Class 2-1A Baseball - Where we stand - April 22

They are, technically, defending state champions. If there was any team that was affected greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic, it may have been Elkhart's baseball squad.

On the 2019 state championship squad, the Wildcats had 12 underclassmen who were poised to make another run in 2020. However, the season was lost, and a chance for six seniors to repeat the feat went along with it.

Now, Elkhart (8-2) has to find a way back to the top of the ladder, and while they may not pull off another 22-0 record, like they did in 2019, the Wildcats are one of the favorites in the state to make some noise come late May.

The Wildcats are tasked with becoming the first team since Pittsburg-St. Mary's Colgan did it in 2015-16 to repeat as state champs. And so far, they seem to be up to the task.

Consider that both of the Wildcats' losses have come to Class 3A teams - dropping game one of a doubleheader with Hugoton, and the nightcap of a twinbill with Lakin. Their two losses have come by a total of three runs. Their wins include a 9-3 and 3-1 sweep of Bucklin/Coldwater-South Central, who is right behind them currently in the Medicine Lodge Region standings.

In their six other triumphs, the Wildcats have scored no fewer than 15 runs, and allow 5.3 runs a contest. Not a big deal when you're averaging 12.2 runs per game, and 13.8 runs a contest since that first double-dip of the 2021 season.

The other three area teams in the region are struggling. Syracuse (2-8) split a doubleheader with Satanta/Moscow (1-5), with the second game (a 34-28 Satanta win. Yes, you read that correctly) featuring a combined 60 runs scored. Sublette (1-5) has lost five straight after opening with an impressive win in the lidlifter of two with Southwestern Heights. Satanta/Moscow hosts Sublette today, while Syracuse get back to action on Monday at home against Sublette.