Sports

Middleton’s baseball team has a chance to reach the state tournament without ever leaving its homefield.

The Cardinals earned the No. 4 seed in their WIAA Division 1 regional and received a first round bye. Middleton will host either fifth-seeded Madison Memorial or 12^th-seeded Madison La Follette in a regional final on May 30.

Middleton is also the host school for sectionals, which will be held on June 4. If the Cardinals advance that far, they could secure the school’s 14^th trip to the state tournament by winning a sectional semifinal and final at home.

“The interesting thing about our sectional this year is that I could see multiple teams winning it,” Middleton first-year coach Brent Jorgensen said. “Many teams have similar records and there are several teams of similar quality. As always, the end of year tournament comes down to who executes the best and who is playing their best baseball at the end of the season.”

One goal is in the rearview mirror.

The others seem more and more possible by the round.

Middleton’s boys golfers won the Beloit Memorial Quadrangular last Wednesday and in the process, captured the Big Eight Conference’s dual meet championship. The Cardinals finished league play a perfect 9-0.

“Our first season goal was to win conference and it was done convincingly,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. 

Middleton shot a stellar 306 at Krueger Haskell Golf Course, followed by Janesville Craig (365), Madison West (381) and Beloit Memorial (403).

Kip Sullivan led the Cardinals with a 74 and Carson Frisch carded a 75. Tommy Kriewaldt fired a 77 and Alex Sosnowski shot an 80.

The highlight of the day came when Sosnowski made a hole-in-one at the 170-yard, 11^th hole. Sosnowski also shot a sensational 35 on the back nine and his score counted from the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

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

The Cardinals will host 11^th seeded Monona Grove in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday at 5 p.m. Middleton is currently 12-10 overall, while the Silver Eagles are 4-12.

“We've had a nice season, but we want to take it up a notch in the playoffs,” Middleton manager Perry Hibner said. “We have played the top teams such as Verona and Sun Prairie very tough, but just haven't gotten over the hump.”

Verona is the No. 1 seed, followed by Sun Prairie, Onalaska, DeForest, Holmen, Middleton, Waunakee, Baraboo, Madison Memorial, Tomah, Monona Grove, La Crosse Central, Madison East and Madison West.

If Middleton defeats Monona Grove, it would face the winner of third-seeded Onalaska and 14^th seeded Madison West in a regional final on May 23. The higher seed in that game would be the host school.

Middleton junior Marquez Winters didn’t begin to take competing in track and field seriously until this spring, when he focused on sharpening his skill in the long jump.

Suffice to say that after his winning performance at the Big Eight Conference track and field championships at Lussier Stadium last Friday, he has ample motivation to see how far he can go.

Winters won his first long jump title with a leap of 20 feet, 10 inches to help lead Middleton to its seventh consecutive boys track and field conference title. The Cardinals finished with 152 points to hold off runner-up Verona, which finished with 124.

Winters recorded his winning mark on his second attempt in the finals, narrowly edging Madison La Follette’s Ladell Cannon (20-9.75) and Madison East’s Jalonzo Jackson (20-7).

Quinn Harris entered her final Big Eight Conference track and field meet with a few emotional and physical scars, but was determined to make a stellar showing for her Middleton Cardinals’ teammates.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Harris had taken a nasty spill during a practice run at her specialty, the 300-meter low hurdles.

Junior Gabbi Butler also faced a mental hurdle, albeit a different one, in fighting off any doubts that she belonged with the best of the best at Lussier Stadium last Friday evening.

The Middleton duo proved to be two of the main reasons that Cardinals’ coach Cory Christovich, led a spirited post-meet celebration following the team’s uplifting performance.  

Sun Prairie won its third consecutive title and ninth in the past 11 seasons, finishing first with 152 points. Madison Memorial was second (144) and Middleton took third (135), repeating its performance of a year ago.

There was no rest last week for Middleton’s golfers.

