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WIAA State Finals: Day One Recaps

June 12, 2023
By: Isaiah Glidden & Maddox Durst
Wisconsin Staff

Day One of the 2023 WIAA State Tournament kicked off on Monday, June 12th, as four Division 1 Quarterfinal matchups took place to set up the Semifinals. The first three games featured high-scoring back-and-forth affairs, including two battles that finished in extra innings. The final matchup flipped the script as a pitcher’s duel, as runs became hard to come by as the sun set in Appleton. 

Home runs, a cycle, and tense moments summarized the first slate of matchups at Fox Cities Stadium, foreshadowing the rest of the week’s action. Below are summaries on the action throughout the four games of the day. 

WHITEFISH BAY VS MENOMONEE FALLS

Last year, these same two teams matched up in a Sectional Championship matchup, and it was the Phoenix who handed a ultra-talented Whitefish Bay squad the loss. Fast forward to this year, they  met again, this time in a Quarterfinal matchup to kick-off the State Finals. 

It didn’t take long for the first run to get on the board, as SS Jack Counsell (2023; Michigan) hit a leadoff single. After a walk and an error from the Menomonee Falls defense, C Benjamin Van Bell (2024) reached base on a bunt over the pitcher's head that brought home Counsell. In the second inning, Counsell drove in a run of his own as he ripped a single to extend the Blue Dukes lead to two. 

After going quiet for a couple of innings, the Blue Duke offense put up a two spot in the fourth. Getting the scoring started in that inning was once again, Counsell who brought home his second RBI of the game on a triple. Shortly following, 1B Austin Wienke (2023; Marshall) brought home Counsell on a single to right field that gave the Blue Dukes the four-run lead. 

When it was Menomonee Falls turn to hit in the fourth, 1B Jake Anderson (2023) sent a no-doubt home run over the left-field wall to bring home two runs, and cut the deficit to just two. Then in the fifth 3B/RHP Zach Wolfram (2023) launched a home run of his own that gave Menomonee Falls their first lead of the game. 

Now down by one, the Blue Dukes had something cooking in the sixth after a double from OF Ian Gunn (2023), which led the way for 2B JD Dix (2024; Alabama), who reached on an error, and brought home the tying run in the process. In the seventh, neither team could get anything going offensively, and ultimately this one was sent into extra innings. 

In the eighth, it was the Blue Dukes who broke the tie, as OF/LHP Charlie McIntyre (2026) beat out an infield single, and a throwing error from the Menomonee Falls defense brought home two runs, giving Whitefish Bay the late lead. 

The aforementioned McIntyre also came up huge on the mound, as he held the Phoenix lineup hitless in his four innings of relief, including a stress free final inning, that solidified the win for Whitefish Bay. 

HARTFORD UNION VS STEVENS POINT

Stevens Point entered the State Tournament with just one loss, earning the No. 1 seed in the field of eight Division 1 teams. They battled against Hartford Union in the Quarterfinals, a team from the North Shore Conference who made a Cinderella run through their Regional and Sectional to get to Appleton.

The Panthers got the scoring started right away, as they were able to plate four runs early on in the first inning. After an RBI walk from OF/RHP Braylen Nystrom (2024), DH/3B Devin Mrozek (2024) sent a single to left field to drive in a run. Stevens Point would then take advantage of a throwing error from the Orioles, scoring two more runs and extending their lead to 4-0.

Hartford Union would not go down that easily though, as the Orioles answered in the next frame with four runs of their own. INF Bryce Duhr (2023) sparked the lineup from the bottom of the order, as the righty smacked a double to deep right-center field, plating two runs and cutting the deficit in half. 

C Carter Kutz (2025) followed that two-RBI double with a two-RBI single, one of his four hits that led him to the cycle. Before that single to tie the game up, Kutz tripled in the first inning. Then, in the fourth frame, the sophomore doubled but was stranded. The No. 1 ranked prospect in the Badger State’s 2025 class then took matters into his own hands in the sixth inning, launching a home run out of Fox Cities Stadium to complete the cycle. 

