The Linfield baseball team is weird. 

 

This team could easily be featured in the next Dr. Pepper commercial; like the roller-derby mother of two, the Linfield baseball team is one-of-one. 

 

Their warm-up CD ranges from the frattiest song of the year, “Turn Down for What,” to the 90s classic “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker, which always instigates a full team dance circle. 

 

They compete and argue about who can grow the best mustache in the team’s annual Mustache-March. 

 

On long away trips, their favorite movie choices are “Frozen” and “Pitch Perfect;” and yes, they all know every word to every song.

 

All of these quirks set this team apart.  But the biggest, by far, is that they were the 2013 NCAA DIII National Champions: one-of-one.

 

When asked about that final out of the championship game back in May, the word that the team uses most is surreal.

 

“You see it happen and you just keep thinking it’s not real, it’s not real and then you jump over the railing and it is real,” said senior Nate McClellan.

 

He was a junior when the team claimed the title and dog-piled in Appleton, Wisc.

 

“I’ll tell you, there’s nothing better than that run from the dugout to jumping on the pile,” he said.

 

McClellan is one of 10 seniors on the team this year.  Ten seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen make up the 2014 Linfield Wildcats.  Of those 26, two were DIII All-Americans last year. 

 

One of those All-Americans is junior pitcher Chris Haddeland, who described that moment where he was crushed on the bottom of the pile made up of his teammates as a blur.

 

“It was just kind of a celebration of everything we’d been working toward, all culminating in one big pile of sweaty dudes,” he said.

 

Although the tall and lanky pitcher was crushed, and others were kicked, scraped and bruised, they all hope to have this happen three times this season: the conference championship, the regional championship and then again in Appleton to clinch the world series, making them two-for-two.

 

The Wildcats are currently 21-3 in their journey back to Appleton.