Lincoln East, Gretna East and Malcolm prevail on rainy Friday at Werner Park
By Terry Douglass – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
PAPILLION — The Nebraska School Activities Association’s state baseball tournament produced some continued dynasties and a brand new champion on a damp and cool Friday at Omaha’s Werner Park.
Lincoln East won their second title in three years with a win over Millard North after rain delayed the start of the championship game until 9:15 from a scheduled 7:00 start. Gretna East shut out Bennington 2-0 in Class B in a game that ended in rain showers that came through the Omaha area at about 4:00.
Malcolm won their third straight title in Class C with a run rule victory over Central City/Centura.
Class A: Walk-off win gives Lincoln East its second title in three years
Top-seeded Lincoln East rallied for a 5-4 walk-off victory over Millard North Friday night, capturing its second Class A state championship in the past three seasons.
The Spartans, who won the title in 2023 and finished as the state runner-up in 2024, trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning and the No. 7-seeded Mustangs appeared to be on the verge of an upset — and their program’s first title since 2005. However, Troy Peltz ripped a RBI double to tie the score at 4-4 and Joey Senstock later produced a sacrifice fly for the game-winner, touching off a jubilant celebration for Lincoln East.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” said Senstock, a Nebraska baseball commit. “Every kid dreams about this moment — to be in a championship game in the situation that I was put in. I was just at the right place at the right time.
“It was just an incredible moment and I’m so happy for these guys. I just can’t thank Lincoln East enough for being able to be a part of this.”
Millard North (23-13), which overcame a 3-0 deficit after two innings with one run in the third and two more in the sixth, took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh when No. 9 batter Chase Machal drilled his first home run of the season down the left-field line.
At that point, Lincoln East coach Mychal Lanik said he planned to gather his squad and offer some words of motivation for the bottom of the seventh. He never got a chance. Spartans’ seniors Jeter Worthley, Peltz and Senstock were already on the case.
“I couldn’t even get a word out in the huddle because my three- (and) four-year guys — Joey, Jeter and Troy — just ran the whole huddle,” Lanik said. “They said, ‘It’s time to go. It’s time to lock in.’ They talked about what (Millard North relief pitcher Colin Driffill) had on the mound.
“They just said they had come too far and worked too hard to go down like that.”
Despite finishing the season with a 33-3 record, Senstock said the Spartans were no strangers to having to come from behind.
“We’ve been down in a lot of games this year and we’ve almost always found a way to come back,” Senstock said. “I just knew this team is really resilient. I’m just so proud of us for not hanging our heads, not slumping our shoulders.
“We knew we had the right players and we had them in the right positions. That gave us a chance to win this game and that’s what we did.”
East’s seventh inning started when Lewis Cockle drew a leadoff walk and Tanner Peterson dropped a bunt down that hugged the third-base line for an infield single. Peltz, who finished 2 for 4 at the plate, then drove a shot into the gap in left-center for a double, scoring courtesy runner Dele Odulate to tie it at 4-4. With no outs, Millard North intentionally walked Worthley to load the bases, setting the stage for Senstock.
A medium-depth flyball off Senstock’s bat down the right field line into foul territory was enough to score pinch runner Brady Hanus on a sacrifice fly.
Lanik’s recap of the rally was simple: “Lewis drew the walk, Tanner with the greatest bunt in the history of East baseball and then Troy got a fastball and he didn’t miss and Joey drove (Hanus) in,” Lanik said. “That’s an inning I’ll remember for the rest of my life because it was a bunch of old guys, doing old-guy things. I’m so blessed they’re on our side.”
Lincoln East’s third consecutive appearance in the Class A final is, “a testament to our kids,” Lanik said.
“We have a great support system. Our parents are amazing (and) our athletic department supports us,” Lanik said. “We work really, really hard at this — to be good on stages like tonight. We just give it all we have and try to prepare our kids because moments like this are what they’ll remember forever.”
Senstock certainly will.