Stevens Point would have an answer though, doing their damage in the bottom of the third, C Deacan Koback (2023) and INF Ben Fonti (2023) both drove in runners with base hits, including an RBI double from Koback. Fonti finished with two RBIs on the day, clutching up in the bottom of the order for the Panthers, as they extended their lead to 6-4 after three innings of play. 

From there, both offenses went quiet, as Stevens Point used their bullpen to hold the lead. Nystrom and RHP Ty Rechner (2024) combined to maintain the two-run cushion for the last 2.1 innings for the Panthers. Rechner struck out two batters to end the game after running into trouble early on in the save opportunity. 

Despite a late push from the Orioles and a 4-for-4 performance from Kutz, Stevens Point would take a narrow 6-5 win in the Quarterfinals, advancing them to the Semifinals. They'll match up against another Whitefish Bay, another representative from the North Shore Conference, in the afternoon session on Wednesday.

BURLINGTON VS FRANKLIN

Two teams from the southern portion of the state traveled north to Appleton to battle in a Division 1 Quarterfinal matchup on Monday afternoon between Burlington and Franklin. The Sabers were able to outlast a late push from the Demons, as they were able to advance to the Semifinals after nine innings of play.

OF Alex Mierow (2023) played hero the end the ballgame, but a series of events took place beforehand to set the stage for the senior. 

It started early on in this one, as Franklin was able to put up a combined seven runs in the first three innings of play. 1B Maxamillion Martin (2023; Kaskashia JC) capped off the second frame with a sacrifice fly, extending the Sabers’ lead to 4-2. In the next inning, C Dylan Cunningham (2023; Wisconsin-Stevens Point) barreled up a pitch and drove in a run to give Franklin their largest lead of the day at 7-2. 

Burlington would not go down that easy though, as head coach Scott Staude and the Demons fought back to force extra innings. DH/C Ryan Dummer (2024) finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs, doubling three times on the day, tying a WIAA State Tournament record. He doubled in the fifth inning to drive in a run, and swing the momentum back towards Burlington after they took a lead early on in this one. 

INF/RHP Kaleb Zabielski (2023) followed later on and drove in two more runs, reflecting his clutch play over the course of the season for the Demons. The righty’s two-RBI single cut Franklin’s lead to 7-6 heading into the sixth inning.

In the next frame, 3B/RHP Carter Baumeister (2025) got the lead back for Burlington by sending out a home run to left field, plating Dummer to make the score 8-7 in favor of the Demons. 

After being down to their final strike, Cunningham kept the game alive and got his second hit of the day, doubling and getting himself into scoring position. After a hit by pitch, Martin sent a single up the middle and scored Cunningham from second base, tying the game at 8-8. 

From there, RHP Cooper Kamlay (2024) silenced the Burlington offense for the last two innings, giving his team a chance to win it and advance. That led the Franklin offense to the ninth inning, where Mierow barreled an RBI single past the second baseman, scoring Cunningham and winning the marathon game for the Sabers. With the victory, Franklin advances to Wednesday, where they’ll battle against Hortonville in the final game of Day Three. 

HORTONVILLE VS MIDDLETON

It was a pitchers duel in the night cap of our four game slate out at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, but some timely hitting from the Polar Bears offense jolted them to a close win over Middleton. 

Toeing the rubber for Hortonville was RHP Thomas Burns (2023; Arizona State) who was dominant in the win. Across his seven innings of work, Burns struck out eight and scattered just three hits to lead Hortonville to the win.

As for the Polar Bears’ offensive attack, 3B Brett Sommer (2023; Wisconsin-Whitewater) got Hortonville on the board in the fifth when he tripled to the left-field wall to bring home the first run of the game. The next batter, SS Camden Kuhnke (2023; Wisconsin-Milwaukee) drove in the second run of the inning on an RBI single to right field, giving Hortonville the two-run lead late in the game. Hortonville would round out their offensive effort with a sacrifice fly from 2B/RHP Nathan Vela (2023; Winona State) in the sixth, that extended their lead to three. 

With the win, Hortonville advances to the semifinals, where they will take on a talented Franklin squad, which is set to take place on Wednesday.  

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