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De Pere caps off stellar season with Division 1 Championship

June 14, 2024
By: Maddox Durst
Staff Writer

The WIAA season officially wrapped up yesterday, as the Badger State crowned its four champions at Fox Cities Stadium in Eleva-Strum, La Crosse Aquinas, Edgewood and De Pere. Our Prep Baseball Wisconsin staff provided boots-on-the-ground coverage on all four days of action—providing updates and recaps throughout.

Stay tuned in the next couple of days for more content, beginning with a breakdown of what went down in the championship games.

For the final five weeks of the regular season, it was Sun Prairie East or De Pere who ranked atop the Wisconsin Power 25. Each program brought forth a winning culture in the 2024 season—featuring experienced, quality prospects from top to bottom in their respective lineups. Arguably the two best teams in the state made their way to Appleton on Thursday to cap off the WIAA Season in a battle for the Division 1 crown.

After a scoreless inning was turned in by LHP Landon Raygo (2024; Bryant & Stratton (WI) commit), the Redbirds’ offense got back to work, fresh off of scoring a combined 10 runs in the last two games.

De Pere was able to take advantage of a couple of rare defensive miscues turned in by the Cardinals in the first inning, including INF Axel Donaldson (2024; Madison JC) coming around to score after OF Easton Arendt (2024; Winona State University) put a sharp ground ball in play. The Redbirds ended the inning with a 1-0 lead, one they never relinquished for the rest of the matchup.

In the next inning, De Pere erupted for three runs—starting with another error turned in by their opponent. INF Devin Weber (2024) barreled a single to the outfield, as the ball got away from the centerfielder to plate the Redbirds’ second run of the game. Donaldson came back up to hit and continued to produce at a high rate, sending a single over the infield, good for an RBI.

Then, OF Mason Sequin (2025) provided the third and final run of the frame—putting De Pere on top with a 4-0 lead.

Raygo continued to cruise in this one—limiting hard contact while mixing quality secondary pitches in his time on the mound. DH Gavin Meece (2025) was the lone Cardinal to drive in a run against him, as the junior barreled a single to the opposite field to plate INF Van Vogler (2026) in the fourth—cutting De Pere’s lead to 4-1.

The offenses remained relatively quiet for the rest of the ballgame after Sun Prairie East scored their first run, aside from the presence of Donaldson. The senior reached base right away in the bottom of the sixth, followed by a stolen base to get him to second. A sacrifice bunt advanced him to third, while a wild pitch allowed the Madison JC commit to score.

De Pere entered the seventh inning with a 5-1 lead, and maintained that margin to earn themselves a Division 1 Championship. The Redbirds had high expectations for the 2024 season and lived up to the hype throughout, as their senior-led program emerged as the best in the state of Wisconsin.

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