Steve Krupke, who coached the Brodhead softball team for a dozen years, was set to return to the Cardinals' diamond this spring, but the season was canceled. Krupke and Brodhead won a Division 3 state title in 2004.
Elkhorn seniors Izzy Regner, Haley Remington, Morgan Hunter and Kassidie Biefeld were mainstays in the lineup for a softball team that got better and better since their freshman season. They hoped to lead the program to the state tournament for the first time this spring.
The Whitewater High softball team delivered a turnaround year in 2019, finishing second in the Rock Valley. The Whippets' senior class was hoping to build on that this spring.
Eden Lyle simply wanted a chance to compete. The Janesville Craig senior will now get that chance after committing to Triton College to pitch for the junior college's softball program.
Katie Goecks will graduate in the top 10 in Brodhead High's Class of 2020. She earned first-team all-Rock Valley Conference honors in volleyball and was a second-teamer last spring in softball.
Jasmin Speth was a key figure for a Delavan-Darien girls basketball team that became a contender in the Southern Lakes this past winter and a softball team that reached sectionals as a junior.
Orfordville Parkview's Remington Stark was one of the most prolific softball pitchers in the state the last three years. Her stats back it up.
Janesville Parker senior Taylor Barfield, one of the school's Class of 2020 valedictorians, worked her way back from a knee injury as a junior and was looking forward to being a captain for a team on the rise.
Hailey Elwood grew up catching Emily Pfeil's pitches. In high school, they played outfield and first base, respectively, and were part of Evansville's lone two regional championships in program history. They would have been the only seniors on this year's team.
Elkhorn senior Haley Remington was a two-time first-team all-conference softball player who will play at Missouri-St. Louis in college. She also worked hard on her basketball game, averaging 16.5 points and becoming a first-team all-SLC pick as a senior.
Several area players are scheduled to play in the WFSCA high school softball all-star games Monday, Aug. 3 and Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Woodside Sports Complex at Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells.
Maria, Marty, Jennah, Jaida and Jasmin Speth are used to spending their spring and summer seasons traveling the region and country for softball. But that came to an abrupt halt. When sports start again, could the three sisters all be on the same roster?
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers extended the safer-at-home order to May 26 and closed all schools for the rest of the academic year Thursday, likely putting an end to the spring high school sports season.
Jefferson native Dan Bayreuther coached Jnesville Craig High softball teams for 25 seasons, earning 350 victories.
Remington Stark of Orfordville Parkview is The Gazette's 2019 area player of the year in softball. The junior right-hander was second in the state in strikeouts per game and was fifth overall in total Ks.
Led by three Elkhorn High players, The Gazette's all-area softball team was dominant at the plate, in the circle and with the glove.
After six and a half years of covering area high school sports, Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt takes a moment to reflect on just how hard it is for teams to make a run to a state tournament.
Abby Humphrey overcame the injury bug to earn all-Big Eight first-team honors this season in softball.
Jacey Walker tossed a three-hitter, and the Purple Knights’ defense rose to the occasion—particularly on the final four outs of the game—in a 1-0 thriller at Elkhorn Area High School.
Alanah Halsey connected for a three-run home run in the sixth inning, the decisive blow as the McFarland softball team defeated visiting Evansville 8-5 on Tuesday in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal.
The Blue Devils crawled out of a two-run hole to advance to a sectional semifinal matchup with McFarland on Tuesday.
Junior Izabella Regner struck out 15, and fellow junior Haley Remington scored the game's lone run as the top-seeded Elks escaped the eighth-seeded Badgers on Thursday
The season ended Thursday for Milton High's softball team in a 3-2 loss to Oregon in a Division 1 regional final game.
Seneca Peterson allowed one hit over seven shutout innings Tuesday as Badger defeated visiting Janesville Craig 4-0 in a WIAA Division 1 softball regional semifinal.
The Oregon standout pitcher struck out 13 and allowed only four hits in leading the Panthers to 3-0 win in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal game.
The Eagles were one of multiple area teams to advance in Tuesday's regional playoff games. Jefferson won 3-1.
The visiting Cougars scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back in a 20-3 win. Craig added a pair of runs in the second before exploding for seven more runs in the fourth and adding a final four in the fifth inning.
Five notable performances from area high school athletes over the past week and five events to watch in the coming seven days.
Parker held off Madison Memorial, 4-3, in a Big Eight Conference game Saturday morning at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex. It was the Vikings' fourth straight win in the span of six days, and three of those victories came by one run.
The Vikings won their third straight game, topping host Middleton 8-7 on Friday to avenge an 11-4 loss to the Cardinals in mid-April.
The Brodhead Cardinals and Delavan-Darien Comet softball teams each started the postseason with a win Thursday.
The road to Goodman Field begins today in softball. What is the area outlook, and which team has the best chance of making it to state?
Janesville Craig's softball team rallied for a 6-5 Big Eight Conference win Tuesday over Middleton.
Lydia Quade had three hits, Julianna Getka limited Madison West to six hits and two runs and Janesville Parker ran the bases well in a 12-2 Big Eight Conference softball win at Madison on Tuesday afternoon.
Orfordville Parkview won the first game of a doubleheader at Johnson Creek 3-1 on Monday, but the Jays scored four times in the eighth inning to win 4-0 in the nightcap, clinching the Trailways South Conference crown.
Chelsea Naber homered twice and threw a complete game and Lydia Quade drove in her 10th run of the season as the Vikings defeated Sun Prairie 8-7 on Monday at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex.
Five notable performances from the past week in area high school sports, and five events to watch for in the upcoming seven days.
Waterford scored in six of the seven innings en route to an 11-6 win over the Vikings. Oregon then scored to runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Parker 6-5.
The Vikings lost game one 3-1. In the second game, Parker scored four runs in the final inning before losing 9-6.
Madison East scored four runs in fourth inning in rallying for a 4-2 Big Eight Conference softball win over Janesville Craig on Friday.
Kenzy Conkle struck out 10 batters and had three hits Thursday to lead Beloit Turner to a 7-2 win over Whitewater in Rock Valley Conference softball.
Katie Kealy struck out nine and hit a home run to help Craig defeat La Follette, while Chelsea Naber struck out 10 in Parker's win over Madison East
Izabella Regner struck out six and allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings and Kenzie Calvillo and Lexi Rode each scored during a madcap fifth inning for Elkhorn
Five notable performances by area high school athletes over the past week and five events to watch for in the next seven days.
Verona scored twice in the bottom of the first inning and four more times in the third on the way to a 9-4 victory.
The Vikings scored eight runs in the second inning on the way to a 13-1 victory in five innings at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex.
The Cougars scored a first-inning run at third-ranked Sun Prairie on Thursday night, but Maddie Gardner shut Craig down the rest of the way to lead the Cardinals to a 9-1 Big Eight Conference victory.
Elkhorn High's softball team remained atop the Southern Lakes Conference standing with a 16-1 win over Delavan-Darien on Thursday.
Janesville Craig rallied for a win in Game 2 and split a Big Eight Conference softball doubleheader Wednesday.
Five notable performances from area high school athletes over the past week and five events to watch for in the next seven days.
Craig scored seven runs in the first two innings on a blustery day at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex, and the Cougars earned a season split with their rivals by winning 13-4.
