GRAND CHUTE, Wis. — After waiting three-quarters of a century for a trip to the state tournament, St. Croix Falls was not about to return home early.
Brayden Olson, who has not allowed an earned run this season, tossed a five-hit shutout to lead the Saints to an 8-0 victory over defending champion Kenosha St. Joseph in the Division 3 semifinals of the WIAA high school baseball state tournament on Wednesday.
Fourth-ranked St. Croix Falls (26-2), making its first state appearance since 1948, advances to Thursday’s title game against Cuba City (22-4), which held off top-ranked Amherst 2-1 in the opening semifinal.
“This is the first time we’ve been down here in many years, so I’m really happy the way they came down and performed and didn’t let the stage get too big for them,” St. Croix Falls coach Matt Vold said.
Brayden Olson (11-0) struck out seven and walked none in a dominant performance after being staked to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Tyler Olson had three hits and drove in three runs, and Dylan Smith had two hits and two RBIs.
“That’s what our team has been doing all season for me,” Brayden Olson said. “I go out and shut them down in the first, then we’ll go out and put up a crooked number in the first and just keep adding on. As a pitcher, it’s nice to know I can make a few mistakes and don’t have to worry about them scoring, or not.”
The Saints, who have not allowed a run in five postseason games, took the pressure off with their three-run opening inning. Adrian Scott reached on a one-out throwing error by the shortstop, then Brayden Olson walked.
After Brady Belisle flied to center, Tyler Olson blooped an RBI single into no-man’s land behind first base. Smith followed with a two-run single to center.
“Early in that first inning, when we were able to scratch three across, that was really huge for us,” Vold said. “We had some clutch hits, some really good two-out hitting right there and aggressive base-running, which we’ve been pretty good at all year.”
St. Croix Falls added an unearned run in the third when Belisle reached on a two-out error and Tyler Olson lined an RBI single to left.
Brayden Olson’s two-run double keyed a three-run fourth as the Saints pushed the lead to 7-0. Scott singled in a run in the fifth to make it 8-0.
“We had a dominant pitcher performance, we played good defense, we were good on the bases and our hits, that was a really good offensive day,” Vold said. “I give it to Kenosha St. Joe’s, that’s a good pitching staff over there. I’m so proud of the way our guys attacked and jumped on those guys early.”
St. Croix Falls lost in the first round of the 1948 tournament, its only state appearance. But Brayden Olson said finally getting back to state was just the first step toward the ultimate goal.
“Our whole motto all season from our team was be happy but not satisfied,” Brayden Olson said. “We were happy to get down here, but we knew there was a goal in mind, so we have one more to be satisfied.”
