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Top-10 Stories of 2021: Kenosha St. Joseph caps a 25-win season as WIAA D3 champs

December 23, 2021
By: Isaiah Glidden
Wisconsin Staff

At the end of each calendar year, our staff reflects on the most interesting stories of the past year. Through the end of the month, we’ll be counting down some of the most impactful headlines that affected Wisconsin’s baseball community, ending with our No. 1 story of 2021 revealed on New Year’s Day.

On Tuesday, June 29, the WIAA D-3 state playoffs took place at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Coleman, Kenosha St. Joseph, Marathon, and Regis battled it out to see who, at the end of the day, would be crowned the D-3 state champion.

The day started off with a game between Regis and Coleman that ultimately resulted in the Cougars winning 6-4, advancing to the championship game. The next game on the slate was between Kenosha St. Joe’s and Marathon, with the Lancers winning 11-1 over the Red Raiders in five innings, putting them up against top-seeded Coleman in the championship game.

St. Joe’s started things off hot at the plate. After a leadoff walk, a single by INF Jack Davidson (2021) and a fielder's choice moved both runners into scoring position. OF Andrew Setter (2022) brought a run home on a sacrifice fly, giving the Lancers an early 1-0 lead. INF Jacob Ashmus (2022), poked one into left-center and scored two more runs. With Ashmus on second, RHP Luke Schuler (2023) singled to center field, bringing Ashmus across home. The inning ended with a 4-0 Lancer lead.

In the top of the second inning, the Lancers utilized two Coleman errors to their advantage while tacking on one run. The Cougars cut into the St. Joe’s five-run lead with a big third inning. C Will Bieber (2023) started things off with a double, eventually moving over to third base on a single by senior INF/RHP Cayden Bintz. Senior INF Zach Zablocki then drove in Bieber to put the Cougars; on the board. The Cougars added two more runs in the inning on an error and fielder's choice, trailing Kenosha St. Joe’s 5-3.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Lancers capitalized on another Coleman error, sending the leadoff man to third base with nobody out. Senior INF Jack Davidson tripled down the right field line, driving a run in, and he came across to score later in the frame on an opposite-field single from his younger brother, INF Brady Davidson (2023), making it a 7-3 lead for Kenosha St. Joseph.

Things were quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the aforementioned Bieber beamed one off the top of the left field fence for a standup triple, missing a home run by a few inches. He scored on a single by Bintz, which made it a 7-4 game. 

That was all the offense that either side could muster in the game. Coleman threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning with a baserunner, but senior Max McCarville escaped unscathed and shut the door down for the Lancers. Kenosha St. Joseph captured the fourth state championship in school history with the win and capped off a historic season, finishing with a 25-1 record. 

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