British journalist Walter Bagehot once said, “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” The Munster Mustangs took that saying and galloped into the sunset with it.
Most remarkably, both the baseball and softball teams at Munster are making deep runs into the postseason. The baseball team captured a Sectional Championship on May 30 after defeating the favored Lake Central Indians 5-4. This victory got the proverbial monkey off of Munster’s back.
On May 27, softball team accomplished the improbable as they defeated the Crown Point Bulldogs 1-0 for a colossal upset in the Sectional Championship. At one point in the season, the Bulldogs were deemed the No. 1 team in the country by MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 rankings. The Lady Mustangs grabbed even more gold by defeating the Hobart Brickies 5-2 in the Regional Championship on May 31.
Senior catcher Alex Mis maintained faith in his team during the fateful Memorial Day matchup.
“When we played Lake Central, we were underdogs who had nothing to lose,” Mis said. “We just went out there and played loose.”
The softball team rides the momentum of positive energy. Senior second baseman Kelsie Kasper has watched her team gel together.
“We already had good team chemistry, but these past few game have just increased that,” Kasper said. “The team has so much energy and excitement in the dugout, which translates on the field and motivates us to win.”
Coach Beth Thornburg can be found screaming encouragement to her players from the third-base box. Thornburg’s positive attitude and energy translates with the team.
“Coach always tells us that it’s not always the team with the most talent who wins, but the team who finds a way to win will win,” Kasper said. “We know we aren’t the most talented team, but we play strong together and find a way to win.”
Mis is on a quest to match his friends on the other diamond.
“We want to match them with a Regional Championship of our own,” he said.
The Mustangs will need to win two games each on Saturday to advance to the next round. The baseball team will square off against Chesterton in the La Porte Regional at 10:30 a.m. The Lady Mustangs will travel to the Harrison (West Lafayette) Semi-State to battle with the Leo Lions at 1 p.m. EST.
Upset City is on the rise, and these Mustangs want to keep their stride.