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.
McFarland and Beloit Turner have dominated Rock Valley Conference softball the last decade. Is the reign coming to an end this season?
Parker lost 11-3 to Big Eight-leading Verona, while Craig lost 6-1 to Beloit Memorial in softball on Tuesday.
The Janesville Craig softball team scored 12 runs in the final three innings Friday to separate from host Beloit Turner for a 14-6 nonconference win.
The Red Hawks ran their winning streak to seven games Thursday when they swept Badger South Conference rival Monona Grove with a 4-0 shutout.
Cougars lead 9-1 after two innings en route to 10-3 victory
Chelsea Naber struck out nine Madison Memorial hitters in a complete game.But it was her play at the plate that stole the show. Her solo home run in the top of the seventh inning delivered a 4-3 road victory.
Janesville Parker beat Madison La Follette in a Big Eight Conference softball game. The Vikings were up 8-5 before they scored 11 runs in the top of the seventh inning--where the game was called due to lightning.
The Cougars had the potential tying run on base with nobody out in the top of the seventh inning but stranded Samantha Flint at second base and lost 3-2.
Alexys Luek drove in four runs, and Chelsea Naber and Julianna Getka combined to pitch a one-hitter as Parker downed Madison West 10-0 in five innings at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Craig used a nine-run bottom of the fourth to break open a Big Eight Conference softball game at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex against Madison East. The Cougars ended the game an inning later, winning 14-4 to claim their third straight victory.
Five notable performances by area high school athletes over the past seven days and five events to keep an eye on in the coming week.
Janesville Craig's and Beloit Turner's baseball teams were both ranked coming into the season and are both playing like top 10 teams early on.
Skylar Flood led off the top of the fourth against La Follette with an inside-the-park home run. The Cougars would add 11 more runs in the frame en route to a 17-0 Big Eight Conference rout of the host Lancers.
