Sports

Middleton’s girls softball team has overcome many obstacles during its impressive season.

Now, the Cardinals will have to do it one more time.

Middleton trailed Holmen, 3-1, in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday when the skies opened. After a one-hour rain delay, the game was postponed until Wednesday.

The winner advances to face either third-seeded DeForest or 14th-seeded Madison West Thursday.

Middleton, the No. 6 seed in the regional, scored a first inning run after getting three straight two-out hits. Second baseman Ashley Brooks started the rally with a  single to left, then catcher Amber Karn and right fielder Abby Henke followed with singles to left.

But Holmen struck for three unearned runs off of Middleton starter Ashley Stormer in the second inning. The key blow came with two outs when Henke dropped a fly ball in right, allowing one run to score.

Ernest Winters clearly remembers the state of Middleton’s boys track and field program when he arrived in 2011.

Andy Keeler hasn’t forgotten either.

“It wasn’t very good,” said Winters, a senior sprinter.

That’s for sure.

But what a difference a few years makes.

Middleton, mired in the middle or bottom of the Big Eight Conference for years, cruised to the Big Eight Conference championship last Tuesday at Mansfield Stadium. Amazingly, it marked the second straight season the Cardinals won the Big Eight title.

Middleton finished with a whopping 169.3 points to easily outdistance runner-up Verona (110) and the rest of the conference.

Over the last few seasons, Middleton’s rise has been one of the state’s feel-good stories in the track and field world.

Bobbi Patrick isn't ashamed to admit it.

She was nervous. Big-time.

Middleton’s junior track and field standout was preparing for the 400-meter run last Tuesday at the Big Eight Conference meet at Mansfield Stadium. And Patrick had a case of the jitters.

“I haven’t run many open 400s,” Patrick said. “And I was shaking. I was pretty nervous.”

There was no need for uneasiness.

Patrick had a memorable night, winning the 400 and scoring points in three events. And Middleton had an even better evening, rolling to the conference title and snapping Sun Prairie’s five-year stranglehold as league champions.

Middleton finished with 181 points and won its first Big Eight title since 2008. Sun Prairie was a distant second with 113 points, while Madison Memorial (76), Verona (68) and Janesville Parker (58) rounded out the top five.

Middleton boys golf coach Tom Cabalka has called his current group of sophomores the most talented in school history.

That’s saying something, when you consider the Cardinals have been state champions four times and runners-up once since 1997.

But this spring, the sophomore trio of Brady Thomas, Emmet Herb and Joey Levin have come into their own. And now, the Cardinals appear ready for a memorable postseason.

Middleton kicked the second season off in style last Thursday, as its super sophs powered them to the Big Eight Conference title at Evansville Golf Club.

Middleton shot a 314 to easily outdistance runner-up Beloit Memorial (331) and the rest of the conference. Herb finished second individually with a 76, while Levin was third with a 78 and Thomas tied for fourth at 79.

When Matt Ash’s foot touched home plate, it seemed as if all the stars had aligned on the Middleton baseball team’s road to redemption.

Ash had scored on an opposite-field line drive by fellow senior Zach Kasdorf in the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday, scoring the go-ahead run to put the Cardinals three outs from a victory that would put them in the thick of the Big Eight Conference title hunt heading into the final week of the regular season.

A victory that would earn a measure of revenge against the same Sun Prairie team that had beaten them by 12 runs a month earlier, just as Middleton had avenged a lopsided setback to Janesville Parker, the other team atop the league standings.

But Middleton failed to land the knockout punch necessary to floor a battle-hardened team like Sun Prairie, which has won the last two WIAA Division 1 state titles and the last four Big Eight crowns.

Middleton’s girls softball team received the No. 6 seed in its regional.

The Cardinals will open postseason play Tuesday by hosting 11^th-seeded Holmen in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at 5 p.m.

“I was really happy with the seed,” Middleton manager Cherie Hellenbrand said. “I like how it lines up for us.”

If the Cardinals win Tuesday, they’ll face the winner of third-seeded DeForest and 14^th seeded Madison West in a regional final Thursday at 5 p.m.

If the seeds hold, Middleton would face second-seeded Madison La Follette in the sectional semifinals on June 3. The Cardinals wouldn’t meet top-seeded Verona until the sectional finals on June 5.

“Being on the opposite side of the bracket from Verona is a good thing for us,” Hellenbrand said. “We still have to play well, but I like our draw.”

The second season is just about here.

The Big Eight Conference boys golf tournament is Thursday at Evansville Golf Club. The WIAA Middleton Regional is Tuesday at Pleasant View, and sectionals are May 27.

And Middleton appears ready to make a memorable run.

The Cardinals had another terrific week and jumped to No. 1 in the latest Wisconsin Golf Coaches Association poll.

Middleton rolled to an easy win at the Janesville Craig Triangular last Tuesday.

The Cardinals finished third at the Madison La Follette Invite last Thursday with their JV team.

And Middleton struggled a bit Monday at the Spartan Invite, but still finished second.

“It’s always fun stuff … and now, you just hope your kids play well,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “It’s fun to see your kids get excited and play well. It’s just an exciting time.”

Their bats are heating up.

They’re getting the necessary help from other teams in the conference.
And if Middleton’s baseball team can continue its recent surge, anything seems possible.

The Cardinals notched a pair of huge Big Eight Conference wins last week. Middleton routed Madison West 14-1, last Thursday and cruised past Madison East, 19-1, last Friday in a game played at Sun Prairie.

Middleton also was swept by Watertown in a doubleheader Saturday. But the Cardinals’ two league wins — and Janesville Parker’s victory over Sun Prairie — have left the Big Eight up for grabs.

Parker and Sun Prairie share the conference lead with 12-2 records, while Middleton is 11-3 in the league. Middleton, which is also 14-6 overall, hosts Sun Prairie in a conference showdown Thursday.

Sun Prairie also travels to Janesville Parker on May 27.

There had been rough patches of late.

Unexpected road bumps and mishaps.

But Middleton’s girls softball team got back on track last week and once again seems poised to make some noise in what’s been a terrific bounce back season for the program.

Middleton routed Madison Memorial, 8-2, last Tuesday. The Cardinals then won a 13-12, eight-inning thriller over Beloit Memorial last Thursday.

The Cardinals improved to 13-7 overall and are in third place in the Big Eight Conference at 11-5.

“Our team does not have any one superstar, but 14 hard working players,” Middleton manager Cherie Hellenbrand said. “And the harder we work the luckier we seem to get.”

Middleton was a combination of lucky and good in its win over Beloit Memorial.

The Purple Knights led, 12-6, heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. But the host Cardinals rallied to force extra frames, then won it in the eighth.

It’s been a record-setting year for Middleton’s boys track and field team.
And the hits just kept coming last week.

Not only did Middleton win the Monona Grove Invitational for the first time in school history. The Cardinals scored 142.50 points, which was the highest total in the meet’s 55-year history.

Yowza!

“We were strong in almost every area of the track, putting points on the board in every event except the shot put,” Middleton coach Isaac Mezera said. “The other cool thing is only six guys on the team did two events. Everyone else did just one event. It was a chance, again, to show the depth of the squad and to let guys truly focus on just one thing.”

To show just how dominant Middleton was at this 20-team event consider the Cardinals nearly doubled runner-up Racine Park (79). Stevens Point was third (75.33), while West Bend West (64.33) and Madison Memorial (63.50) rounded out the top five.