Badger baseball makes history with first-ever state tournament appearance

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — For the first time in program history, Badger High School's baseball team is headed to the WIAA state tournament, a remarkable achievement for a program that won just three games four years ago.

"It's worth it when you're out here," senior left fielder Zach Walton smiled. "It's summertime and people are on summer break on their boats, and what are we doing today? I got practice at noon."

The team has been working toward this moment since last season when they came up just one game short.

"We had 24 wins last year, came up one game short of state last year," Badger head coach Nick Hughes said.

After suffering a one-run loss in last year's sectional final, the team returned this season with a vengeance, dominating their bracket despite being seeded fourth.

"We all took it to heart because nobody still believed in us," senior pitcher Riley Lussmyer said. "We were the only team not ranked in the top 25 in our sectional."

Watch: Badger baseball makes history with first-ever state tournament appearance

"I think that did nothing but get us back here today and prove to everybody else that last year wasn't just a fluke," Walton added.

The program's turnaround has been nothing short of incredible, from winning just three games four years ago to now setting program records.

"It's really just a testament to the guys that we have, the senior class, the experience that we have," Hughes said.

"We're fearless, relentless, and tough-skinned," senior first baseman Gavin Stewart said. "That's really been drilled into all of us. We're not the most talented, but we're going to go out there and make plays and be resilient enough to continue to come back and make plays when things don't go our way."

Badger enters the state tournament as a dark horse, seeded eighth, but the team sees their underdog status as an advantage.

"We're still being doubted with getting the eighth seed, but that's where we like to be," Stewart grinned. "That underdog story because we're going to come out and play our way."

"It's just important that nobody takes us lightly because if they don't, we're going to be advancing and they're going home," Lussmyer stated.

Badger faces top-seeded Hudson on Monday in the Division 1 quarterfinals.

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