Connor Zegar’s final pitch settled in Colt Reiling’s glove for a called third strike, and the celebration was on for the second consecutive year.
The Malcolm Legion seniors swept through the Class C state tournament July 29 through Aug. 2 and brought home their second straight state title.
“These guys worked extremely hard,” Coach Tanner Soderberg said. “They deserve all the credit.”
The championship marked No. 5 for Malcolm baseball over the past two calendar years. The Malcolm junior Legion team won the last two championships, and Malcolm High won the first Class C state title in May.
“It feels really good to get that fifth one,” Mason Wisnieski, Malcolm third baseman, said.
Zegar pitched all seven innings in the 6-2 win over Dannebrog-Cairo-Boelus, the second time the two teams met in the tournament. The first was a 1-0 Malcolm win in the second round.
Soderberg said DCB had beaten Malcolm earlier in the season. He was confident that Malcolm could win, however.
“We beat their best pitchers,” Soderberg said. “We were locked in and ready to go from pitch one.”
When Zegar sent DCB down 1-2-3 in the first inning, Soderberg knew DCB knew they were in for a fight.
“Connor’s pitching absolutely eliminated everybody,” Reiling said. “I was just there to stop the ball from going to the backstop.”
Maddox Meyer said Malcolm knew the game would be a dogfight from the beginning.
“We hit better than I expected,” he said. “We had a lot of confidence and high energy.”
Hayden Frank, Malcolm first baseman, said the team was confident coming into the game.
“Before the game in my speech, I said don’t put pressure on yourself. They’ve got to beat us twice,” he said.
Meyer said Malcolm knew the game was in the bag when the team stepped on the field for the seventh inning.
“We knew we had it,” he said. “We just had to get three outs before they got six runs.”
Soderberg said the wild cards this season were the 7, 8 and 9 hitters, all of whom also played on the juniors team.
“They produced a ton at the bottom” of the lineup, Soderberg said.
Zegar was back on the field after a double knee surgery May 18. Two days after the surgery, he saw the Malcolm High School team win Class C, and that tipped the scales for him.
“I knew I wanted to be back for Legion ball,” he said. “I wanted to come back to play with a team who worked their butt off in the spring, to see the work they put in and watch them come to play while you get to be beside them.”
“How about that guy?” Soderberg said. “He was questionable if he’d even play this season. Then he went a complete game and shut them down when he’s not even 100%.”
Soderberg said Zegar was a good leader on this summer’s team.
“It was ‘Whatever you need me to do, coach,’” he said. “He wants to do whatever it takes.”
Zegar spent the spring 2023 spring season playing catcher for Buena Vista University, so it had been some time since he’d played with his former Legion teammates.
“Being an outsider coming in, you don’t know what to expect,” he said.
He said it wasn’t hard to settle back into the Malcolm mindset.
“We all had the same goal. You just adapt and play,” he said.
Zegar said he was honored to be the starting pitcher in the championship game.
“It means a lot, that the team trusts me in that position,” he said.
To get to the championship, Malcolm had to beat Wilber Aug. 1 in a rematch of the opening round. Malcolm got the win 9-1 behind 4 1/3 innings of relief pitching from Cody Sykes. Wisnieski was 3-3, and Zegar and Derek Erickson had two hits each.
For some players, the win over DCB marked their final career baseball game.
“The plan was always to go out on top,” said Reiling, who said this was his final game.
Frank said he’s not sure yet if he’ll play again next summer.
“It’s been so much fun,” he said.
Soderberg said this year’s team was special because it had no complainers.
“The parent support has been absolutely terrific, and the guys are just good dudes,” he said.
