St. Norbert's 'Angel' Inspires Baseball Team

For the sixth-grade , an “angel in the outfield” might not have lifted the team to a championship this season, but the team did end their season feeling uplifted.

The team lost to St. Gerard-Majella, 12-4, in their league championship game.

St. Norbert’s entered this season with one goal: “Win for John.”

In December, player John Finn lost his life following a hard-fought battle against cancer. This was the first season of organized baseball that this group played without him in the lineup. 

John signed up to play last baseball season, but was unable to do so after his cancer diagnosis. He remained listed on the team’s roster.

“They handled it very well,” coach Kerry Carpenter said of his team’s reaction to the tragedy. “They obviously were all upset, but they set a goal, to win a city/county championship for John. We didn’t win, but I know John is very proud looking down on his friends.”

Ryan Ely, one of the team’s top pitchers, started on the mound for St. Norbert’s. The first batter of the game for St. Gerard crushed a home run over the right-field fence to give his team an early lead. The lead-off homer foreshadowed a ton of runs that St. Gerard later scored.

“We had an amazing season. We accomplished a lot of things no one thought we would accomplish,” Carpenter said after the team’s loss.

“Things didn’t work out for us in the long run, but words cannot describe how proud I am of this group of boys.”