Mason Green slid headfirst toward home, extending his arm to touch the plate and expand Gonzaga’s lead in the fourth inning. With the throw well beyond St. John’s catcher Vinny Hall’s glove, Green rolled over to his back and let out a sigh that could be felt throughout Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Sunday.
It was not just nerves being released but more than two decades of waiting for the Gonzaga baseball program and its fans.
In the decisive Game 3 of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship series, Gonzaga never trailed and won its first title since 2000 by dispatching the perennial champion Cadets, 9-1.
“Twenty years in the making,” Green said. “We knew this was going to happen, but nobody else expected it.”
St. John’s (22-8) had won the previous six titles, but Gonzaga (20-12) responded to a Game 1 loss with a comeback Saturday in Game 2 and a relatively stress-free clincher Sunday.
A solo home run from starting pitcher Ethan Van Sice started the scoring in the second inning, and seven consecutive singles in the third inning from the fifth-seeded Eagles led to five more runs.
Then, Henry Hultquist came on in relief for Van Sice and kept the Cadets from getting any momentum.
As Jake Gupton delivered a throw from shortstop for the final out of the game, the Eagles stormed the mound and began a celebration that included a raucous student section and plenty of friends, family and alumni.
“For this group to bring that atmosphere back to Gonzaga baseball,” Coach Chad Carroll said, “and have a student section and a support system and an alumni system that was all able to be here and see that and this series means the world to this team.”
The Eagles had not made it to the championship series since they last won the title 22 years ago. When Gonzaga beat O’Connell in the semifinals, former players were excited to see what their successors could accomplish.
“When I was here, this would’ve been unimaginable for us,” Class of 2019 pitcher Jason Shephard said. “To beat our rival in the championship like this, this is really special.”
Shephard was especially happy for seniors Nick Morabito and Noah Potholm, who were freshmen when he was a senior.
Members of the current team said they owe a lot of their success to those who laid the foundation before them. As Carroll greeted some of his former players, he told them, “You paved the way.”
“This win isn’t just for this team. It’s for all the teams. It’s for the past teams,” Morabito said. “It’s for the teams that couldn’t do it.” This article was written by the Washington Post, read more articles like this here.
