STATE PREVIEW: Orangemen excited for another year at state, looking back to 2021 championship team

BEATRICE - They’ve become every bit of a household name at state, and the Beatrice Orangemen are back at state in 2023. 

The Orangemen won the state title in 2021, now chasing their second crown in the last three seasons. Beatrice knocked off Platte Valley 2-0 in the district final behind a 13-strikeout, shutout, complete game by Tucker Timmerman. Now, the Orangemen are turning their attention to that next state title.

“Year three going back to Werner {Park} to play first round,  can’t say how excited I am, the guys are excited, we can’t wait to get back there," Timmerman said. 

Beatrice senior and Husker baseball commit Tucker Timmerman is readying for his last go around at state, having made it to state in just about every sport and season he’s competed. Timmerman, who enters with sub-one ERA, says excitement is his main emotion in his final season at state.

“Going to state is awesome — For everybody,” Timmerman said. “In Beatrice, it means a lot to all the players, even the community, we’re all just really excited.”

Junior catcher Noah Jobman missed state last year after having torn multiple ligaments in his knee, but this season has come back to be the starter behind the plate, and even launched the first home run of his career — now he gets to perform at the biggest stage in Nebraska high school baseball. 

“It was pretty hard to see all my teammates out there playing, with me sitting on the bench,” Jobman said. “This year, it’s really rewarding… For me to be able to get out there after a year of physical therapy and hitting the weight room, it’s really exciting.”

Beatrice also found a diamond in the rough: junior Colin Mangall. After taking over starting duties in left field, he’s gone on to lead the team in stolen bases and runs scored. He talked about his role and if he ever saw this sort of success in his future. 

“I just know if I put the ball on the ground, somethings going to happen,” Mangnall said. “That’s my goal. Put the ball in play. Maybe I saw stolen bases coming, but the other stuff, never really expected it.”

In 2021, Beatrice pulled off one of the biggest state runs in NSAA history, having gone from a wildcard team, to a state champion. Jobman and Timmerman were part of that group and they talked about how that team still motivates them to this year. 

“It sets a pretty good example for us… We see what they did, it shows us what we’re capable of,” Jobman said. “We weren’t the highest rated team. We aren’t this year, but it shows us what we can really do.”

“That 2021 team, we didn’t earn our way to state… We got in by wildcard. This year we’ve earned our way through our subdistrict and our district final,” Timmerman said. “We’re ready, we’ve earned it, we’re ready to go.”

The Orangemen are the five-seed at state, taking on four-seed Gross Catholic. Beatrice begins their state tournament on Saturday at Werner Park with first pitch set for 1:00 pm. 

Programming note: The entire Beatrice Orangemen postseason can be heard on 94.7 FM/1450 AM KWBE.