“This one means a lot,” Senstock said. “Just to be able to go out as a champion as a senior and be able to play with such a great senior class is so great. I’ve been playing with most of my teammates since I was little, so this is an incredible feeling — I’m so happy for these guys.”
NOTEABLE: Millard North’s Machal put forth a valiant effort in defeat. The senior shortstop had half of the Mustangs’ six hits, going 3 for 3, including his seventh-inning home run that gave his team a 4-3 lead. North starting pitcher Wade Spencer also deserved a hat tip, battling back after Lincoln East’s first two hitters scored in the first inning to pitch 5 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts and three earned runs allowed, but none after the second inning.
QUOTEABLE: “They’ve made me a really good coach because of how talented they are, but also because of how good of kids they are,” Lanik said of Lincoln East’s senior class. “They lead us in the weight room (and) they lead us in the classroom. We’re really proud of how they represent us and we’re going to miss them like crazy.”
CLASS A STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS | CLASS A FINAL BOXSCORE
CLASS B: Copeland pitches Gretna East to first state title
OMAHA — Handed the biggest opportunity of his high school baseball career, Austin Copeland delivered.
Copeland fired a two-hit shutout, pitching Gretna East to a 2-0 victory over Bennington Friday afternoon in the Class B state championship game at Werner Park. The senior right-hander struck out three and walked one in a masterful 78-pitch outing.
“When I got told I was going to pitch, I was ecstatic,” Copeland said. “I was so nervous last night, but once I came here, I walked in, focused and was ready to go. This was about the best it could’ve gone.”
Copeland surrendered just two singles — one in the second inning and one in the sixth. Thanks to a double play, he faced the minimum through the first three innings.
A hit batter to lead off the seventh put the tying run at the plate for the No. 2-seeded Badgers (29-5), but Copeland retired the next three hitters to clinch the win for the fifth-seeded Griffins (22-10).
“Austin is a quiet warrior,” Gretna East coach Darrell Everhart said. “He’s got a steely eye, right? When he wants to get it done, he will. He’s a great competitor — wonderful young man.”
Despite steady rain falling in the later innings, Copeland said the wet conditions didn’t affect him much.
“It really wasn’t that tough,” Copeland said. “There were a lot of good balls here and I just made sure to keep dry in the dugout. It really didn’t faze me.”
Bennington coach Scott Heese said his squad played a solid game, but just couldn’t break through with a big hit against Copeland. Badgers’ starting pitcher Brandt Schmidt took the tough-luck loss, striking out seven and allowing five hits.
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Heese said. “We had zero errors and Brandt pitched a heck of a game. He did everything that I could’ve asked for him to do.
“Gretna East had some hits fall and we hit the ball right at them — that’s what it came down to. We didn’t have a lot of offensive opportunities and that’s a credit to their pitcher. He did a heck of a job.”
The game’s only runs were scored in the top of the fourth. Gretna East’s Chase Neneman delivered a two-out, two-run single to score Carter Woodson and Tyler Cox.
“Chase is one of those young men who’s a really great competitor also,” Everhart said. “You will see him after hours, hitting and getting extra work in. From the start of the season to the end of the season, if you would ever roll back some film and watch him hit … you can tell that’s where hard work pays off.”
NOTEABLE: The win gave Gretna East its first state baseball title in its second varsity season. “Last year, they just kind of competed freely,” Everhart said. “There were no high expectations. This year, we came out and there was a little bit of pressure at the beginning of the season. You could tell the guys may have been playing a little bit tight, but we tell the guys, ‘Don’t even look at the scoreboard.’ The scoreboard is an outcome. We talk about processes and if you just do your job — if you play baseball the way that you can, the processes will take care of the outcomes”
QUOTEABLE: “These young men will persevere,” Everhart said. “We started in the offseason back in August, just doing conditioning. We talked about physical training, we talked about mental training and one of the things that was really important was to push them physically to the point where their bodies thought it was tiring, but mentally, they could push past that. We’ve seen that all season. We put a tough schedule together and they competed in every one of those games, so (I’m) super proud of these guys.”
