Skye's the limit

When Skye Messinger was drafted in the 22nd round by the Chicago Cubs coming out of Niwot High School in 2017, he had a difficult decision to make – take the bonus money they were offering, or accept a scholarship to play Division I baseball at the University of Kansas.

Messinger opted for the college experience, turning down the Cubs' offer to go to KU, where he had a solid career, albeit one interrupted by Covid-19. He reasoned that if he were good enough, he would have a chance to play professional baseball after college.

But life took a strange twist as college players had their careers interrupted by the pandemic, then were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the lost season. At the same time, major league baseball cut the draft to only five rounds in 2020. Messinger took advantage of the extra year, entering the transfer portal after four years at Kansas.

The University of Texas, one of the top college baseball programs in the country, was interested, and Messinger ended up as the starting third-baseman for the Longhorns, where his childhood idol, former Rockie Troy Tulowitzki, is the infield coach.

Texas was ranked number one in preseason polls, but after winning its first 11 games, ran into trouble and fell in the rankings. But the Longhorns rallied in the playoffs, winning the regional title, and finally earning a trip to the College World Series in Omaha by beating East Carolina in the Super Regional.

Messinger turned out to be the star of the show for Texas late in the season, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the regional with a 7 for 9 performance at the plate. In the first game, he went 4-5 at the plate, scoring twice and driving in three runs, with a stolen base thrown in for good measure in an 11-3 win over Air Force. In the second game against Louisiana Tech, a 5-2 victory, he had a double in two official at bats, driving in a run. He also walked and had a sacrifice bunt. In the third game, he led Texas to a 10-1 win over Air Force, reaching base all five times with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and two singles, scoring three times.

Things looked bleak for Texas in the Super Regional, a best of three series, when the Longhorns lost the first game, 13-7. Messinger had two hits in five at bats, scoring once. UT was down 7-4 in the eighth inning of the second game when Messinger came to the plate and drove a pitch over the right-centerfield fence with two runners on for a game-tying homer.

Texas went on to post a thrilling 9-8 win in the second game, setting up a showdown with a trip to Omaha, the pinnacle of college baseball, on the line. Texas won handily, 11-1, scoring fou runs in the first inning, then waiting out a four-hour rain delay to finish the task. Messinger again did his part, with three hits in five at bats, driving in two runs.

Only eight teams in the nation make it to the CWS, a double-elimination tournament with an electric atmosphere, billed as The Greatest Show on Dirt.

The Longhorns' good fortune finally ran out in Omaha. They were matched up against Notre Dame in the first game, which had defeated top-ranked Tennessee to make it to the CWS.

The bats for Texas suddenly went silent, and the pitching, inconsistent all season, could not keep the Irish in check. The Longhorns never led, giving up a run in the first inning and another in the third before scoring a run in the bottom of the third. But Notre Dame answered with a run in the top of the fourth, and three more in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead, eventually winning 7-3.

Messinger, who batted in the six hole, singled up the middle in the second inning with two out, but was stranded when the next hitter grounded out. Messinger was originally called out at first when the Notre Dame second-baseman went far to his right to glove the ball, then turned and threw across his body. "I felt like it was really close," Messinger said. "I told the first-base coach that I felt like I was safe, and they took it from there to challenge it." The replay officials reversed the call when it was clear Messinger beat the throw. Messinger was involved in another challenge play when it appeared that the Notre Dame runner came off the bag advancing to third base as Messinger applied the tag, but the safe call was upheld after review.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Messinger hit the first pitch sharply to the Notre Dame first baseman, who gloved the ball and made the play unassisted. In the sixth inning, he was at the plate with an 0-2 count when Texas scored its final run on a wild pitch. Messinger later struck out after fouling off five pitches. In the ninth inning, Messinger drove the ball to deep right-center, but the Notre Dame centerfielder hauled it in for the first out of the inning. Messinger had a solid game in the field, getting the final out in the third inning with two runners on on a ground ball, then starting a 5-4-3 double play to end the sixth inning.

