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High School Hot Shot - Jack Bauer
He's a bat boy turned every day starter for Greendale's first state-qualifying team. That's what makes Jack Bauer this week's FOX6 High School Hot Shot.
GREENDALE, Wis. - He's a bat boy turned every day starter for Greendale's first state-qualifying baseball team.
That's what makes Jack Bauer this week's FOX6 High School Hot Shot.
"I started playing baseball when I was about three or four years old," said Bauer. "And I played it with my grandpa. Whenever I go up and see him. Me and my dad would always play catch in the backyard, throw me a whiffle ball, hit a ball around, you know."
Bauer credits his dad and especially his grandfather for showing him the love of the game.
"My grandpa played in high school up at [Menomonee] Falls," Bauer said. "He kind of just introduced it to me and fell in love with it."
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Bauer was an important piece for Greendale's team this season, which advanced to state for the first time in school history.
He says it was an experience he will never forget.
"It was really emotional for us and our guys, you know, to make it that far and just be so close to getting the state championship," said Bauer. "It was real emotional for us. All of our guys were really connected as a team. You know, it really brought us together, staying up in a hotel together, you know, getting up, going to team dinners, going to team lunches and stuff like that."
The one memory that is etched in Bauer's brain is the team's 6-4 win over Eau Claire North in the Division One quarterfinals.
Down 4-1, the Panthers rallied with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.
Bauer led off each of the last two innings with a hit and closed out the final three innings on the mound to collect the win.
"Oh, my the quarterfinal game," he said. "That game was crazy. That game was crazy. I mean, it's a game I'll never forget. I mean, coming down, going into extras, coming back and holding them whole with that lead, it was crazy."
Long before his trip to state, Bauer was the bat boy for head coach Brian Johnsen.
"I won a raffle in elementary school, and so I got to bat boy for the high school team a couple of times which was kind of cool," Bauer said.