Just one more win.Thatsall 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.Were not one to sit there and advertise and broadcastit,but this team we definitelythoughtcouldget us to thispoint, Kaukauna coach Mike Jenkins said. Theyve really shownthat here.Kaukauna will play the winner of the second Division 1 semifinal Madison Memorial or Muskego on Thursday, June 18, at 6:05p.m. at Fox Cities Stadiumfor the Division 1 title.Getting past Nicolet was no easy task given the finalscore,but Kaukauna senior starting pitcher Bron Schaefer was up to the task.Schaefer limited Nicolet totwo 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 aboutSchaefer,whowalked oneandhit two batterswhile striking out eight inpitching a complete game.The only damage Nicolet was able to docame in the third inning on a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt, a wildpitchand a throwing error.To get the win, I mean, I dont care who did it as long as were moving on, Schaefer said. Thats 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 ona wild pitch that scored Taron Seghers.It wasgoodat-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.VOTE NOW: Choose from seven nominees for Cellcom Post-Crescent athlete of the weekSchupper lasted only 1 innings for Nicolet, allowing two runs on five walks, a hitbatterand a wild pitch.Schaefer, meanwhile,withthe exceptionofthe third inning, was cruising.Heretiredthe last10 batters he faced and struck out four of the last six.Schaefer is our energy, Jenkins said. We go behind him.Hesa guy thatclosedout the sectional for us and the guythatssending 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 gotbreathingroom 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 asacrificefly, Brayden Jenkins singled to right to score Vandeloo and Schaefer, and then Bennett Geitner singled to left to scorethe fourth run of the inning.We were knocking on the door but didnt get it done until the fourth inning, Schaefer said. Its about doing your job. Therewasnta bighit,but therewas a flare ball.After tacking on a run in the fifthon 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 weve preached is enjoying the momentno matterwhat it is, Schaefer said. I mean, guys could be playing summer ball right now, but theydratherbe here with the group of guys they prepared all winter with.I feel like thats 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