Arcadia 17u makes state appearance

Lacking enough players to put together a senior legion team this summer, Arcadia Post 17 was provided a silver lining with extra talent on their junior squad as a result. The Arcadia 17u team took advantage, earning themselves a state tournament berth in late July.

After a run of losses in June, Post 17 found their groove in July and peaked in time for regionals, allowing them to carve out a path to state.

In their four-team regional played in Holmen, Arcadia got things started on the opening day by rallying from down 5-3 in the seventh inning to upend Onalaska 7-6. After defeating Holmen 5-3 the following day, they advanced to the final round, where they would need just one more win to punch their ticket to state.

Holmen staved off elimination with a 6-5 victory over Post 17, setting up a winner-take-all rematch to determine the regional champion. Arcadia left no doubt the second time around, romping to a 10-1 victory and marching forward to state.

Post 17 was one of the eight teams competing at the 2026 17-Under State Tournament held at Casper Park’s Gannon Field in Chippewa Falls. Arcadia squared off against the hosts in the nightcap of the first day of state, where Post 17 erased an early 5-0 deficit in dramatic fashion, with Ben Lightfoot hitting a two-run single and Carter Wegman following with an RBI single each with two outs in the top of the seventh to knot the score.

However, Chippewa Falls scored on an error in the bottom of the eighth to win 6-5 in walk-off fashion. The following day, Arcadia suffered a 12-1 five-inning defeat at the hands of the Appleton Doubledays to end their state run and finish up their 2026 record at 8-9.

West De Pere proceeded to win the 17u state championship, with Watertown finishing as the runner-up.