect, Voegele last summer played with Chicago DePaul’s AJ Garcia on the Cincinnati Reds scout team.

“AJ’s an awesome player. He’s super fast, very aggressive on the bases and a good hitter. He’s a really good kid too,” Voegele said. “I think we all know it’s going to be tough. We know we have to play our best baseball to win.”

Schreckenberg, who plays second base, also expects a tussle from the Rams.

“We’ve been watching some video and noticing some things about their players,” he said. “They don’t have a really great record, but they’ve played a bunch of good teams. It’ll be tough, but I think we’ll be alright. We’ve played a bunch of good teams as well coming into this and faced several good pitchers. I think it’ll be good.”

Added O’Donnell, “Obviously every team at this point is a good ballclub. They have 14 losses but play a really tough schedule. From what I understand they really swing the bats. I think their top pitcher is committed to Michigan State. That’s the guy we expect to see. Up and down the lineup, they really swing it.”

O’Donnell was referencing Rams pitcher Dylan Kaminski, who is 6-0 with a 2.89 ERA and committed to Michigan State.

As his team readies for state, O’Donnell hopes the team’s experience plays a vital role in bringing home a championship.

“I don’t think it can hurt us that we know a little bit about the routine of what to expect when we get there, what we do prior to the game ... it ‘s a new experience for some of our players but the majority of them were with us last year,” he said. “Experience helps. Getting there and playing well last year was hard. Winning this year will be even more difficult. There are three really-really good teams up there playing really well right now that we could potentially face.

“Obviously it’s special to put yourself in position to win state championship. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but feel really good about where we’re at for the weekend.”

Super-sectional recap

Columbia punched its ticket to state with a 4-1 win against Nashville in the Carbondale (SIU) Super-Sectional on Monday, May 29.

Junior Brady Mathews keyed the victory, firing a complete-game 5-hitter while allowing no earned runs. Mathews is the son of former Major League Baseball pitcher T.J. Mathews, who helped the Eagles win the 1987 Class A state championship.

After allowing a run in the top of the third, Columbia quickly responded in the bottom half with four runs. Brody Landgraf had two RBI, while Aidan Gaither and Tyler Rosencrans also drove in one run apiece.

“Nashville played a good game and got us down 1-0,” O’Donnell said. “I felt like we were a little tense. But we came right back the next inning and scored four runs. That’s pretty representative of our season to answer the call and step up to the challenge when we’ve needed to. To go back to state a second year in a row is really exciting time for our players.”

Meet the Columbia Eagles

Record: 33-4.

How they got to Peoria: The Eagles defeated Nashville 4-1 in the Carbondale (SIU) Super-Sectional.

Previous state appearances: The Eagles won the Class A title in 1987; placed 4th in Class A in 2006; won the Class A title in 2007; and placed 3rd in Class 2A in 2022.

Players to watch: Pitcher/shortstop Dominic Voegele, a University of Kansas commit (senior; 9-0; 1.17 ERA; 102 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched; .504 batting average; 12 home runs; 50 RBI); pitcher Brady Mathews (junior; 5-0; 1.75 ERA; 44 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched); pitcher Lucas Riebeling (junior; 7-0; 1.19 ERA); 2nd baseman Alex Schreckenberg (senior; .389 batting average; 3 home runs; 35 RBI); 1st baseman Brody Landgraf (freshman; .355 batting average; 2 home runs; 31 RBI).

Enrollment: 628.5.

Coach: Neal O’Donnell; 7th season; 176-61-1 overall record.

Meet the Chicago DePaul College Prep High School Rams

Record: 23-14.

How they got to Peoria: The Rams defeated Byron 13-3 in the Rockford Super-Sectional.

Previous state appearances: This is the program’s first time at state.

Players to watch: Pitcher Dylan Kaminski (senior; 6-0; 2.89 ERA; 67 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched); pitcher Robert Rivera (senior; 7-3; 4.07 ERA; 75 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched); 1st baseman Kevin O’Connor (junior; .302 batting average; 4 home runs; 31 RBI); Pitcher/1st baseman AJ Garcia (junior; .333 batting average; 43 runs scored; 15 RBI); and catcher Oliver Vigerust (senior; .327 batting average; 5 home runs; 31 RBI).

Enrollment: 518.

Head Coach: Sam Colon, 1st season.