I have written many times about the rich history of baseball in Eau Claire.  We all know about Carson Park, Hank Aaron and other future major leaguers who played for the Eau Claire Bears/Braves, the city’s return to diamond excellence with the Eau Claire Express, and even some state high school championship runs a half-century ago. Recognizing this wealth of high baseball quality has been the job of the Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame, which was founded in 2008.  In recent years, the hall’s focus has turned from Chippewa Valley residents who played professional ball to the teams that won it all, and some of those creating the most-recent chapters of Eau Claire baseball lore got the honor this year: the 2002

Regis Ramblers and the 2011 North Huskies. (Full disclosure: I am involved with the Eau Claire Baseball History Committee, which selects Hall of Fame inductees.) Regis High School has had a plethora of athletic achievements over the years; its teams were always near the top of the old WISAA before the integration of private schools into the public-school WIAA divisions in 2000. In their second season in the WIAA, the Ramblers baseball team brought a long-awaited WIAA state baseball championship to Eau Claire as well as a long-awaited baseball championship to the school itself.  The Division III squad went 20-5 under Coach Mark McHorney, and took down Neenah’s St. Mary Central 6-1 in the state semifinals before capturing the crown with a 4-1 victory over DeSoto.  Regis came close to another trophy five years later, finishing runner-up to La Crosse Aquinas.

For the longest time, the city of Eau Claire struggled to win a public high school state championship in one of what most consider the main sports: football, basketball, baseball, and hockey.  The drought was finally broken in 2008 by the Memorial hockey team, although city schools almost broke the door down to a baseball title on multiple occasions over the past decade-plus. Eau Claire had a presence in the Division I state playoffs on a nearly annual basis, with Memorial and especially North on the verge of a win. The Huskies even made it to the championship game twice, in 2002 and 2005. Another six years would pass before they finally reached the ultimate stage.

The 2011 North Huskies went 23-3 and reached the state title game after beating Reedsburg 11-0 in the quarterfinals and Appleton North 5-2 in the semis. At last, the big game was here – Eau Claire North vs. Neenah – and it wasn’t close.   An 11-1 trouncing gave the Huskies their first state championship.

Andy Brown was a coach on Bob Johnson’s 2011 Huskies unit.  He told me that talent, chemistry and, as is often the case, pitching are what made that team a winner that year: “Naturally talented players that are close friends.  They have played together and had success since they were little.  We also had deep pitching:  three-four legitimate starters.”

There is always a critical moment upon which a championship season turns, and Andy remembers that moment for North.  “The key moment without question was Dean Eisold’s two-out, two-strike double versus Appleton North in the semifinal. It provided the go-ahead runs and momentum to win that game against our toughest opponent.”

Having attended a couple Hall of Fame induction banquets, I have seen the honor felt by the new members of the hall. I could not attend this year’s ceremony on Jan. 28, but I asked Brown what the induction means for the players and coaches – all of whom can now call themselves Hall of Famers.  “This is a city rich in baseball tradition and history, and to bring a title home to this town and be recognized for it is very special,” he said.

The baseball culture in Eau Claire is thriving.  Not only do our schools regularly contend for the state playoffs, but our Legion and even Little League teams are bursting with talent.  Meanwhile, the Eau Claire Express, while composed of players from across the country, have developed a successful organization over eight years with their own Northwoods League title in 2010.  Watch the baseball being played in Eau Claire this spring and summer, and you could be a witness to history: the future of our Baseball Hall of Fame may develop before your eyes.