CLASS B STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS | CLASS B FINAL BOXSCORE
CLASS C: Wisnieski fires two-hit shutout, powering Malcolm to a three-peat
OMAHA — An early offensive outburst and Mason Wisnieski’s dominant pitching performance powered Malcolm’s 10-0 five-inning victory over Central City/Centura in Friday’s Class C championship game at Werner Park.
The second-seeded Clippers (28-2) finished 4-0 in the state tournament on their way to collecting a third consecutive championship. The top-seeded Kernels (24-2) were making their first finals appearance in their current co-op arrangement.
“It’s special every time,” Malcolm coach Zach Wehner said of completing the three-peat. “Coming in, being the underdogs this season as the No. 2 seed, we knew we had to put a good game together.”
That’s exactly what the Clippers did, scoring four times in the top of the first inning, four more runs in the third and two in the fourth. Malcolm finished with seven hits, but bolstered its offense by drawing 12 bases on balls.
Patience at the plate was key, Wehner said.
“We preached that all year,” Wehner said. “At the beginning of the season, we were a little antsy at the plate. We were trying to get too many hits out there and swinging at pitches that we shouldn’t be swinging at. We talked about their approaches and that they needed to be great up there every single time.
“I think that really showed today.”
Leadoff batter Logan McGreer (3 for 3 with a double, three RBIs and a walk) led the way for the Clippers’ offense. Teammate Justin Wisnieski (1 for 1 with three runs, three walks and a RBI) reached in all four of his plate appearances, while Chase Smith also drew three bases on balls for Malcolm.
Kernels coach Brandon Detlefsen said it was an uncharacteristic performance.
“Our pitching staff has been what got us here,” Detlefsen said. “For whatever reason, we just couldn’t find the zone today. Whether it was the big stage or whatever, but these guys have pitched on the big stage before, so that’s baseball.
“When the snowball starts rolling, it rolls — and we were on the wrong side of it today.”
The 4-0 first-inning lead was more than enough for Mason Wisnieski. The senior right-hander struck out six, walked four and allowed two hits in a five-inning complete-game performance.
“I tried to just really stay in the zone with my fastball mainly and then play off of that with whatever,” Wisnieski said. “I was throwing change-ups to lefties and sliders to righties, just trying to stay in the zone.
“Once we got that 4-0 lead, that just kind of took all the pressure out of it. I just stayed out there and started throwing strikes.”
Wehner said Malcolm’s familiarity with playing in state championship games was evident.
“We talked at practice how we just needed to come play the game and be relaxed — just treat it as another baseball game,” Wehner said. “Having the experience of being here the last couple of years, I think that really paid off.
“Our guys were just really loose and ready to play. … They love the big stage.”
Asked to describe Malcolm’s three-year title run, Wisnieski didn’t hesitate.
“Domination is a great word — dynasty is kind of a fun one,” Wisnieski said. “Winning so many state championships in a row is just an awesome experience for me and my friends.”
NOTEABLE: Despite having won back-to-back state titles, Malcolm entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Central City/Centura and had lost a regular-season meeting to the Kernels 8-4 on April 26. Mason Wisnieski said taking an underdog mentality provided a spark. “They kind of got up on us during the regular season, which is something that they have done the last couple of years, so to know that they were ahead of us, seeding-wise, that was kind of just another chip on our shoulders,” Wisnieski said. “We’ve been here before. We knew what we needed to do to win and we did that.”
QUOTEABLE: Wehner said the Clippers’ run of three state titles has been no accident. “They put in a ton of hard work during the offseason and the summer and during our season,” Wehner said. “They’re just a fun group to be around — very special.”
CLASS C STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS | CLASS C FINAL BOXSCORE
Terry Douglass is a freelance writer also based in Grand Island. He is the former sports editor for The Grand Island Independent.
Editor Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.