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WIAA State Finals: Championship Recaps

June 15, 2023
By: Isaiah Glidden & Maddox Durst
Wisconsin Staff

On the fourth day of the WIAA State Baseball Tournament, four teams were crowned champions of the 2023 WIAA season at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. 

 All four matchups brought electric crowds and clutch performances, which reflected the excitement of this past season whole, as well as the significance of this year's edition of the state tournament. Walk-offs, timely hitting, spectacular defense, and dominant pitching highlighted the final day of the '23 season – a trend we saw throughout the entirety of the week in the Appleton area.

Below, we've recapped each of the four championship games in chronological order. We'll put a bow on the 2023 WIAA season next week by publishing our final Power 25, unveiling our state's Player of the Year, and announcing the PBR Wisconsin First, Second, and Third All-State teams.

D4: PECATONICA VS. ITHACA 

In our first Championship game of the day, the Vikings of Pecatonica matched up with the Ithaca Bulldogs, with the winner being crowned D4 State Champion. 

While both teams were relatively quiet to start the game, Pecatonica jumped out to an early lead in the third, erupting for five runs in the frame. Getting the offense started was SS/RHP Tyler McKeon (2024), who ripped a double to left-center field, which brought in a run. Eventually, McKeon was brought home on an error from the Ithaca defense. 

Then 3B/RHP Coy Ruegsegger (2023), the senior veteran of the team, drove a single to the gap to drive in a run for the Vikings, expanding their lead to 3-0. OF Lukas Rue (2024) followed, plating two runs with the bases loaded, capping off a five-run third inning. 

The Pecatonica offense would go silent for the majority of the game afterwards, as they only scored a pair of runs on a wild pitch, which increased their lead to 7-0. 

From there, it was all Ithaca, as the Bulldogs pulled off one of the largest rallies here at the State Tournament to stun the Vikings. It started in the fifth inning when OF Wesley Nelson (2025) hit a sacrifice fly to plate the first run for the Bulldogs. 

Then in the sixth, RHP/MIF Micah Salisbury (2024) drove in the first run of the game on a single up-the-middle. This was followed up with another RBI single from INF Logan Anderson (2024), which plated the second run of the inning for the Bulldogs. They capped off the three-run inning with an error from the Vikings’ defense, which cut Pecatonica’s lead to 7-4. 

Going into the final inning down three, Ithaca had some work to do, but would put runners in scoring position early on. Getting the scoring started was INF Sammy Clary (2025), who flew out to right field and brought home the fifth run of the game via a sacrifice fly. Still with runners on, the aforementioned Salisbury roped a single up the middle to drive in a runner from second, cutting the deficit to one.

Anderson kept the rally alive when he shot a ground ball up the middle, where an error occurred and allowed the game-tying run to score. 

That sequence led to INF Ethan Cockroft (2023), who capped off this comeback with a line drive single to the left-center gap, scoring the winning run and giving Ithaca their first state championship since the 2016 season with a 8-7 victory. 

D3: LA CROSSE AQUINAS VS. ST. CROIX FALLS

St. Croix Falls found themselves back in the Division 3 Title Game for the second straight year, as they were able to flip the script and take home a championship on Thursday morning. The Saints and Aquinas met earlier in the regular season, as the Blugolds offense put up double digit numbers on the offensive end to win 13-5. 

So, as St. Croix Falls got its gold trophy, they also avenged one of their three losses on a storied 2023 in the northwest portion of Wisconsin. 

RHP Dylan Smith (2023) and RHP Will Deets (2024) controlled the offenses for the most part at Fox Cities Stadium, as both arms went the distance in their outings. 

The Saints were able to strike first in the second inning, as the representatives from the Heart O’North Conference put up two runs via a two-RBI double from INF Michael Shannon (2023), who pulled a pitch and sent it down the third base line. 

After a quiet third inning, OF Waylon Hargrove (2026) beat out an infield hit to plate a runner from third base, cutting St Croix Falls’ lead in half in the top of the fourth inning. 

In limiting the damage, the Saints had an immediate answer to Aquinas’ one run in the bottom of the fourth, as it was Shannon again who was able to drive in a run. The senior infielder had all three RBIs for St. Croix Falls on Thursday, providing a spark from the nine-spot in the order. This time, the righty chopped a ground ball to the left side to plate the run, extending the Saints lead to 3-1 after four innings of play. 

From there, the Saints leaned on a stingy defense, and five strikeouts from Smith to win it. Aquinas and Deets were able to keep the game close the entire time, including getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning. 

Despite this though, the Blugolds could not get anything going on the offensive end, as Smith was able to hold onto the lead and twirl a complete game for St. Croix Falls, who secured the Division 3 Title after falling short in the Championship Game in 2022, finishing with a 28-3 overall record in 2023. 

D2: DENMARK VS. ST. THOMAS MORE

As we saw in 2021 and 2022, Denmark continued to demonstrate extreme consistency as a program, leading legendary head coach Bill Miller and the Vikings to the Division 2 Championship Game. After winning it two straight years in a row, Denmark looked for their third consecutive championship, having to get through a strong St. Thomas More team to do so.

The Vikings succeeded in what was arguably the best game of the week, as it took 11 innings to settle this battle. At the end of the day, experience and quality play separated Denmark, who ended up handing the Cavaliers their only Division 2 loss of the season. 

To start the game, the representatives from the North Eastern Conferernce plated a run via a wild pitch, as INF Izaac Dittmer (2023) started a two-out rally with a single, and advanced to third base with a single from C Rheis Johnson (2023; Saint Mary’s - MN commit). In the next at bat, an errant throw from the mound allowed Dittmer to cross the plate, giving the Vikings an early 1-0 advantage.

