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Just one more win.

That’s all it will take for the Kaukauna baseball team to be crowned the WIAA Division 1 state champion after the Ghosts defeated Nicolet 7-1 in a semifinal contest Wednesday, June 17, at Appleton North High School.

“We’re not one to sit there and advertise and broadcast it, but this team we definitely thought could get us to this point,” Kaukauna coach Mike Jenkins said. “They’ve really shown that here.”

Kaukauna will play the winner of the second Division 1 semifinal – Madison Memorial or Muskego – on Thursday, June 18, at 6:05 p.m. at Fox Cities Stadium for the Division 1 title.

Getting past Nicolet was no easy task given the final score, but Kaukauna senior starting pitcher Bron Schaefer was up to the task.

Schaefer limited Nicolet to two hits – a single by Nick Bongard to lead off the game and a single by Matthew Hellman with two outs in the fourth inning.

“That was Bron doing Bron things,” said Jenkins about Schaefer, who walked one and hit two batters while striking out eight in pitching a complete game.

The only damage Nicolet was able to do came in the third inning on a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch and a throwing error.

“To get the win, I mean, I don’t care who did it as long as we’re moving on,” Schaefer said. “That’s all that matters.”

Kaukauna had taken a 2-0 lead, scoring a run in the first inning on a bases-loaded walk to Bryce Urban from Nicolet starting pitcher Ari Schupper and a run in the second on a wild pitch that scored Taron Seghers.

“It was good at-bats by us early, really, to draw some walks and the other guy was struggling a bit,” Jenkins said. “It was good for us to not chase and take advantage of what we had.”

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Schupper lasted only 1⅓ innings for Nicolet, allowing two runs on five walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch.

Schaefer, meanwhile, with the exception of the third inning, was cruising. He retired the last 10 batters he faced and struck out four of the last six.

“Schaefer is our energy,” Jenkins said. “We go behind him. He’s a guy that closed out the sectional for us and the guy that’s sending us to the state title game.

“He pitched exactly how we wanted. He battled every guy, really commanded things and put us on his back and did the job.”

Leading 2-1, Kaukauna got breathing room in the fourth inning when Seghers opened the inning with an infield single, a walk to Blake Vandeloo and bunt single by Schaefer to load the bases.

Kaden Kress drove in one run with a sacrifice fly, Brayden Jenkins singled to right to score Vandeloo and Schaefer, and then Bennett Geitner singled to left to score the fourth run of the inning.

“We were knocking on the door but didn’t get it done until the fourth inning,” Schaefer said. “It’s about doing your job. There wasn’t a big hit, but there was a flare ball.”

After tacking on a run in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Kress, the Ghosts’ second baseman made a diving stop to his right on a ball seemingly destined for a single to center, scrambled to his feet and threw to first in time to beat Brock Struck to first for the out.

Whatever momentum Nicolet thought it still might muster was gone and four outs later the Ghosts found themselves headed to the state title game for the first time since 1953.

“The big thing we’ve preached is enjoying the moment no matter what it is,” Schaefer said. “I mean, guys could be playing summer ball right now, but they’d rather be here with the group of guys they prepared all winter with.

“I feel like that’s a big thing. You could be somewhere else, but being here is unbeatable.”

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Kaukauna Ghosts close in on WIAA high school state baseball title

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