Highland shuts down Waterloo to win regional for the first time since 2019
Advancing past the regional round of the IHSA playoffs has been a tall order for Highland High School baseball teams in recent seasons.
On Saturday afternoon, Highland changed that narrative for the better thanks to some timely hitting and superb pitching from Chase Knebel.
Highland scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings, and the Bulldogs ace Knebel pitched a shutout as Highland blanked Waterloo 3-0 to claim the Class 3A regional championship at Waterloo High School.
HHS (27-6-1) moves on to face Salem in a Class 3A sectional semifinal at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Triad High School.
Helping the Bulldogs win a regional for the first time since 2019 was a satisfying feeling for senior outfielder Jake Ottensmeier.
“It feels good and coming off basketball, we learned as a class how to win because we all play baseball as well and it just fueled us for baseball definitely, we know we have a chance to go farther, so the job is not finished still,” Ottensmeier said.
Top-seeded Highland broke on top in the bottom of the second inning as Ottensmeier’s two-out single to right scored Zane Korte to make it 1-0. “It was a big at-bat and it felt good to do something for this team and yeah, it felt great,” Ottensmeier said.
In the bottom of the third, Deklan Riggs chased home Braxdon Decker with a one-out RBI single to center field, and then in the bottom of the fourth, Knebel laced a run-scoring sacrifice fly to right field, pushing the lead to 3-0.
The three-run cushion was all the Knebel needed to go to work on Waterloo’s lineup. Knebel, Highland’s junior lefthander who sports a gaudy .13 ERA, was again a master on the mound.
Changing speeds in and out of the strike zone, Knebel went the distance for a complete game shutout and improved to 10-0 on the season.
“My fastball and changeup were working together and the wind was in my favor and my ball was moving the way I wanted it to working in and out,” Knebel said. “It was a great day.”
Highland coach Joe Hawkins was pleased with Knebel’s dominant outing on the bump. “Chase has been fantastic all year. He throws strikes in there and they see if they can hit him and he’s a thoughtful baseball kid too,” Hawkins said.
Waterloo had one final chance to score in the top of the seventh with runners at first and third and two out. Knebel bore down and retired Brayden Hayes to end the threat and send the Highland faithful into celebration mode.
Losing at home in the regional championship was not the end that fourth-seeded Waterloo wanted in finishing at 19-14 but coach Mark Vogel was happy with his club’s effort and season.
“They found the holes and we didn’t and you’ve got to give their kid credit,” Vogel said. “I think he’s given up one run all year. There’s positives to take from this and we didn’t win as many games as we wanted but when the season ends I just hope these guys can take some things from baseball that they can take out to the real world and that’s kind of how we run our program.”
Hawkins was a happy mixture of excitement and relief after watching his team move into the sectional round for the first time in five seasons.
“The kids, you know they’re kind of excited,” Hawkins quipped. “For us (coaches) it’s like a big relief.”
Ottensmeier and the Bulldogs now look forward to next Wednesday at Triad. “Whoever it is we’re gonna give them our best shot and look to move on,” Ottensmeier said.
This story was originally published May 27, 2024 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Highland shuts down Waterloo to win regional for the first time since 2019."