Dropping into the loser's bracket, Texas went up against in-state rival Texas A & M. The Longhorns scored in each of the first two innings, but A&M put up four runs in the bottom of the second inning, and never looked back. It seemed the Longhorns could never get a key hit when they needed it, and ended up on the wrong end of a 10-2 final score, ending their season. Messinger went 0-4 at the plate and was charged with an error on a throw to first in the third inning. Although the throw was up the line, the Texas first baseman hesitated with the runner bearing down, and missed the catch. When the ball ended up in the dugout, the runner was allowed to score. Messinger struck out in the first inning, reached on a fielder's choice in the third, grounded out to shortstop in the seventh when the first-baseman dug a low throw out of the dirt, and flied to centerfield in the seventh. He was on deck when the game ended.

Messinger finished the season with a .364 batting average, and an OPS (on-base average plus slugging percentage) of .974. Both marks were third-best on the team. He added 14 doubles, 1 triple, 11 homeruns, and 59 RBI in 67 games. He entered the CWS with a .976 fielding average, and only four errors on the season.

Messinger had many local fans in attendance, in addition to the throngs of Texas fans. Former Niwot High pitcher Mike Moat, who was an assistant coach at Niwot when Messinger played, attended Friday's game with his wife Lori and two children. His son Maddux had played in a youth tournament game in Omaha on Thursday. Moat, who was drafted twice as an amateur and played four seasons in the minor leagues, was optimistic that Messinger would be drafted in the MLB draft July 17, which is set for 20 rounds. "His body size, his power, he's getting stronger and better, he's still young," Moat said, citing factors that would go into draft evaluations.

Former NHS Head Coach Adam Strah attended the Friday game, while another former NHS Head Coach, Craig McBride missed Messinger's games as he was scheduled to arrive Monday. McBride had traveled earlier this season to see his former player perform for Texas. Colt Sedbrook, who coached Messinger in summer baseball, also made the trip to see his former player and was able to attend a Saturday workout for Texas. Several of Messinger's former teammates at Kansas were also in attendance at the games to cheer him on.

Messinger's father, Cary Messinger, along with his sister-in-law, Leah Saraceni Messinger, were able to attend both games. "It was a fairy tale already," Cary Messinger said before Sunday's game, "and it just keeps building, and building, and building."

His brother, Connor Messinger, was able to get off work in time to make it to Sunday's game. Connor Messinger was back in familiar territory as he had played college baseball for the University of Nebraska-Omaha before completing his career at University of Nebraska-Kearney. Friday's fans also included Messinger's niece and namesake, three-month old Joelle Skye Messinger. "We named her after her crazy uncle," Leah Messinger said with a smile.

For Messinger, the College World Series experience capped off a memorable college career. "It was awesome," he said. "I had been there as a fan. It's like Disney World for baseball. It was a dream come true."

Transferring to Texas for a bonus season turned out to be even better than Messinger expected. "That was one of the main reasons I signed with Texas was a chance to go to Omaha," he said. "The team was a special group of guys, and the coaching staff, just being part of the team, it was the most fun year I've had of playing baseball."

He cited the culture of the team as one of the differences he noticed. "I felt like everybody completely bought in, we were all on the same page, and there was a high standard. A lot of that came from coach Tulo (Troy Tulowitzki). He's the most intense guy I've been around, and he has so much next-level knowledge. Defensively, he talked about the most minute and smallest details. It was just the mentality. He would say there are a lot of things you can't control, but defensively, you can control it. He expected our throws to hit the first baseman in the chest every time. He was demanding, and had super high standards."

The early exit was not what Texas had in mind. "It was definitely disappointing to go 0-2, but it's hard to ask for much more," he said. "It's something you dream about as a kid." Now that his season is over, he's back in Niwot, working out with his brother, hitting and taking ground balls, and waiting for the MLB draft. "Hopefully I'll hear my name called." Even if it's not, expect Messinger to continue his baseball career at the next level.