Then again, the Cardinals certainly didn't look like a group that needed a break.

Middleton had a sensational week, in which it won the Morgan Stanley Invitational at University Ridge, took control of the Big Eight dual meet race by besting Verona, and tied for third place at the prestigious MACC Fund Invite held at Erin Hills.

When it was over, Middleton jumped to No. 3 in the latest Wisconsin Golf Coaches Association poll.

“It was a busy, big and very successful week for us,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said.

Middleton opened the week by shooting a 301 and winning its own triangular held at Pleasant View last Wednesday. Verona was second with a 321 and Madison Memorial was third (344).

Middleton moved to 6-0 in the conference and can wrap up the dual meet title this week.

TOWN OF MERTON — For several years now, there’s been a consistent theme.

When Middleton’s boys track and field team performs well at the Myrhum Invitational hosted by Hartland Arrowhead, it goes on and does big things in the postseason.

The Cardinals are hoping for similar results again this season.

Middleton won the Myrhum Invite last Saturday, scoring 83.5 points and edging defending state champion Kimberly (83.0) at the 33-team event.  Mukwonago (47), Fond du Lac (43) and Hartland Arrowhead (39) rounded out the top five.

“This is one of the best meets I have been a part of because of all the clutch efforts from our athletes,” Middleton coach Joe Line said. “Great performances made it happen.”

Middleton trailed Kimberly by 2.5 points with only the 1,600-meter relay left. But the Cardinals finished sixth, which was good for three points, and passed the Papermakers.

The WIAA Division 1 boys state tennis tournament won’t take place for another month.

But it sure felt like a state tournament was being played at Nicolet High School last weekend.

The Knights hosted the Sweet 16 Invitational, which featured 16 of the state’s elite tennis teams. Middleton showed it ranks among the best, finishing third at the prestigious tournament.

Milwaukee Marquette won the event with 103 points, while Whitefish Bay (99), Middleton (94), Verona (84) and Neenah (72) rounded out the top five.

“Third place was a solid overall performance for our guys,” Middleton coach Tony Mirasola said. “We lost some very close matches to Whitefish Bay, which could have allowed us to get second if we won those matches, but overall it was a good team performance with all the teams that were there.”

Middleton’s Ryan Gold had a terrific tournament, reaching the championship match. There, Gold felt to Verona’s Will Tennison, 6-3, 6-2.

WAUNAKEE – It was a fitting matchup of two of the state’s top girls’ soccer teams when Waunakee hosted Middleton in a non-conference dual last Saturday night.

According to Middleton coach Mary Duffy and Waunakee coach Ben Voss, it most likely won’t be the last meeting between the two elite programs either.

The coaches agreed they would like to see their teams meet during the regular season on a yearly basis. They also could see each other again during the WIAA postseason tournament.

Middleton sophomore forward Victoria Bunz helped the Cardinals forge a second-half tie with their lone goal of the game.

But Waunakee used a late goal from senior midfielder Josie Bono to pull out a 2-1 victory over Middleton to extend the Warriors’ unbeaten streak to four games.

“Victoria (Bunz) finished one and we had a couple more chances we could have finished,” Duffy said. “But it was a good game.”

The horrendous spring weather means softball teams everywhere will be playing almost daily down the stretch — weather permitting, of course.

Middleton is certainly in that same boat.

The Cardinals managed just one game last week and will now try packing seven games in a 10-day window.

The good news for Middleton is its one game was an impressive 10-0 win over Madison West last Friday in a contest stopped after six innings due to the mercy rule. The Cardinals improved to 9-7 overall and are 6-5 in the Big Eight Conference.

“It wasn't our best game at the plate, but I have been pleased with our approach against the teams below us in the standings,” Middleton manager Perry Hibner said. “We have been solid on the mound and in the field, run the bases hard and made enough happen at the plate.”

Madison West was winless in 2018, but has beaten Madison East and Madison La Follette this season. The Regents were no match for the Cardinals, though.