Man catches more than fish at Cheney Lake, fire department helps reel in a big one
2 June 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — For the first time in 11 years, the Bishop Carroll Baseball team is the 5A State Champions after they defeated De Soto last week in a thrilling 7-6 championship game.
The Golden Eagles and their march to a state championship and a school record 24-1 record is this week’s Competitive Drive.
Bishop Carroll entered the bottom of the 4th inning down 5-4 in the state championship game. But after scoring three clutch runs to take a two-run lead, the Golden Eagles had to rely on senior leader Van Haneberg on the mound.
“(Haneberg) told me he had four (innings he could pitch),” explained Bishop Carroll Head Coach Charlie Ebright. “And I’m like, ‘Well, if I can get three out of him, he’s our guy.'”
Haneberg dug deep and cut his way through the De Soto lineup to help his team earn redemption after falling short in the state championship a year ago.
“I mean, it feels great,” said Haneberg. “I did it for my team. It’s my last season with my brother, so I wanted to do it for him. So I know we had to stay locked in, but we also had to have fun because that’s what the game’s about. We went out there, and we did it. It’s a great time. “
Ebright added, “Van, he just, you saw it out there. He’s a competitor. He wants to be in that moment. He wants to be the star. And I’m glad he got to shine tonight.”
This state championship is now the third in Ebright’s time with Carroll and gives the head coach a sense of relief knowing he was able to help lead this team back to the top of 5A.
“24-1, never had one of those. We play a lot of close games against good teams, and we found a way to win almost all of them. So it was a fantastic season,” said Ebright.