Inductees

In the late 1980s, in the state capitol city of Jefferson City, a group of baseball players from Helias Catholic High School had just about everybody’s attention.

And for good reason.

The Crusaders had been building toward the elite of prep baseball powers for several years, with the 1985 team reaching the state quarterfinal and the 1986 placing third.

“I think we all knew we had the potential to get back to the Final Four if we caught some breaks,” Brian Francka said. “After making it to the quarterfinal game in 1985 and taking third place in state in 1986, I think we understood what it took to succeed in postseason play and had the experience to get it done in 1987.”

The Crusaders roared to the top, winning three consecutive state championship in Class 3, and that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the 1987-1989 Era of Helias Catholic High School Baseball with the Class of 2024.

Only six high schools in Missouri have won three consecutive state baseball championships, the Crusaders are among them.

Coached by Denny Hughes (MSHOF 2024), the Crusaders showed the way.

The 1987 team beat Dexter 7-3 in the finals, fishing 22-5. It was a close game until Helias advantage of Dexter errors, scoring five runs in the fifth inning – including on an inside-the-park home run by Chad Barnes. Brent Schneiders got the win.

That team’s seniors were Brian Francka, Phil Rackers, Matt Kemna and Rob Bernskoetter. Juniors were Brent Schneiders, Mike Noblett, Chris Rackers, Rob McCurren, Chris Vieth, Chad Barnes and Kevin Weaver. Sophomores were Chris Wyrick, Wes Higgins and Glen Versleus. Francka, Rackers, Schneiders and Wyrick went on to play at the University of Missouri, and Wyrick spent time in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.

The team had a 1.60 earned run average with 209 strikeouts in and, offensively, batted .324 with 231 hits and 213 runs, or 7.88 runs a game. Its on-base percentage was .501.

Helias meandered through the state tournament by beating Marshfield, Jennings and then Carthage before reaching the finals. In all, the Crusaders outscored opponents 36-9.

“After beating a really good (18-1) Marshfield team in the sectional game, we felt, pretty good about our chances the rest of the way,” Francka said.

That team was fired up from 1986 but, perhaps a good thing was that many didn’t have much time to think about it.

“Most of the guys played two or three sports, so there wasn’t a lot of time off,” Francka said. “But everyone played competitive summer ball, lifted in the offseason and hit the ground running in the spring.”

A year later, the Crusaders beat St. Dominic 11-2 in the finals, ending the year with a perfect 26-0 record. Only three other teams had gone undefeated in the state going back to 1957. And the 1988 team flat out dominated, outscoring opponents 33-4.

That team featured catcher Chris Vieth, first baseman Wes Higgins, second baseman Mike Noblett, shortstop Chris Wyrick, third baseman Glen Verslues, and outfielders Chad Barnes, Rob McCurren and Chris Rackers.

The team had a 1.46 earned run average and batted .397. The Crusaders’ regular season included a 2-1 victory against Fulton, 5-3 against Jefferson City and 6-4 against Hannibal.

“We just played each game as they came and, in each game, our opponent wanted to beat us,” Rob McCurren said. “We have a solid baseball tradition at Helias, and we played with confidence.:

There was hardly any let-up in the postseason of 1989, as Helias Catholic beat Branson 13-3 to win it all and finished 21-2. The Crusaders outscored opponents 34-5.

Team members were Wes Higgins, Larry Krummen, Glen Verslues, Matt Raderman, Chris Wyrick, Tim Schulte, Chris Case, Eric Norfleet, Mark Brandt, Chad Winge, Greg Schroeder, Steve Weaver, Scott Crane, Tony Rozier, Brad Thielemier, Chris Brondel and Kevin Oligschlaeger.

“The players loved to play baseball,” Verslues said. “They had high expectations for themselves and practiced with a purpose to meet those expectations. We had good leadership from the seniors.”

In the postseason, Helias Catholic was hardly touched in wins against Marshall (10-0), Clinton (6-1), Festus (5-2) and Branson (13-3).

“With outside distractions of the winning streak and three consecutive Final Four appearances, everyone stayed focused on the next opponent,” Verslues said. “Although we had the winning streak snapped, we were still able to make it four consecutive Final Fours and won our third consecutive state championship.”