Playoff Profile: #3 Bay Port

GREEN BAY, Wis.–

BY SPENCER FLATEN, WISCONSIN BASEBALL CENTRAL

In a program like Bay Port, a trip to the state tournament isn’t the goal, it’s the expectation.

“For Bay Port it is more of a tradition than an accomplishment to make it to Appleton,” said Tucker Noe, the team’s catcher. “And making it to state is just an amazing feeling for everyone, but we have our goals set higher and that is to win all three games while we are there.”

“It comes down to playing when we need to play best,” Chicago State commit and Bay Port outfielder Joe Baier told me in November. “But I think this team is very capable of it and we will give it our best shot.”

The Pirates have made it to Fox Cities Stadium in seven of the last ten years. Although they haven’t made it past the semifinals since 2012, they won two state championships during that span. Last spring,, the Pirates were knocked out in the quarterfinal round by Janesville Parker in a tight game.

The team this year is loaded with talent and experience, and that has shown in their performances so far. They’re currently 20-4 and have wrapped up the Fox River Classic Conference championship with a few games to spare. In fact, they were undefeated in conference play with a perfect 18-0 record, before dropping their game to Ashwaubenon on Wednesday.

The Pirates started the year down in Florida, where they lost their first two games of the season. Since then, only defending state champions Sun Prairie have been able to beat them on Wisconsin soil.

They have several top-level players in their squad. On the mound, they can turn to Connor Hock, a future member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team, or Dakota Klein, a future Texas A&M pitcher, to stifle opposing offenses. Their lineup is stacked with talent too. Joe Baier and Noe hit in the three and four hole, respectively, and they have several other all-conference caliber players. Wabash Valley Junior College commit Zach Abfall, Troy Albrecht, Alec Ingold, Logan Froberg, and Brady DeBouche all hit well over .300 in conference play this year.
“Our team has some of the best hitters in the state, and it’s very rare for a whole team to be hitting as well as we have been consistently. But this year, one through nine have crushed the ball and we can count on everyone to come up in the clutch when it is needed most,” Noe said.

The Pirates will receive the top seed in their sectional, which is ultimately theirs to lose. They’re a step and a half ahead of any team they could face before the state tournament. If they take care of business in their sectional, the Pirates want to get beyond the stage that they were dumped out of last year. The experience of playing in the quarterfinals last year should help with that.

“One of the biggest problems for me last year was playing at Fox Cities Stadium. Just looking out and seeing how big the park actually is, how many fans are at the games, and knowing that this game is a state game instead of an FRCC game. You can say I was overwhelmed with everything that happened, and even in the regional and sectional games,” Noe explained. “For this year, instead of being amazed by the scenery and everything going on, most of us will feel more at home and be relaxed with everything.”

The expectations the Pirates have are very clear: They want to be hoisting the trophy when all is said and done.
“Our ultimate goal is to win the state championship just like everyone else. This year, we have one of the best chances in school history and we need to take advantage of it…for some of us, our season will be a failure if we end it with a loss,” said Noe.

With the amount of talent and experience that Bay Port has, they have every reason to believe that this could be the year that they return to the top of Division 1.