Sports

Middleton’s girls softball team paraded around Firefighter’s Park on May 29, proudly displaying the regional plaque they had just captured.

In the wake of the Cardinals’ dominant 7-1 win over visiting Holmen in a WIAA Division 1 regional final, the Cardinals posed for pictures. They savored the moment.

In the midst of the revelry, though, Middleton manager Brittany Carl made one thing perfectly clear.

“We’ve gotten this plaque before,” Carl said. “We ideally want another one a week from today.”

Middleton, the No. 1 seed in its sectional, hasn’t reached the state tournament since 2008. And these Cardinals realize there’s no time like the present.

MADISON — Opportunity knocked. No one answered, so it knocked again.

And again. And again. And again.

Finally, in the top of the 14th inning of what turned out to be a marathon affair between Big Eight Conference baseball rivals Middleton and host Madison Memorial May 29 at Mansfield Stadium, the Cardinals came to the door.

Catcher Tyler Vogt drew a two-out walk, his fourth base on balls of the contest, stole second and third, then scored the winning run on an error.

Relief pitcher Brody Kalscheur slammed the door in the bottom half, working around a pair of walks to preserve a 4-3 victory.

“It was a close call. I probably should have fouled that one off, but at least it worked out,” Vogt said of taking the full-count pitch that got him aboard.

Then the wheels were in motion.

Mary Duffy didn’t mince words.

“We are ready for the postseason,” Middleton’s girls soccer coach said.

The Cardinals began the playoffs this week. And Middleton heads to the postseason on the heels of a terrific regular season.

Middleton rolled past Monona Grove, 5-1, on May 27 and finished the regular season with a 12-5-1 record. The Big Eight Conference champion Cardinals earned the No. 2 seed in their sectional and hosted Beloit Memorial in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday.

If the Cardinals defeated the Purple Knights, they’d host either seventh-seeded Sun Prairie West or 10^th-seeded Badger in a regional final on June 7 at 7 p.m..

The sectional semifinals are June 12 and the sectional finals are June 14.

There were countless tense points.

Many anxious moments.

In the end, though, Middleton’s boys tennis team exacted a bit of revenge on conference rival Madison West.

Middleton won the Madison Memorial Sectional at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on May 29 with 44 points, edging the runner-up Regents, who finished with 40 points. The Cardinals earned a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state team tournament for the fifth time in six seasons.

One year ago, West ran away with the sectional title, besting runner-up Middleton, 52-34. This year, though, the Cardinals rebounded nicely and earned a trip back to state.

Middleton earned the No. 2 seed at the WIAA Division 1 state team tournament, which will be held June 13-14 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Cardinals will face seventh-seeded Kimberly in the state quarterfinals on June 13 at 5 p.m.

There’s an old wives tale that says teams carrying a 2-0 record against an opponent struggle to win a third matchup.

In reality, that’s fake news.

In the NFL, for example, the team that wins the first two matchups wins the third one roughly 70% of the time. In college basketball, data from STATS LLC shows that teams entering a third matchup with a 2-0 record have a winning percentage of 72.4% in the third contest.

That data didn't make Middleton’s girls softball team feel any better, though, when they were embroiled in a scoreless battle with visiting Verona midway through their WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal on June 2.

The Cardinals’ bats came alive, though, Middleton senior ace Megan Button was virtually unhittable and MHS surged to a 4-0 win. That marked the third time this season the Cardinals (23-4) defeated Verona (18-6).

Middleton’s girls softball team paraded around Firefighter’s Park on May 29, proudly displaying the regional plaque they had just captured.

In the wake of the Cardinals’ dominant 7-1 win over visiting Holmen in a WIAA Division 1 regional final, the Cardinals posed for pictures. They savored the moment.

In the midst of the revelry, though, Middleton manager Brittany Carl made one thing perfectly clear.

“We’ve gotten this plaque before,” Carl said. “We ideally want another one a week from today.”

Middleton, the No. 1 seed in its sectional, hasn’t reached the state tournament since 2008. And these Cardinals realize there’s no time like the present.

How good was the performance of Middleton’s boys golf team at the Battle of the Rock on May 12?

Consider this: the school record for an 18-hole match is 286 set in 2019.

The Cardinals fired a sensational 291 at Wild Rock in Wisconsin Dells to win the 24-team invite going away. Edgerton was second with a 300, while DeForest (309), Waunakee (309) and Winneconne (309) all tied for third.

“All four players played extremely well,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “Wild Rock is a great golf course and certainly not easy, especially on and around the greens. A 291 was excellent team golf.”

Middleton junior Reis von Ruden shot a remarkable 4-under par, 68. Von Ruden had an incredible 10 birdies — including five on each side.

Von Ruden also shot 2-under, 34, on each nine. Von Ruden hit 15 greens in regulation and had just 29 putts.

“Unbelievable,” Cabalka said. “Unheard of.”

It was a special day that Bennett O’Connor admitted was high on his bucket list as a pitcher for Middleton’s baseball team.

So not even the threat of inclement weather and the presence of winds gusting more than 30 miles an hour were going to hamper the 11^th annual Cardinals ‘Strike Out Cancer’ baseball game at Middleton’s Breitenbach Stadium on May 15.

“I’ve been looking forward to this game for my entire career,” said O’Connor, a first-team All-Big Eight Conference selection in 2024. “I was told a couple of weeks ago I was throwing it. Ever since then, I was pumped up and very, very nervous at the same time.”

O’Connor and shortstop Jackson Guerrero led the way as Middleton rallied from an early deficit to pull out a 2-1 victory over Sun Prairie East and cap off what was expected to be a record-setting fund-raising day.

The win also helped Middleton put a 4-3 loss to Sun Prairie East on May 13 in the rearview mirror.

SUN PRAIRIE — They didn’t win the conference title last Thursday night. But they didn’t lose it, either.

And that’s the attitude members of Middleton’s softball team are embracing following a 4-2 loss to rival Sun Prairie East, just MHS’ fourth setback of the season and first in Big Eight play.

Middleton could have clinched a share of the league title with a victory. Instead, MHS dropped into a first-place tie with East (both 13-1) with two league games remaining.

“They wanted it more today,” Middleton pitcher Megan Button said. “I don’t think that that’s going to be the outcome at the end of the season. I think that this team really wants it. We just got down really easy on ourselves.

“We are our biggest critics, so finding ways to be able to pick yourself up, go attack and have fun.”