Lake Country This Month

By Mark Hutchinson Freeman Staff GRAND CHUTE — Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were right: The waiting is the hardest part. The Lake Country Luther- an High School baseball team had to turn the pages of an entire calendar to get back to the WIAA Division 4 state title game after losing to Greenwood in 2013. Once the Lightning reached their intended desti- nation at Fox Cities Stadium last month, they didn't leave until they emerged with an angst-filled 11-7 triumph over McDonell Central in 11 innings. The marathon victo- ry completed a 32-0 season and earned the program its first state championship. Lutheran coach David Bahr has coached prep base- ball for 18 years and been involved in the sport for most of his life. Had he ever waited through anything quite like his team's latest state tournament escapade? "No, not even close," Bahr replied. "The tournament is so much different in itself since you have to wait around for other games. And the weather really made things interest- ing. We had almost a six-hour rain delay (the day before). "We showed up ready for a 10:30 game here, then the game in front of ours went extra innings. We tried to warm up in the parking lot. Then our game went 11 innings, and it just tore our hearts out every single second of the way. "But the guys responded to the adversity and stayed even- keeled like they were all year. It was good stuff." LCL senior Jesse Turner, the fourth pitcher to take the mound in the final for a staff that logged 15 complete games this season, earned the victory following a three- inning stint. Turner fielded a comebacker and threw to first for the final out before being buried beneath his cel- ebrating teammates. "This was completely nerve-wracking," said Turn- er, one of Lutheran's four seniors. "It was shocking. It was agony. "We hadn't seen anything like this all year. The compe- tition was stiff – really good. We got here with a bunch of run-rule wins in the playoffs. It was unexpected for us to have a close game, but we fought through it and came up big in clutch situations." The longest Divisin 4 title game in state history, which spanned 3 hours and 43 min- utes, was tied at 2-2 after four innings, 3-3 after seven, 5-5 after nine and 7-7 after 10. LCL broke that deadlock with four runs in the top of the 11th before Turner pitched a score- less bottom of the inning. LCL senior second base- man Chris Kornowski led off the 11th with a single, and senior right fielder BJ Sabol was hit by a pitch. Turner executed a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, and Kornowski scored the go- ahead run on a wild pitch. Following walks to junior third baseman Ben Wilkins and sophomore left fielder Andrew Buran, junior first baseman CJ Teske lined a two-run single to left. Senior catcher Murphy Shannon singled in another run. "Throughout the year, we were running over teams," Kornowski said. "We played more innings in this game than we played in our sec- tional altogether. We hadn't seen anything like this game this year. "Last year in the state final, we ran into a situation kind of like this. To see our team come together in the state tourna- ment and keep pushing for- ward was great. These guys give everything for each other, and that's how we were able to accomplish this." Teske felt both a thrill and relief after he delivered what proved to be the dagger, and he helped complete his team's mission in the bottom half of the inning. "They had just switched pitchers," Teske said. "I was a little worried about what kind of pitches I was going to see. I took the first couple, then I got one up and in and I turned on it and ripped it to left to drive in two runs. When I hit it, a bunch of anx- iety was just lifted off me. "When we went back out to the field, I was like, 'We've got to finish this.' We wound up persevering and getting the last three outs to win it." Sophomore shortstop Jake Hall went 4 for 6 with two runs batted in, Kornowski was 3 for 5, Teske finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Shannon and Sabol both went 2 for 5 for the Light- ning, who totaled 16 hits. Lutheran had a gallery of heroes and needed every one of them to overcome McDonell. The team from Chippewa Falls finished 19-8. "This was an insane game," said Shannon, who executed a rare, unassisted double play by a catcher to bail his team out of a jam in the second inning and threw out would-be base stealers to get his team out of jeopardy in the fifth and sixth. "We've had so many games where we won by 10 or more runs that weren't really fun to play in. This was as fun as it gets: back and forth the whole game." Sabol said his team was determined not to allow another state title to get away. "We tried not to think about last year, obviously, because we lost," he said. "But it was in the back of our minds. "I've played a lot of games in my life, but nothing even close to this one where we just battled back and forth. The No. 1 thing for this team was always teamwork. We love each other like brothers, so it's a great feeling to win this together." Email: mhutchinson@conleynet.com Page 8A • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY JULY 2014 239147001 6KUO-Y_X^\c T H I S M O N T H AUGUST 9 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 Check out the August edition of LAKE COUNTY THIS MONTH for the guide to the 2014 MBA Parade of Homes. The guide includes the Parade schedule, specials, and helpful home building and remodeling tips. 3 Subdivisions Hawks Glen – Mequon Victoria Station – Pewaukee Twin Pine Farm – Town of Lisbon WIAA DIVISION 4 STATE BASEBALL TITLE GAME: Lake Country Lutheran 11, McDonell Central 7 (11 innings) Budzien's NFL dream alive and kicking Lightning baseball team finishes perfect storm By Pat Neumuth Freeman Staff HARTLAND — For undrafted free agents in the NFL, luck and timing may be even more important than performance. Jeff Budzien, a