WIAA State Baseball Tournament Preview......Division 1

Friday, June 7th, 2024 -- 10:45 AM

The 76th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Baseball State Tournament will take place Monday-Thursday, June 10-13, at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.  Here's a preview of the Division 1 field......

LAST YEAR:  Whitefish Bay won the Division 1 championship with a 5-1 victory over Hortonville in the title game. 

Monday, June 10

Division 1 Quarterfinals - 9 a.m.

Game 1 - #4 Arrowhead (24-5)  vs. #5 Westosha Central (24-5)

Game 2 - #1 De Pere (24-3) vs. #8 Menasha (19-6)*

Division 1 Quarterfinals - 2:30 p.m.

Game 3 - #3  Sun Prairie East (25-4) vs. #6 Hudson (22-7)

Game 4 - #2 Oak Creek (26-3) vs. #7 Nicolet (23-6)*

Wednesday, June 12

Division 1 Semifinals - 2:30 p.m.

Game 5 - Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2

Game 6 - Winner of Game #3 vs. Winner of Game #4*

Thursday, June 13

Division 1 Final - 6:05 p.m.

Game 7 - Winner of Game #5 vs. Winner of Game #6

* Game begins approximately 35 min. following first game of session.

STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR:  The championship finals of all five divisions will be aired live on the WIAA State Television Stations WKOW 27.2, WAOW 9.2, WQOW 18.2 and WXOW 19.2, WVTV 24.1 in Milwaukee and WLUK (FOX)/WCWF(CW) in Green Bay/Appleton. The finals will also be streamed live on the Network stations’ websites. 

THE DIVISION 1 FIELD:  De Pere, the top seed, returns to State for the fifth time overall and for the first time since 2006. The Redbirds’ best outcomes at State were placing runner-up in 1960, when the tournament only featured one division, and in Class B in 1986. They were the champions of the Fox River Classic Conference this season, and they qualified for State by winning the Kimberly Sectional with a 9-3 victory over Bay Port in the sectional final. Conference this spring. Second-seeded Oak Creek will be making its second appearance in the baseball State Tournament played in the spring. The Knights qualified in 2019 and fell in the quarterfinals. However, the Knights had a significant level of success while associated with the summer baseball season. They made eight appearances in the State Summer Baseball Tournament. The Knights’ won four State titles, which was the most of any school, and they were the only program to win three straight championships (2003-2005). They added another summer title in 2012. The Knights finished atop the standings in the Southeast Conference this year, and they advanced through the South Milwaukee Sectional with a 5-0 shutout over Kenosha Indian Trail in the final. Sun Prairie East is the third seed in the bracket. The Cardinals qualify for the State Tournament for the first time after the Sun Prairie High School separated into two schools. Sun Prairie East retained the Cardinals nickname. Prior to the split, the Cardinals made 17 State appearances and were crowned champions nine times, which leads the membership. They won their first title in Class A in 1974 and added Division 1 championships in 1994, 1997, 2005, 2006, three in a row from 2012-14 and most recently in 2021. In addition, the perennial power has finished runner-up twice, including 2017 and 2019. This season, they trounced Monona Grove 11-1 in five innings to move on from the Middleton Sectional final. Fourth-seeded Arrowhead will make its sixth appearance overall and its second in the past three seasons. A string of three consecutive experiences from 2016-18, produced runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2018. In addition, the Warhawks made seven appearances in the State Summer Baseball Tournament between 1973 and 2009, winning State titles in 1979 and 2009. The Warhawks also recorded runner-up finishes in 1973, 1975 and 2006. They finished first in the Classic 8 Conference standings this season, and they edged Muskego 2-1 to win the Oconomowoc Sectional final and advance to the State quarterfinals. The Cardinals are the champions in the Big Eight. Westosha Central is the fifth seed. The Falcons make their second appearance in the past three seasons and their seventh overall. Their most notable experience was winning the title in 2002. The other four appearances ended in losses in the quarterfinals. They are the champions of the Southern Lakes Conference this spring. They return to the State quarterfinals following a 4-3 win over Badger in the Janesville Sectional final. Sixth-seeded Hudson qualifies for just the second time in program history. The Raiders’ only other appearance resulted in a quarterfinal defeat in 1974. They are the champions of the Big Rivers Conference this season. Their road to Grand Chute was paved through the Marshfield Sectional, which culminated with a 3-1 win over Stevens Point in the final. The seventh seed was issued to Nicolet. The Knights are making their first-ever appearance in the baseball State Tournament played in the spring. They qualified nine times when the Association offered a summer baseball tournament option. The last  time the Knights qualified for the summer State Tournament was in 2006. Nicolet won summer State titles in 1985 and 1998 and finished runner-up in 1976. They battled their way to a 9-4 victory over former defending champion Whitefish Bay in the Glendale Sectional final. The Knights are the runners-up in the North Shore Conference.  Eighth-seeded Menasha is returning to State for the eighth time overall and the first time since 1995. The Bluejays most notable appearance was in 1950 when they won a State championship in the one-division format. Menasha is the champion in the Bay Conference this season. The Bluejays are the representatives from the Oshkosh Sectional following a 2-1 win over Manitowoc Lincoln in the final. 

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