May 2017

No one will ever confuse Brady Schmitt with Aroldis Chapman or Noah Syndergaard.

No, Schmitt — a junior left-handed pitcher for Middleton’s baseball team — doesn’t rely on an overpowering fastball to win his battles. Instead, Schmitt survives on movement, location, a variety of pitches and out-thinking the player he’s staring at.

Last Thursday, the ultra-crafty Schmitt was at his best and Madison East paid the price. Schmitt threw a no-hitter and led the Cardinals to an 8-1 win over the host Purgolders.

“I was really excited,” Schmitt said of the monumental feat. “It was a lot of fun.”

Amazingly, it was Schmitt’s first appearance since straining his Latissimus Dorsi muscle three weeks ago.

“It’s not a bad injury,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “It just takes time to heal. It’s a time consuming, nagging injury. It just takes time to get back.”

It didn't look like Brady Schmitt was ever away.

On one level, Middleton sophomore Ryan Gold was extremely proud of what he’d accomplished, enormously pleased with what he’d achieved.

On the other, Gold couldn’t help but wonder what might have been.

Gold, Middleton’s No. 1 singles player, finished second at the WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Thursday. Sun Prairie’s Aiden Schutter nipped Gold in a thrilling three-set match, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 10-6 to capture the sectional title.

Gold qualified for the state tournament for a second straight year and will meet Neenah’s Evan Kubiak in a first round match Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

“I’m proud. I think I played well,” Gold said after the match. “(Schutter’s) a really good player … and that was a great match.”

As good as Gold was, his day was somewhat bittersweet.

The results certainly weren’t a surprise.

Now, Middleton’s girls softball team hopes to pull a few shockers in the next two weeks.

The Cardinals received the No. 6 seed in their sectional and begin the postseason against 11^th-seeded Tomah on Wednesday.

If Middleton wins there, it would face the winner of third-seeded Holmen and 14^th-seeded Madison West in a regional final Friday.

The sectional semifinals are May 30 and the sectional finals are June 1.

“We know we have to play four quality games to get to state, but we also believe we are more than capable of doing that,” Middleton coach Perry Hibner said. “Our approach all season long has been to go 1-0. We just need to do that four times. We think we can.”

Last week was a perfect example of just how good Middleton can be when it plays its best.

Middleton defeated Sun Prairie, 5-2, last Friday in its regular season finale.