Sports

The first Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll of the season is out.

And Middleton’s boys golfers are ranked No. 2 in the state.

The way the Cardinals have started the season, they just might be ranked too low.

Middleton shot a blistering 7-over-par, 295 team score and rolled to an easy win at the Madison West Triangular held at Odana Hills last Tuesday.

The Cardinals followed that by winning the 21-team Wisconsin PGA High School Invitational held at Maple Bluff Country Club Monday.

“Everyone contributed, whether it was that birdie putt or the bogey putt that avoided the double,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said of his team’s two wins. “It goes to show that every stroke is important to us as a team.”

The Cardinals played sizzling golf and rolled at the Madison West Triangular. Middleton’s 295 gave it a comfortable victory over Madison West (326) and Janesville Craig (384).

Middleton’s girls softball team didn’t like how its season began.

So the Cardinals did something about it over the past week.

Middleton won four of its five games, including all four Big Eight Conference games it played. The Cardinals, who were routed in their season-opener at Madison East, improved to 4-1 in the league and 4-2 overall.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s week:

• Middleton 7, Sun Prairie 6 — Host Middleton scored once in the bottom of the seventh to edge a terrific Sun Prairie team last Tuesday

With two outs in the seventh, Hanna Fisher singled to center off Alaya Lane. Pinch-hitter Amber Maas drew a walk and Ashley Bindl was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Lane threw a wild pitch on an 0-1 count to Lauren Banke and Fisher scored the winning run.

Middleton overcame an early 3-0 deficit to post the impressive win.

It was the kind of start they hoped for.

And really, after a rough 2015, it was the kind of start they needed.

Middleton’s baseball team raced to a 4-0 start behind three wins last week. The Cardinals fell to Sun Prairie last Saturday, but overall, were thrilled with their fast start.

“We played well and we’ve got to keep growing,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “We need to keep our confidence high.”

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s three wins last week.

• Middleton 7, Madison La Follette 2 — Adam Nutting allowed just two hits and struck out nine in four stellar innings to earn the win last Thursday. Brennan Schmitt pitched two scoreless innings, then Justin Gurtner worked the seventh.

Alec Morrison had two RBI to lead the offense, while Drew Finley-Haag, Ivan Monreal and Schmitt also had RBI.

There’s an old baseball saying that it’s not how hard you hit it, but where you hit it.

That saying proved true and was the difference when Middleton’s baseball team met rival Sun Prairie in a Big Eight Conference battle in Middleton last Saturday afternoon.

With the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game in the sixth inning, Middleton’s Drew Finley Haag drilled a ball to centerfield that was caught. An inning later, Sun Prairie’s Justus Benson reached on an infield blooper, which helped Sun Prairie pull off a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

“Drew hit that one on the screws,” Middleton coach Tom Schmitt said. “We talk about it all the time. That’s baseball when it doesn’t fall when you hit it the best.

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that’s why you have the defense out there. You know if you get that one to fall it’s absolutely a different game, but it didn’t happen for us today in that respect.”

Mary Duffy might not have cared much for the micro.

The macro? That’s something Duffy was loving.

Duffy, Middleton’s girls soccer coach, brought her team to the star-studded Girls High School Invitational just outside of Wisconsin Dells last weekend. The Cardinals tied Germantown, 3-3, last Friday and lost to D.C. Everest, 3-2, last Saturday.

But the results were almost secondary.

Twenty-three elite programs from Wisconsin and one from Illinois took part in the two-day tournament. And afterwards, Duffy & Co. were thrilled to have faced top competition that can help them in the weeks ahead.

“While everyone loves to win, we learned lots this weekend,” Duffy said. “It was a wonderfully productive weekend: challenging, exciting, tough. Every game this weekend led us to more answers to work on solving this year’s puzzle.”

It’s a year of great expectations.

A season of tremendous hope.
And Middleton’s boys golf team showed last Saturday it’s ready to live up to the hype.

The Cardinals opened their season with an impressive performance at the 17-team Wisconsin Dells Invitational last Saturday.

Middleton finished in second place at 308, two shots behind White Bear Lake (Minn.). Madison Memorial (311), Forest Lake, Mn. (312) and Waunakee (315) rounded out the top five. The first day of the tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Middleton — like every other team during this brutal spring — had struggled to get in practice rounds. But the Cardinals gave a solid performance on a sunny, 40-degree day that felt almost balmy.

“That was the first time we played 18 (holes) all year,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “The kids haven’t walked 18 and they haven’t had to concentrate for four-plus hours.

They received a one-hitter from their ace.

They had a terrific day at the plate, with 12 total hits, including three of the extra base variety.

And their defense was solid throughout.

Middleton’s baseball team kicked off its season in style last Wednesday, rolling past host Janesville Parker, 5-1.

“The guys played well, which was good to see,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “We were pretty good in all areas.”

The Cardinals had a rough 2015, in which they went just 10-16. So Schmitt and his team wanted nothing more than to start fast in 2016.
Middleton did that by excelling in every area.

Senior Alec Morrison was sensational on the mound, allowing just one run and one hit in six innings. Morrison struck out nine, walked two and faced just 19 batters — one over the minimum.

Last Wednesday, Big Eight Conference athletic directors voted that outdoor events wouldn’t be played if the wind chill is 35 degrees, or colder, two hours before the game or up to two hours after the start time.

That rule came 24 hours too late for Middleton’s girls softball team.

The Cardinals dropped their season-opener, 12-1, at Madison East last Tuesday in a game played with wind chills hovering around 25 degrees and with periodic rain and sleet. The game was stopped after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

“No excuses,” said Middleton first-year manager Perry Hibner, who dropped his first game. “East performed well and we didn’t.

“We struggled in every area. We didn't throw many strikes, we weren't clean in the field and we didn't hit the ball well. About the only highlight was no one was injured getting on or off the bus.”

Middleton actually took a 1-0 lead after ½-inning.

There’s a long-standing saying that deadlines spur action.

For Brady Thomas, Emmet Herb and Joey Levin, their deadline has arrived. Now, Middleton’s senior golfers are expecting their finest action yet.

The Cardinals’ terrific trio has been part of the varsity lineup since their freshman seasons. In that time, they’ve helped Middleton finish fourth at state in 2014 and fifth in 2015.

Now, with the end in sight, Herb, Levin and Thomas all want to leave on a high note.

“This is our last go at that state championship,” said Thomas, whose team begins its season Friday at the Wisconsin Dells Invite. “We have had our chances the last two years at winning and failed.

“I think this year it’s our turn to really take over because it’s our last year and we all have worked really hard to come out on top in the end. I'm extremely excited to work our way to (University) Ridge and then get the job done there.”

Levin agreed.

Rankings?

What rankings?

That was Mary Duffy’s reaction when told her Middleton girls soccer team began the year ranked No. 4 in the first Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll of the season.

“I had no idea,” Duffy said of the preseason rankings. “That is very nice that people voted for us. I think our strong runs in the postseason contribute to this ranking, and while I think Middleton will be good and we have the squad to make a strong run during postseason, this is still a new year with different kinks to work out. I do not put much stock in pre-season rankings, nor do I during the season.”

That seems wise, as the rankings themselves — especially in April — are worth less than the paper they’re printed on.

But people clearly think highly of Middleton once again this season, and it’s easy to see why.