1988 St. Bede Baseball Team Accomplishments ●Won the 1988 Class A State
Title under the guidance of coach John Bellino ● Remains the only state title in school history ● Finished the season 25-4, defeated Waterloo 8-6 in the state semifinals and beat Alton Marquette 6-3 in state title game
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By Brandon LaChance
T
here are a lot of memories surrounding the 1988 St. Bede baseball team. The roster featured 11 seniors and everyone in uniform were friends and remain friends today. The Bruins only lost four regular season games. It’s the only St. Bede team to ever win an IHSA state championship. The list continues. But one memory everyone hated in 1988 but laughs about now is...The Run. “We lost to Putnam County (8-7) toward the end of the season (fourth to last game),” said Eric Bubelis, who was a senior third baseman on the 1988 team that finished the regular season 25-4. “We had been on a good little roll and we were taking things for granted. Coach (John) Bellino was mad when we lost to Putnam County. We were at home and PC got on the bus and left. “He got us on the first-base line, and we ran all the way to the hill and back multiple times. It was May. It was hot. It was humid. We didn’t know any different. We were 18 years old and didn’t know there were other places in the world that weren’t humid. We were sweating like crazy. We were still in uniform. We practiced until dusk. It felt like hours after playing a full game. “The run was our wake-up call. From that point on, we didn’t lose again. That’s when we started to really focus. Every game meant something to us because we didn’t want another practice like that.” The rest of the players on the team also tell stories about the run, including pitchers Brad Koster, Mike Schneider and Mike DeAngelo (also left field), catcher Steve Pomatto, first baseman Tom McGunnigal (also pitched), second baseman Jim Perona, shortstop Ken Bima, center fielder Eric “Kro” Krogulski, right fielder Brad Derix, designated hitter Chuck Loebach, as well as Jim Barto, Chris Clancy,
WHERE are they NOW
See St. Bede Page 52
A NewsTribune Publication | Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame | June 2022 51
