WIAA State Baseball Tournament Preview....Division 3

Monday, June 12th, 2023 -- 10:32 AM

The 75th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Baseball State Tournament is underway at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.  Here'a a preview of the Division 3 field.....

DIVISION 3

Semifinals - Tuesday, June 13 - 2:30 p.m.
Game 1 -  #3 Kiel (24-2) vs. #2 St. Croix Falls (25-3)
Game 2 - #1 Aquinas (23-2) vs.  #4 Random Lake (18-9)

LAST YEAR:  Cuba City doubled up on St. Croix Falls 8-4 in the Championship Game.

THE DIVISION 3 FIELD:  Top-seeded Aquinas makes its seventh appearance at State and its first since the Blugolds won the championship in 2017. They also won the State title in 2007 and have finished runner-up in 2008, 2010 and 2015. This season, they tied for first place with Onalaska in the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Blugolds advanced their way through the Viroqua Sectional by downing Cuba City 4-2 in the final. Prior to joining the WIAA, the Blugolds won four straight baseball titles in the former WISAA (1984-87).  Last season’s runner-up St. Croix Falls is the second seed and returns to the State Tournament field for the second year in a row and for the third time overall. The Saints’ first appearance came back in  the 1948 tourney, which resulted in a first-round loss. The Saints continue their journey in the Tournament Series with a 4-0 shutout win over Marathon in the Cumberland Sectional. They are the champions of the Heart O’ North Conference in 2023. Kiel is seeded third in the bracket. It’s the first time the Raiders have qualified for the State Tournament for the spring season, but they were a two-time qualifier in the summer tourney. They advanced to the semifinals in 1969 and fell in the quarterfinals in 2017. The Raiders were 2-0 victors over Amherst in the Shiocton Sectional final to earn their initial berth in the tournament field. They placed second in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference standings this spring. The background on fourth-seeded Random Lake is much like Kiel’s. A first time qualifier for the spring season State Tournament, the Rams qualified twice in the discontinued summer tournament. They lost in the quarterfinals in 1998 and 2001. This year, the Rams rolled to a 7-0 victory over Deerfield in the Markesan Sectional final to begin preparations for State. They were runners-up in the Big East Conference this season.

FINALS LIVE ON BALLY SPORTS WISCONSIN:  Watch the WIAA State Baseball Tournament finals on Bally Sports Wisconsin. The championship games in all divisions will air live on Bally Sports Wisconsin.

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