LA CROSSE — Ten Mike Dees are better than one, and that’s probably what makes the Aquinas High School baseball team such a difficult one to defeat.
The nine that play positions on the field at any given time aren’t nearly as experienced as the genuine article as he sits in the dugout or stands near the third-base line.
That guy has several decades — both in the sport and in life — on those kids, but his influence on how the Blugolds go about their business is undeniable, and their shared belief to the way he treats the game is why they have a chance to win a second straight WIAA championship this week.
Second-seeded Aquinas (23-3) is headed to Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute for a Division 2 state semifinal against third-seeded Seymour (25-3) at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The winner will play either top-seeded New Berlin Eisenhower (22-5) or fourth-seeded Reedsburg (22-6) at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The Blugolds have bumped up since winning the Division 3 title a year ago, but an appreciated approach by Dee — his Illinois-Chicago teams won 680 games during his 23 Division I seasons as its coach — has teenagers looking at the game differently than their peers.
“We’re not playing against Seymour, and we’re not playing to win a state championship,” said senior catcher Jacob Thornton, who is batting .507 with six doubles, 29 runs batted in and 19 walks. “We’re competing against the game and trying to play the best game we can when we go out there.”
The process really is that simple for Aquinas, which has won 72 of 82 games since Dee returned — he has a previous stint with the Blugolds in the 1980s — as coach in 2023.
The controllable aspects of the game — fundamentals, strategy, philosophy. etc. — are emphasized. So are the reactions to unanticipated situations.
Do players know anything about the players they line up against? Surely something, but nothing nearly as detailed as the way they want to play the game.
Attention to those details are what have made Dee so successful in his chosen field, and he’s thrilled that they are important to his players. too.
“They have bought into the idea of not worrying about winning,” Dee said after the Blugolds beat Medford for the sectional championship last Tuesday. “We want incremental improvement and see where that takes us.”
That changes in some respect when the end of the season is on the line, but Aquinas is basically built to do the little things well and know how to recover if mistakes happen.
Senior outfielder Cullen Sackman, who leads the team with 19 stolen bases, 27 walks drawn and 36 runs scored and bats .373 with 16 runs batted in, said previous experience at Fox Cities Stadium should help strengthen that process this week.
“I think we do (have an advantage) because we’ve been there before, we know what to expect and understand the situation,” said Sackman, the Aquinas starting center fielder and leadoff hitter in its past two state appearances. “The pressure is not as high on us.”
It was when the season began, though.
The Blugolds prepared for and played their first game knowing they’d be without first baseman Kyle White and third baseman Marcus Klar after season-ending injuries sustained in football and wrestling, respectively.
“That took away us being a similar team to what we were last year,” said senior Isaac Schelfhout, who is batting .377 with four doubles, 30 RBIs, 27 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, a 6-0 record and 2.07 ERA. “But they’ve helped us as coaches and worked with guys to play their positions.
“That’s been helpful to get us through it.”
Senior Jackson Knothe (.294 batting average, six errors) has taken over at third base, and provided solid contribution.
Junior Waylon Hargrove (.303 batting average, 18 RBIs, 9-1 record and 1.91 ERA) and sophomore Landon Teachout (.427 batting average, 10 doubles, 34 RBIs, 3-0 record, 2.07 ERA) have teamed up to play first with Hargrove starting 11 games as a pitcher.
That, of course, happened after the Blugolds had to wish happy graduations to longtime shortstop Eddie Peters and second baseman Kole Keppel. The Blugolds completely changed their infield and lost three games all season.
“There were a couple of bad losses (early),” Dee said. “But eventually, they got on a roll, and you could see with each week that they were gaining some confidence in what we were teaching, and we’ve seen that now for nine or 10 weeks.”
