Sports

Three up, three down.

And then when Middleton came to the plate against one of the top prep softball pitchers in the state, Sun Prairie East’s Taylor Baker, freshman Hailey Stroede singled back up the middle to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

“That was a big confidence boost for us getting a leadoff single off her,” said Middleton’s Mckenzie Pertzborn.

But?

“But they didn’t fear it,” Pertzborn added. “And that’s on us knowing that we’ve got to move runners early to jump out early in games like this so we don’t fall behind and we can stay confident and play our game.”

Indeed, Middleton failed to manufacture anything out of Stroede’s leadoff single and Sun Prairie took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, ultimately jumpstarting the visiting Cardinals to a 10-2, Big Eight Conference victory last Friday evening at Firefighters Memorial Park in Middleton.

Middleton’s girls track and field team won the Sun Prairie East Quad on May 2.

Middleton finished with 93 points, while Sun Prairie East (79.5), Verona (50.5) and Sun Prairie West (44) rounded out the team scoring.

Sun Prairie East won the boys meet with 95.5 points, followed by Middleton (92), Verona (48.5) and Sun Prairie West (34).

Here’s a list of the Cardinals that notched top-five performances:

GIRLS

• Madilyn Vander Sanden won the discus and the shot put.

• Samara Bradtke won the 200-meter dash, while Abby Arnold was fourth and Sam Pomroy was fifth.

• Elizabeth Schwartz won the 1,600-meter run, while Claire Wallsch-Drury was fourth and Meredith Pansegrau was fifth.

• Kydd Amelia won the 3,200-meter run, while Daniela Abell-Guzman was second and Juliette Mandlebrot was third.

• Elle Seager won the high jump, while Noel Neuser was fourth.

The tournament is called the Nicolet Sweet 16.

It could very easily be labeled the state tournament preview.

Nicolet hosted 16 of the state’s top boys tennis teams last weekend and Middleton showed it will be tough to upend when the state tournament arrives next month.

The Cardinals had top-three finishes in all seven flights and won the ultra-competitive tournament.

“Winning this tournament reminds our guys that a state title is well within reach if we continue to grow,” Middleton coach Henry Johnsin said. “I think there is confidence to be gained from that.”

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ performances:

SINGLES

• No. 1 — Middleton’s Ethan Bo reached the finals, where he lost to Brookfield East standout Oscar Corwin, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.

The auditions are about over.

‘The Show’ is just around the corner, and Tom Cabalka has some tough decisions to make.

Cabalka, Middleton’s boys golf coach, has one of the state’s deepest and most gifted outfits. The only problem is he has several golfers scoring in the same range — and he can only play five.

Cabalka didn't get much clarity last week.

First, the Cardinals finished third at the 23-team Legend Clubs Invite held at Bristlecone Pines in Hartland on May 2. Middleton was then 10^th among 28 teams at The MACC Fund Invite held at Erin Hills last Saturday.

Middleton now has a busy week, and the postseason begins with the Big Eight Conference meet on May 18. By then, Cabalka wants to have settled on a playoff lineup.

“We’ll get 10 scores from our guys and those scores should pretty much determine who our top five and six golfers are going forward,” he said.

Middleton’s baseball team won three of four games last week.

The Cardinals defeated Madison West, 12-10, on April 24. Middleton whipped Madison La Follette twice — 12-1 on April 25 and 16-1 on April 27. And the Cardinals were blanked by Union Grove, 7-0, last Friday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Middleton 12, Madison West 10 — The Cardinals pounded out 13 hits and rallied past the Regents.

Middleton built a 7-0 lead after two innings, only to see visiting West take an 8-7 lead after 4 ½ innings. But the Cardinals rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth and held on.

“Both teams hit the ball really well and we came out on top of a slugfest,” Middleton manager Brent Jorgensen said. “Every one of our starters had a hit in the game and we did just enough to come out with a win.”

Middleton’s girls softball team has been extremely busy, of late.

And for the most part, the Cardinals have been extremely successful.

Middleton went 3-2 last week. And the Cardinals’ losses were both nailbiters against the top two teams in the Big Eight Conference.

Middleton defeated Janesville Craig, 14-5, on April 24, then split a pair of games with Madison Memorial the following day.

Sun Prairie East edged the Cardinals, 5-4, last Thursday. Then Middleton rebounded with a 12-3 rout of Madison East last Friday.

Middleton is now 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big Eight heading into a week the Cardinals had five more games on the schedule.

“Our team's confidence right now is incredibly high,” Middleton coach Brittany Carl said. “They believe they can compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime. I love that about this group.”

They wanted to bounceback.

They wanted to show their true colors.

Boy, did they ever.

Middleton’s boys golf team, which struggled at the Madison Edgewood Invite on April 24, rebounded in a big way 24 hours later.

The Cardinals went to the Morgan Stanley Invite held at University Ridge on April 25 and posted one of the lowest scores in school history.

Middleton shot a sizzling 294 and nipped Edgewood (299) for the title at the 13-team tournament. Madison Memorial (306), Waunakee (308) and Milton (311) rounded out the top five.

“We played so poorly the day before in the Edgewood Invite that the guys really wanted to bounce back and have a really good round at U-Ridge,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “At Blackhawk, we hit just 13% of the fairways off the tee. When you do that with tree lined fairways, it makes for a long day. Our guys came out focused and determined to play better at U-Ridge.”

Boy, did they ever.

The schedule has intensified.

And Middleton’s girls soccer team believes it’s ready for the challenge.

The Cardinals battled a trio of teams — including a pair of highly-regarded foes — last week and more than held their own.

Middleton routed Madison La Follette, 11-0, on April 26, then suffered a 1-0 loss to Madison West on April 27. The Cardinals then played Classic 8 Conference power Oconomowoc to a scoreless draw on April 28.

Middleton is now 4-1-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Eight Conference. Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Middleton 11, Madison La Follette 0 — Senior Maeve Carlson scored the first hat trick of her career as the Cardinals rolled past the Lancers.

Izzy Frantz and Zoe Sharaf both had two goals, while Addy Frantz, Autumn Suttle, Ursula Anstett and Sophie Kasel all had goals, as well.

Joe Poehls thinks of Tim Simon as a brother.

“A much older, big brother,” Poehls joked.

Simon calls Poehls a “good friend”, someone he added to Middleton’s coaching staff when he ran the program 14 years ago.

“Joe and I are very close,” Simon said.

It’s why the two believe they’ll function extremely well as interim co-head coaches of Middleton’s football program.

After Middleton’s two-month search to find a replacement for Jason Pertzborn proved futile, Cardinals’ athletic director Jamie Sims turned to Simon and Poehls on April 15. The two men were the longest tenured members of MHS’ football staff, and after brief deliberation, both quickly accepted the position.

SHOREWOOD HILLS — Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.  

Monday afternoon it was Charlie Jambor, Dain Johnson, James Baker, Michael Jagoe and Reis Von Ruden who got "tagged" to compete at the Madison Edgewood Invitational for Middleton’s boys golf team.

The Cardinals have already used eight different players in their line-up, showing off their talent and depth in the early going of the 2023 season.

All that talent, though, makes picking the line-up a bit tricky.

But Middleton coach Tom Cabalka, whose team is ranked third in the latest Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll, isn't complaining.

“It's a great problem to have,” Cabalka said. “Right now it's just trying to find the kids who can be the most consistent players.”

Monday, though, was not Middleton's day.