Nazareth hoping third time's the charm at 1A state tournament
Two years ago, the Nazareth Swifts advanced to the Class 1A state baseball tournament for the first time in program history. They were eliminated upon arrival.
Last season — with a first-year baseball coach, two seniors and much less starting experience — the Swifts made it again. They advanced to the title game, where they fell just short.
This year, Nazareth is hoping the third time truly is the charm.
With 11 seniors carrying the load, and head coach Tyler Goodwin in his second year at the helm, Nazareth (18-4) has made the state tournament for a third consecutive year and is set to face Fayetteville (19-6) in the semifinals at noon Wednesday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
The difficulty of making it this far once again has not been lost on the Swifts. While the accomplishment has been impressive, and they've earned all three trips, Goodwin said the players are not letting it go to their heads.
“It’s hard enough to (make it to state) once, let a lone three times in a row," Goodwin said. "I talked to them the other day about how it isn’t easy to do what they’ve done. The past three years of baseball have seemed to be fairly simple for them, but I don’t want them to think that’s the way everything always is. They compete hard and at an extremely-high level, and that’s led to a lot of their success.”
Last year's group consisted of only two seniors, but one of them made up the overwhelming majority of the Swifts' pitch count. Trent Gerber was one of the top pitchers in the area regardless of classification and is now throwing strikes for Seward County Community College in Kansas. There were valid concerns about what losing Gerber would mean for Nazareth's hopes of reaching state once more.
The 11 seniors on this year's team heard the outside noise loud and clear.
“What Trent Gerber did on the mound for us wasn’t something you can just replace," Goodwin said. "We’d hear all the time about what we lost, and I think that put a chip on the seniors' shoulders a little bit.”
Though they got a late start to the season with the basketball team qualifying for the regional tournament, the Swifts didn't seem to skip a beat once they returned to the diamond. They took victories over quality teams in bigger classifications, including 2A Clarendon. With an improved focus on hitting that Goodwin instilled in the offseason, and a rotational pitching staff, Nazareth continued to get work done.
“I feel my pitching staff this year has done a really good job," Goodwin said. "We’re a little different with not having as many strikeouts, but our defense has stepped up tremendously. It’s just baseball. You find out how your team works best, try to get them in those situations as much as you can, don’t settle for average or mediocre and jump on board as best as you can.”
Carson Heiman has led the way on the mound, going 10-0 with an earned-run average of 1.82. Tanner Birkenfeld (5-1, 2.12 ERA) and Sterl Welps (3-2, 4.59 ERA) have also stood out. All three are just as impressive at the plate, with Welps leading the team in batting average (.466) and RBI (35). Heiman (.406, 22 RBI) and Birkenfeld (.397, 23 RBI) are right there with him, while Luke Schulte (.424, 37 runs scored) has also been excellent.
Goodwin also made slight adjustments in his second year as skipper.
“I went into the year with an open mind," he said. "I hope I’ve learned and grown as a coach, and I hope that’s helping contribute to some of the success we’ve had this year.”
D'Hanis, the team that bested Nazareth in the state championship last year, did not qualify for state. However, Kennard and Abbott are back along with Nazareth. Fayetteville didn't make it last year but was state champion in 2021.
The road to winning it all won't be easy. Add on that history is on the line.
Not only would it be the first baseball state title in Nazareth history, it would be the first UIL baseball state championship for the Panhandle since 1971. While Randall is also looking to end the drought in 4A, Nazareth will play first Wednesday and — if both teams make the championship — they would play Thursday.
Goodwin didn't deny that it would be special to end the area's drought and make school history. Don't get it twisted, though, he and the rest of the Swifts know that they have to take it one thing at a time.
“Something I love about this team is that even with them being the first to do this and the first to do that, that’s not what’s on their mind," Goodwin said. "They’re playing for the moment. Of course, it’s there and if we’re fortunate enough to do it that would be pretty cool. In order to do it, though, we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Should Nazareth advance to the 1A final, it will play the winner between Abbott (21-4) and Kennard (22-12) at 9 a.m. Thursday at Dell Diamond.
Randall (38-4) is scheduled play at 1 p.m. Wednesday in a 4A semifinal round game against Texarkana Liberty-Eylau (32-6) at the University of Texas' UFCU Disch-Falk Field. If the Raiders advance, they would play the victor between Sinton (37-3) at China Spring (35-5-1) in the 6:30 p.m. Thursday championship at the same venue.
NAZARETH VS. FAYETTEVILLE
Class 1A state semifinal
When: Noon, Wednesday
Where: Dell Diamond, Round Rock
Records: Nazareth (18-4), Fayetteville (19-6)
Other 1A semifinal: Abbott (21-4) vs. Kennard (22-12)
Championship game: 9 a.m. Thursday, Dell Diamond.
Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia, @Caller_Len and @annierice_photo on Twitter for updates and for recaps, stories and photos, visit www.amarillo.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Nazareth hoping third time's charm at UIL Class 1A state tournament