St. Thomas More responded in the second inning, as OF Bennett Karelowicz (2024) swung the momentum towards the Cavaliers’ side by dropping a bunt down and driving in a run to tie it up at one apiece after two innings of play. 

The offenses would go quiet for the next six innings after that run, as both RHP Ethan Ovsak (Denmark, 2023) and RHP Samuel Mommer (St. Thomas More, 2024) settled in nicely for their teams in this title matchup. 

Defense was a reason for this as well, including the work of SS Alexander Alicea (2023; Louisville), who continued to shine on the biggest stage at the shortstop position. The middle infielder got St. Thomas More out of jams in two separate innings, making a throw on the run in one, and twirling a double play in the other. 

Ovsak utilized his defense well too, as the right-hander threw for 8.2 innings, getting outs early in counts and drawing weak contact from an offense that put up 11 runs in the day prior to the championship. This was highlighted with a four-pitch sixth inning on Thursday.

The ninth inning brought more scoring, as both Denmark and the Cavaliers matched each other in the scoring column, putting up one more run in the frame. 

It started with the Vikings taking advantage of another wild pitch, as they loaded the bases and scored a run without getting a hit in the inning. Three walks and that wild pitch summarized the top half of the frame, giving Denmark a 2-1 lead and a chance to win it in nine. 

St. Thomas More had another answer though, as the Cavaliers once again utilized the small ball strategy to scratch a run across. This time, it was INF Brayden Alivo (2026), who was an offensive centerpiece for this team for two games in Appleton, squared to bunt and got the job done, tying the game at 2-2. 

In relief, RHP Jaycob Dittmer (2024) came on and got the final out of the inning, getting a strikeout with runners on second and third to extend the game. The marathon of a game advanced to the 11th inning of play after both offenses were relatively silent in the 10th frame. The Vikings continued to put pressure on RHP Elijah Niemiec (2023; Wisconsin-Stevens Point), who struck out seven batters in four innings of relief. Despite this, Denmark took advantage of a throwing error at first base to score a run from second, as OF Nolan Perry (2023) put pressure on the St. Thomas More defenders to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 11th. 

Dittmer locked it down for the final inning, as the Vikings’ defense erased a lead-off walk with a double play. Following that big play, the right-hander got a fly out to left field to end an electric matchup, as Denmark took home a 3-2 win and their third straight Division 2 Championship. The Vikings finished 30-2 on the season, and once again emerged as one of the best, most consistent programs in the state of Wisconsin. 

D1: WHITEFISH BAY VS. HORTONVILLE

After winning their first two games in different fashions, Whitefish Bay and Hortonville found themselves playing for a Division 1 State Championship on Thursday night, featuring a packed crowd and star players on both teams. 

The Blue Dukes continued to produce on the offensive end in Appleton, as they scored 23 runs in their first two games at Fox Cities Stadium. On the other hand, the Polar Bears utilized their two aces in RHP Thomas Burns (2023; Arizona State commit) and RHP Nathan Vela (2023; Winona State University) to hold their opponents to two runs in 14 innings of play. 

Without getting a hit in the first inning of play, Whitefish Bay was able to score a run, as INF Jack Wright (2023) walked with the bases loaded to give the Blue Dukes an early 1-0 advantage. 

OF Joe Fischer (2023; McHenry County JC) answered the call for Hortonville in the bottom half of the first, barreling a high sacrifice fly to right field to drive in INF Brett Sommer (2023; Wisconsin-Whitewater), who had a lead-off walk in the frame. That run would tie the game up at 1-1 heading into the second inning. 

Whitefish Bay, as they had done all week, continued to score runs in bunches to separate themselves from their opponents. They followed that formula again on Thursday night, as the Blue Dukes erupted for four runs in the top of the second to give themselves a 5-1 cushion. 

It started with INF Jack Counsell (2023; Michigan), who emerged as an automatic hitter over the entirety of the week. The middle infielder doubled, and was driven in by his teammate, INF JD Dix (2024; Alabama) to get the lead. 

After Dix advanced to second on a throw from the outfield, he moved to third on a wild pitch. The next batter for Whitefish Bay, 1B Austin Wienke (2023; Marshall), hit a ground ball to third and hustled out a single. Wienke racked up another RBI, finishing with six of them in his last three games as a Blue Duke. 

An error from Hortonville and a bases-loaded walk from C Benjamin Van Bell (2024) expanded Whitefish Bay’s lead to 5-1 after the second inning. 

From there, LHP Tyler Andrews (2024) silenced a crowd full of Polar Bear fans, navigating through a tough lineup with a FB-CB combo. The left-hander was one out away from a complete game, as he struck out six batters and only allowed five hits over 6.2 innings of work, after struggling a bit in the opening matchup against Menomonee Falls. 

For Hortonville, RHP/INF Camden Kuhnke (2023; Wisconsin-Milwaukee) kept Whitefish Bay quiet on the offensive end, throwing 5.1 shutout innings in relief. The senior kept his team in it, including striking out six batters in a row with an upper-80s FB. 

His efforts were not enough though, as the Polar Bears couldn’t get anything going on offense. LHP/OF Charlie McIntyre (2026), one of the top freshman performers in the 2023 WIAA season, came on and got the last out, earning the Blue Dukes the Division 1 State Championship. Whitefish Bay rode a hot offensive streak throughout the entire playoff stretch, and only allowed six runs in six games as a pitching staff. It was the perfect formula, as the Blue Dukes made up for a surprise exit in 2022 by hoisting a gold trophy at Fox Cities Stadium in 2023.

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