GRAND CHUTE (NBC 26) — For most of the spring, Paxton Schuh's season appeared over.
The Kaukauna senior pitcher tore his meniscus four weeks ago and underwent surgery three weeks before the Division 1 state championship game. Earlier this week, even the possibility of returning seemed remote.
"I had a conversation with my PT. She said there's no way," Schuh said. "And then I had another checkup appointment this same week, this Monday. She said I had a 2% chance, so I took that 2% chance and ran with it, grinded this whole week. Anything I could do to get back out here, and everything went well, and here I am beyond blessed."
By Thursday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Schuh was back on the mound helping finish off one of the biggest wins in Kaukauna baseball history.
The Ghosts erased an early three-run deficit and rolled past Madison Memorial 11-5 to capture the WIAA Division 1 state championship, the program's first state title since 1953.
"It's even better than I could have ever imagined," Kaukauna coach Mike Jenkins said. "So proud of these guys, so proud of this team. It's a team that battled and showed heart, and they did it all the way to the end."
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Kaukauna struck first on Kaden Kress' sacrifice fly, but Madison Memorial answered with four runs in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
The deficit didn't last long.
After loading the bases, the Ghosts broke through with two outs in the bottom of the third. Bron Schaefer lined a two-run single to center field to tie the game before Brayden Jenkins followed with a go-ahead hit. By the time the inning ended, Kaukauna had scored five runs and seized control.
"The guys took care of it themselves," Jenkins said of his team's response. "Honestly, we didn't bring them together. We didn't do anything. Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep doing jobs and keep grinding out. A lot of great at-bats there and coming up clutch with a couple of outs. It was a fantastic inning and a great way to respond."
Schaefer said the lineup never lost confidence despite the early hole.
"The message the whole time is we had bases loaded twice and we just had to break through," Schaefer said. "I mean one big hit after another, and I mean that's how we got it done."
The offensive surge was hardly surprising for a team that had been swinging the bats well throughout its postseason run.
"We've been hitting good all year and I mean we never doubt ourselves," Schaefer said. "So I mean one hit after another, we strung it together. I mean over there it says we had 13 and we probably had 20 good swings, so I mean that's one good thing to see."
Kress delivered another pivotal blow in the fifth inning, ripping a two-run double that extended the lead to 8-4.
"You know, I was in the dugout at the time and I saw we got a couple of guys on," Kress said. "I was like, I'm getting two runs. As in, I'm getting two RBIs. There's no other choice. There's no other choice."
For Jenkins, the championship became a realistic goal as the Ghosts found their rhythm late in the season and navigated one of the toughest sectional paths in the state.
"Our 1 through 9 hitters really, really started to hit well and it wasn't just a few guys," Jenkins said. "Then it really picked up right as we got into the playoffs and then as the playoffs went, it felt like we could do this."
That belief only grew after Kaukauna defeated Kimberly and Bay Port in the sectional round.
"Those are two of the top five teams in the state ranked at that time," Jenkins said. "They're fantastic ball clubs, and it really showed us that we can be on the field with anyone and be on the winning end with any team and really gave us the confidence that we needed this week."
Still, one of the loudest cheers of the day came when Schuh returned to the mound.
After missing the entire playoff run, the senior got one final chance to contribute alongside the teammates he has played with for years.
"I mean, it was unreal, the support we get from our fans here, from my friends, teammates, everything," Schuh said. "It's just a surreal feeling. And just to go out like this one more time, especially since I've been out all playoffs, it's just an unreal feeling."
Kress called his teammate's comeback fitting for a player who has battled through multiple injuries.
"Paxton, he's a warrior," Kress said. "He's been through everything with that leg, multiple injuries, surgeries. He's a fighter. He loves his team. We love him and we knew he was going to come out here and do the job."
When the final out settled into a glove, seven decades of waiting finally came to an end.
"I mean, so many emotions that finally put a smile on my face," Schuh said. "It was all business when I was out there, but once I knew it was finally done, just pure smiles, hugs from the guys. It's just unreal."
For a senior class that dreamed about moments like this as kids, the celebration carried even more meaning.
"It was so great to me," Kress said. "Me and this group, we once said when we were younger, in 2019. So it felt so great to be back in this moment and win again this time in a bigger stadium, bigger moment. It was electric."
And now, the championship drought that followed Kaukauna for generations has finally been replaced by a new number.
"Seventy-three years is in the past now," Schaefer said. "I feel like year after year after year they'll look at that 2026 on the board and they'll be like, that can be us if we work hard."
