Following what was just an average regular season, the Millstadt Green Machine stormed through the Mon-Clair League playoffs to capture the team’s fourth postseason championship.

“It all kind of just came together at the end,” longtime Millstadt manager Norm “Shorty” Toenjes told the Republic-Times. “It’s hard to figure out how that works sometimes.”

After scoring a combined 26 runs in wins over the Edwardsville Stags and defending champion Valmeyer Lakers during the prior weekend to reach the best-of-three finals, the Green Machine relied more on pitching and timely hitting in its series against the Belleville Rockies on Saturday at Borsch Park in Valmeyer. 

In game one of the finals, Millstadt led 2-0 after three innings and plated three more in the third inning before Belleville battled back in its half of the fourth to make it a 5-2 lead for the Green Machine. 

The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh, when the Rockies tied it with two outs in the seventh inning. Belleville veteran slugger Mike Breyman drew a bases loaded walk, then fellow Rockies veteran Jevon Boyd singled to drive home two more.

To extra innings the game went.

After Belleville left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Millstadt’s Brian Lupa hit a grounder near first base that took a crazy hop, resulting in a ninth inning 6-5 walk-off win. 

Lupa went 3-for-5 in the contest.

Garrett Herring picked up the pitching win in relief of Millstadt starter Jake Stedman, who went six and two-thirds innings.

In game two, the game was close again until Millstadt poured it on late for a 7-2 victory. 

Evan Spears went the distance on the hill for the Green Machine, striking out four over seven innings. 

The Rockies actually led 2-0 after three innings, but Millstadt took the lead with a three-run fourth. The score remained that way until the seventh inning when the Green Machine plated four runs to put the game out of reach at 7-2.

Lupa was the hero again on offense for Millstadt, collecting a single and two RBIs. Joey Kossina went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI.

Lupa, who has played 13 seasons with the Green Machine and is a Millstadt native, was named playoffs MVP after going 7-for-17 (.412) with seven RBIs in the four games. 

During the regular season, Lupa hit .350 with 21 RBIs. He also pitched four innings this season. 

“Brian was a sidearm relief pitcher from Quincy University when he first joined us many years ago,” Toenjes said. “Then he became our main utility guy. He’s been hitting .300 every year and has kind of gone under the radar. This was a neat reward for all he’s done for us over the years.”

Millstadt previously won the playoff title in 2021, 2019 and 2015 – all under Toenjes, with help from longtime coach Dave Kossina. 

Toenjes said he and Kossina have been coaching baseball together, from little league onto adult levels, for decades. 

“Some say we’ve lasted together longer than most marriages,” Toenjes joked.

Naturally, Kossina’s sons Tony, Cal and Joey have played a large role in Millstadt’s winning ways.

“They just keep getting it done,” Toenjes said of the Kossina brothers. 

Tony, a shortstop, has played with the Green Machine for 14 seasons. He led the team in hitting this season at .422 and in runs scored with 28.

Cal, also an infielder, hit .341 this season with 21 RBIs and 24 runs. 

Joey, the youngest of the Kossina trio, hit .349 this season with 19 RBIs and also pitched four innings. In the playoffs, he went 9-for-19 (.474) with five RBIs and six runs. 

Millstadt started slow out of the gates in its 2024 season, but caught fire late by winning 10 of its past 12 contests.

“It didn’t look good early,” Toenjes said. “We felt like we had the players to do well, but just struggled early. We got hot at the end. They came together as a team.”

Toenjes added he was proud of the way his team pitched throughout the playoffs. Spears went 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in 14 postseason innings. Stedman picked up a win in 12-plus innings.

The manager also praised the performance of Colin Shea. He only played in five regular season league games, but came through in the playoffs when it mattered most. 

Shea went 8-for-16 (.500) with four runs in the four postseason contests.

Toenjes said that any championship in the Mon-Clair League is worth cherishing, given the amount of talent displayed on all six current teams.

“It’s pretty tough to win a title in this league,” Toenjes said. “We’ll enjoy this one and try again next year.”