Making third straight state appearance, Newman finishes fourth for second year in a row

CHAMPAIGN — A couple more plays made and things may have gone differently.

But as the stakes got bigger, the margin for error got thinner.

Things just did not go Newman’s way over the weekend.

Nonetheless, the Comets took home a third straight state baseball trophy after falling 9-3 to Eureka in the Class 2A state tournament third-place game.

It was the second year in a row Newman (28-9-1) took fourth.

The Hornets (35-5) racked up 13 hits, scoring four times in the second inning and never trailing in the game. Eureka’s first run came on a fly ball to center that wasn’t caught. Tanner Wiegand’s two-run triple made it 3-0 as the Hornets took advantage of a couple missed outs early.

Eureka scored nine runs against Newman starting pitcher Evan Bushman (9-1), who took his first loss of the season.

“[They are] just a great hitting team,” Bushman said. “They hit me well and we didn’t really get the bat on the ball that much today. It just didn’t go our way, but hoping to be back here next year.”

Newman got on the board thanks to Garret Matznick’s continued skill at stealing bases. He swiped second, third and home plate on a pick-off throw to make it 4-1.

But the Hornets kept scoring and Newman was unable to keep up.

Ashton Miner drilled a ball with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, but it was right at the third baseman to end the inning with a 7-3 deficit.

“That’s two runs,” Newman coach Kenny Koerner said. “And they got some balls that I thought snuck through on us early that we probably could have made plays on. That’s baseball, though.”

Newman finished with seven hits and three walks against two different Eureka pitchers. Garet Wolfe led the team with two runs scored and two hits, including a double, and also made a nice grab at third base to end the fifth inning.

Despite not finishing the season with a win, the Comets were proud of how they battled just to get back to state.

The Comets trailed Alleman 7-2 in the regional final before scoring eight times in the bottom of the sixth inning of the 10-7 comeback win. They grinded out a 5-3 win over Marengo, topped an upstart Johnsburg team 6-2 and rolled past Chicago Hope 5-1 to reach state.

“It felt good coming back here and obviously not good losing both games again,” senior catcher Daniel Kelly said. “To make it down here three years in a row is an accomplishment. ... Before those three years we had never gone to state. It was really fun. This ride’s been awesome.”

Kelly wrapped up a stellar high school career and will study agricultural engineering at Iowa State University.

Outfielders Joe Oswalt and Chase Decker are also seniors. Decker will continue playing baseball at Sauk Valley Community College.

Bushman said the three seniors played their hearts out this season.

“Every one of them. Joe, Chase, Daniel, they all did their job this year and I’m just really proud of them,” Bushman said. “It sucks that Chase was a little injured this postseason towards the end, but he fought hard.”

There is still reason for optimism as the Comets have their infield and this year’s primary starting pitchers in Bushman and Drake Cole set to come back.

“The message will be to work hard this offseason,” Koerner said. “The margin is really thin [in the postseason], so you’ve got to work. You’ve got to keep working hard.”

Koerner was proud of the seniors and their leadership.

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Newman finished their season 28-9 after losing to Eureka 9-3 Saturday, June 7, 2025, during the Class 2A state baseball third place game at Illinois Field in Champaign. (Alex T. Paschal)

I thought the leadership this year was really special and I think that’s what kind of propelled this team," Koerner said. “You could see it throughout the postseason, those guys stepping up and kind of willing some of our games that we got through.”

Wolfe said the team’s mentality helped make the difference in continuing its success this season.

“We want to work together,” he said. “We’re all family, and we like to compete.”

Matznick said the team has battled all season.

“We’ve had injuries throughout the year, so it’s been hard,” he said. “It’s been a really tough run. We’ve played some really tough teams that all could have had a chance to make it to state. Obviously not the outcome we wanted, but to make it to state, every time, it’s nice.”