From the WIAA -
Four teams earned titles at the 2026 State Baseball Tournament Thursday at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
Kaukauna (24-7), the third seed, overcame an early deficit to win the Division 1 championship with an 11-8 victory over fourth-seeded Madison Memorial (22-8) in the final.
After the Spartans scored four times in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead, the Ghosts exploded for five runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning to take a 6-4 advantage. They added three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to clinch the title.
Kaden Kress went 3-for-3 with three RBI and scored a run, while Blake Vandeloo had three hits, including a triple, and scored three times. Bron Schaefer went 2-for-2 in the leadoff spot with a pair of runs and three RBI. Bennett Geither was credited with the victory on the mound and Paxton Schuh earned a three-inning save.
The brother tandem of Ezra and Caleb Liggon led Madison Memorial offensively. Ezra tied a Division 1 State Tournament record with two triples and drove in three runs. Caleb went 1-for-4, driving in a pair of runs with a single. Blake Adams was charged with the loss on the hill and was victim of a Spartans fielding error that led to four unearned runs.
In its third State appearance, Kaukauna won its first State title since winning its only other championship in 1953. Madison Memorial finished runner-up in its ninth State appearance.
Top-seeded Pewaukee (24-5) won the Division 2 championship by edging second-seeded Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic (25-7), the 2025 Division 3 champion, in the Division 2 championship game.
The Pirates manufactured single runs in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Lancers tied the game with runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Pewaukee regained the lead with a two-run single by Jack Tabbert in the fifth and added an important unearned run in the sixth. Zack Rizzo smashed a two-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to pull the Lancers to within a run, but the Pirates retired the next batter to end the game.
Tabbert and Logan Peterson led the Pirates on offense. Peterson collected a pair of hits and scored twice. Tabbert also had two hits with the two RBI. JonDavid Jacobs, the starting pitcher for Pewaukee ,was credited with the win, going four innings and surrendering one run on three hits. Max Metz earned a three-inning save in relief.
Rizzo led the Lancers’ offense with two hits and drove in two runs. Robbie Johnson also recorded two hits, clubbing a pair of doubles and scoring a run. Starting pitcher Brock Smith suffered the loss on the mound, yielding four runs–three earned–in five innings.
Pewaukee won the program’s first championship in its third State Tournament appearance, and Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic finishes runner-up in its 10th experience at State.
In Division 3, Cedar Grove-Belgium (23-5) outslugged Dodgeville (25-3) 13-9 in the championship game to win the title.
The Dodgers scored twice in the top of the first inning, sending eight batters to the plate. The Rockets responded by scoring four times in the first, second and third innings to take a commanding 12-2 lead. Both teams added a run in the fourth inning. Dodgeville fought back with four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to account for the final score.
Each player who came to the plate for Cedar Grove recorded at least one hit in the Rockets’ 11-hit attack. Connor Waters scored three times and drove in a run with two hits, including a double. Griffin Posthuma also collected two hits. Seth Race drove in a team-leading three RBI in the game, and Ira Hilbelink, who set a State record in the semifinals with three triples, drove in two runs, as did Austin Knapp.
The Rockets set a Division 3 State Tournament record for triples with five. Starting pitcher Carter Schmitz was credited with the victory on the mound, tossing five innings.
Bryce Lockard cracked a game-high three hits for the Dodgers, finishing a home run short of the cycle. The Dodgers collected 13 hits in the game. Four Dodgers recorded two hits, including Jayce Halverson, Jack Graber, Andrew Hesseling and Boone Rickard. Jentry Olson, the starter for the Dodgers, was charged with the loss.
Cedar Grove-Belgium won the program’s first championship in its first State Tournament appearance in the season traditionally held in the spring. Dodgeville finished runner-up in its fourth State experience.
Columbus Catholic (24-6) doubled up Potosi/Cassville (20-8) 8-4 in the championship game in Division 4.
Potosi/Cassville scored a run in the first and second innings to lead 2-1 before the Dons plated five runs in the third inning, fueled by four hits and two Chieftains’ errors. Tyler Hargraves delivered the big blow in the inning with a three-run triple. The Dons added two more runs in the fifth inning on three hits to increase their lead to 8-2. The Chieftains manufactured two runs in the top of the sixth to account for the final score.
Ryan Bernick and Rocco Maher both had a pair of hits to lead the Dons’ nine-hit attack. Maher and Mac Konieczny each scored twice in the game. Bernick was the pitcher of record, hurling five innings of relief to record the win.
The Chieftains also recorded nine hits in the game, including two apiece by Alex Friederick, Ben Infield and Reid Weber. Damien Bauer singled and drove in two runs. Friederick was saddled with the loss after starting and working three innings.
Columbus Catholic won its first championship in its second appearance in the State Tournament, and Potosi/Cassville finishes runner-up in its first tournament experience since becoming a co-op program.