Arrow- head High School graduate, just learned that part of the pro football business. Despite performing well in practice, Budzien was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars about a week after signing a three-year con- tract with the club. Due to a couple of injuries, Budzien was let go alongside punter Chad Zin- chini to make way for run- ning back Beau Blanken- ship and safety Jerome Junior. But the door isn't closed on his career, as Budzien is getting ready for a tryout with the Denver Broncos. "It was certainly a bum- mer because I hit so well down there going 17 of 18 — and my one miss was from 65 (yards)," Budzien said. "It wasn't for a lack of per- formance. It's pretty corpo- rate, and they needed an extra body. They told me they'd look to re-sign me if I was still on the market in a couple of weeks. They can call again, but in a few weeks I'm flying out to Den- ver for a tryout." Accuracy has always been Budzien's strong suit. Budzien holds records at Northwest- ern for career points (280), career field goal percent- age (.872), single-season field goals made (23), most consecutive field goals made (17) and consecutive successful extra point attempts (136). He won the Bakken-Anderson award, which is awarded to the top kicker in the Big Ten Con- ference, and was first-team All-Big Ten twice. A big reason Budzien may have been let go was the Jaguars have 11-year veteran Josh Scobee, who signed a four-year contract in 2012. "It was good, and I was just trying to be a sponge and soak up everything that he had to offer," Budzien said about competing against Scobee. "Coming from Arrowhead and North- western, I'm used to being in an intense environment. It's certainly a job, and they treat their bodies like a machine. It was fun to see a guy like him hit in person, and I gained confidence from doing it and I believe I belong in the NFL. He's had great success, and I think I was certainly good competi- tion. "A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time and having a need for a kick- er. I don't think the best 32 kickers are in the NFL. Some just get in a good spot. There's eight to 10 kickers that are floating around, and it's about who can get hot at the right time." Unfortunately, the Broncos also have a veteran kicker in Matt Prater. Prater, also an undrafted free agent out of college, is a seven-year veter- an. Prater bounced around the league for a while, but he holds the record of the longest field goal in NFL his- tory at 64 yards. But Budzien isn't worried about competing — especial- ly against veteran kickers. "I'll have to compete against a good guy or two no matter where I go," Budzien said. "I just figure it as an opportunity to kick and put it in God's hands." Budzien said if tryouts don't result in sticking with a team, his performance is still crucial. He said the NFL is mostly about word-of- mouth. He already received good remarks from the Jaguars organization. Budzien had several offers after going undrafted, but Jacksonville offered him the best contract. Being an undrafted free agent might even give Budzien an edge over a veter- an kicker. "There are so many weird things that happen in the NFL with trades, waives and claims," Budzien said. "If they need a roster spot or some cash or capital saved, I'm the cheapest option right now for the league mini- mum. I'm going to keep wait- ing by my phone and keep training." Budzien said the life of an undrafted kicker is frustrat- ing at times. Other undrafted position players might get a chance to play with a team on the practice squad, which keeps those players in an organization with job securi- ty. Plus, staying with one organization makes it easier to move up from the practice squad. NFL teams tend to carry only one kicker. Since being waived, Budzien has continued train- ing by running, lifting and kicking in the area. Shortly after being waived, Budzien went back to Northwestern but is now home in Hartland either kicking at Carroll Uni- versity or Wisconsin Luther- an College since high school uprights are wider than col- lege and NFL uprights. "All my friends have 9 to 5 jobs that they know and are stable in," Budzien said. "Me, I'm just winging it, and these are the years where I can afford to do so. Eventual- ly, if this doesn't work I'm not holding onto the dream for 10 years. I have a good Northwestern education to fall back on. It is what it is and the nature of the beast. I chose to try and declare for the draft and that's what I've expected." Over half the NFL teams have contacted Budzien's agent, Chris Martin from OTG Sports Management, and he said most wait until mid-July before camp starts. Budzien thinks he will get other shots for his dream in the NFL. "I think all 32 teams can be a possibility where I end up," Budzien said. "It's just a mat- ter of a team calling my agent and saying they need a guy and me being that guy. I can't tell you where I will land, but hopefully it's some- where." Email: pneumuth@conleynet.com Budzien Arrowhead grad gets opportunity to show off leg At a glance Who: Jeff Budzien What: kicker pursuing a career in the NFL Education: Arrowhead High School and Northwestern Uni- versity So far: Budzien signed a three- year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars but was shortly waived. He has a tryout lined up with the Denver Broncos. Performance with Jack- sonville: 17 for 18 in field goal attempts College accolades: hold school records for career points (280), career field goal percentage (.872), single-season field goals made (23), most consecutive made field goals (17) and consec- utive extra point attempts made (136); won the Bakken-Anderson award for top kicker in the Big Ten twice; two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick Kristin Simons/Submitted photo Lake Country Lutheran players celebrate their WIAA Division 4 state baseball title.

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