So May is history!
Hello Fastpitch folks!
It's Sunday, June 1st and Division 2-3-4 sectional are on Tuesday while in Division 1 it is also the sectiona level. There are some great matchups on tap but there were a lot of great matchups at some of the regional final level in D-2, D-3 and D-4 levels while Division 1 had a few at what can be called a Sectional Semi-final (only one Division 1 sectional is played with two regionals), the other seven are seeded from top to bottom.
Here are a few of the regional finals that were hotly contested in Divisions 2-3- and 4.
Division 2
LaCrosse Logan held off West Salem 1-0 as Jordyn Kleman made the difference in twirling a shutout and will now play Baldwin-Woodville who shutout New Richmond 11-0 in five innings.
McFarland nipped Edgerton 4-3 in nine innings and will now play Delavan-Darien who nipped Beloit Turner 2-1.
In the Portage Sectional both regional finals were barn-burners as River Valley held off Monroe 2-1 and will now play Marshall who beat Portage 3-1.
Mosinee has not been challenged in its two regional games and outscored two opponents 16-1 en route to a game at home against Northwestern/South Shore who beat Rice Lake 8-4.
Division 3
Brodhead nipped Rock Valley foe Parkview 7-6 in the regional final and will now play Poynette, a 1-0 winner over Waterloo in Darlington.
Arcadia, the state's top ranked Division 3 team nipped Coulee Conference rival Luther (Onalaska) 1-0 in 11-innings. It now pits them against defending state champion Mineral Point a 12-2 winner over Iowa-Grant in Point's backyard, Boscobel.
Kenosha St. Joseph is eyeing a return trip to Goodman Diamond after winning the Division 3 Private School regional with a 2-1 in over Martin Luther and a n 18-6 win over Shoreland Lutheran (others in the regional include Racine St. Catherine's, Racine Lutheran, Kenosha Christian Life, and Domincan). St. Joseph is tough but must travel to Horicon to play that team (Horicon) on its home field. Horicon beat Oostburg 19-1 and Lomira 7-4 to advance.
Oconto is making a name for themselves with a 4-2 win over Bonduel and will no play fellow #1 Regional seed Marathon, an 11-5 winner over Stratford in Marathon. That's a trip that takes Oconto nearly halfway across the widest part of the state of Wisconsin.
Division 4
Shell Lake beat Northwood 11-1 in six innings and must now travel down Highway 53 to Chippewa Falls to play McDonell Central, a 5-0 winner over Gilman.
Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, one of the state's 13 Division 4 Private Schools beat Elmwood/Plum City 11-6 and will play in against Cochrane/Fountain City, a 10-0 in five inning winner over Independence/Gilmanton. Both Immanuel and Cochrane/Fountain City are #1 regional seeds. That game is in Boyceville.
Argyle beat Monticello 3-1 in the regional final and will now play Highland, a 2-0 winner of Riverdale in Argyle.
Cashton has come on throughout the season and beat Bangor 10-0 and will now face Ithaca, a 2-0 winner over Seneca. That game is at Brookwood High School.
Here is an interesting side-bar in Division 4 to go along with the one I already mentioned. There are 11 WIAA Division 4 teams that have two communties on their team names such as Cochrance/Fountain City, Wauzeka-Steuben, Pepin-Alma compared the aforementioned 13 private schools.
In Division 1
Superior upset Eau Claire North 3-1and will now face Chippewa Falls in Chippewa Falls who beat River Falls 11-7.
D.C. Everest and SPASH will play a rubber match on Tuesday in Point. Everest beat Rhinelander 4-2 while SPASH downed Merrill 10-1.
Kaukauna got past Hartford Union 3-0 and now plays Oshkosh North a 3-2 8-inning winner over Slinger.
Beaver Dam beat Oshkosh West 3-1 and plays Kimberly who just got past Neenah 4-3 and that game is at Sunset Park in Kimberly.
Green Bay Preble survived a 2-1 game vs Appleton East and now plays Appleton North, a 6-0 winner over Green Bay East. That game is at Appleton East.
Hortonville beat Bay Port 10-1 and now takes on Ashwaubenon a 10-2 winner over De Pere. in Ashwaubenon.
Madison LaFollette beat Madison East 5-0 and now plays Middleton, a 12-0 winner over DeForest and that game is at Middleton.
Verona beat Tomah 9-0 and plays LaCrosse Central, a 2-0 winner over Waunakee in Verona.
Westosha Central beat Beloit Memorial 12-0 in five innings and now plays Burlington, a 5-0 winner over Badger at Paddock Lake.
Union Grove, a 4-0 winner over Stoughton takes on Muskego, a 4-3 winner over Wilmot and that game is in Union Grove
Kenosha Bradford whipped Greendale 10-0 while South Milwaukee beat Oak Creek 2-0 in 8-innings. That game will be at South Milwaukee.
Menonomee Falls beat Nathan Hale 10-6 in 6-innings and takes on Arrowhead, a 13-3 winner in 6-innings over Hamilton. The game is in Menomonee Falls.
Watertown beat Kettle Moraine 5-3 and plays Waukesha North, a 10-0 winner in 6-innings over Oconomowoc.
Brookfield Central beat Brookfield East 4-3 and plays Divine Savior Holy Angels who beat Pius XI 8-2. That game is at Brookfield Central.
And wrapping up the games in all divisions of play for Tuesday --
Homestead, a 15-5 5-inning winner of Whitefish Bay takes on Germantown, an 11-2 winner over Nicolet. The game is in Germantown.
That's a look at all four Divisional sectional pairings.
Here are a couple of other tidbits.
1) The use of a first base mitt or catcher's mitt by a fielder other than the first sacker or catcher is legal use of said glove in NFHS play. There is not a rule forbidding a player to wear said mitt or trapper in the other seven fielding positions. Rule 1, Section 4 page 11 is where you will find that. I can't remember exactly how long ago that changed but it was probably about 20 years ago, yet there are umpires who forbid the use of said gloves and coaches who also do not know the rules regarding gloves/mitts.
2) Gale Grahn, longtime head coach at Plymouth has retired from the third base coaches box at the end of this season. Gale started the Plymouth program 24 years ago and amassed 331 wins over that time, a remarkable record when one considers the low number of games teams could play in his early coaching years. The game will certainly miss Gale Grahn. I'll try to keep him involved as a ranker down the road.
3) Jim Kvisto of Hurley is just six wins (394) of the 400 win milepost. When one considers how many games that school missed out on playing after the past two springs, it's easy to figure out that he'd be well over the 400 win mark. I look forward to adding his name to the list of 400 game winners early next season (at least let's hope the weather allows that next spring). The Midgets won their 18th conference championship this season under Jim's tutelage. Congratulations Jim!
Have a great day!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
