Sports

Middleton girls soccer coach Mary Duffy loves to play a daunting schedule.

The way Duffy sees it, short-term pain eventually means long-term gain.

Last week, the Cardinals went through a murderer’s row and more than held their own.

Middleton toppled Verona, 2-1, and improved to 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

The Cardinals also split a pair of games at the Brookfield East Al Gusho Tournament. Middleton dropped a 3-0 decision to Muskego last Friday, but rebounded with a 3-0 win over Homestead last Saturday.

In the Cardinals’ win over Verona, senior forward Ellen Jesse scored on a penalty kick and sophomore defender Katya Boehnen scored late in the first half as Middleton raced to a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals then held on due to a solid effort by senior keeper Liz McMahon (five saves).

SUN PRAIRIE — Middleton girls softball coach Cherie Hellenbrand knew there would be adversity at some point this spring.

In a two-month season packed with 22 games, there’s plenty of opportunity for difficulty.

But after taking some lumps last week, Hellenbrand remains optimistic her team has what it takes to battle back.

Middleton dropped two of three games and slipped into a third place tie in the Big Eight Conference.

Middleton defeated Janesville Craig, 11-7, last Tuesday. But the Cardinals fell to Sun Prairie, 8-7, last Wednesday and dropped a 3-0 game to Madison La Follette last Thursday.

Middleton is now 11-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big Eight Conference.

“As the season goes on we talk about never getting too high or too low,” Hellenbrand said. “You also really learn about yourself when faced with letdowns. 

Tom Schmitt was quick to admit, he wasn’t happy.

Middleton’s manager had just watched his team defeat Madison La Follette, 4-1, last Friday. But it was hardly an artistic performance.

The Cardinals left 14 runners on base. Middleton benefitted flop some sloppy Lancers defense.

And Schmitt knew if the opponent was a higher quality, his team would have been in trouble.

“No offense to (La Follette), but that’s not a state quality team,” Schmitt said of the Lancers. “We have to take some swings and get after it. We can’t have our (No.) 2, 3 and 4 hitters not producing from where they are in the lineup. There’s a lot of things we have to clean up.”

The good news for Schmitt and his Cardinals is this: although they’re not playing stellar baseball right now, they’re playing mostly winning baseball.

Middleton also split a doubleheader with Marshfield on Saturday, winning the opener 4-1 before dropping the nightcap, 10-4.

The end result isn’t what anyone wanted.

But Middleton’s girls softball team left Verona Monday evening feeling just fine about itself.

The Cardinals fell to Verona, 3-0, in a Big Eight Conference battle of heavyweights. But if the teams meet again in the postseason, Middleton is extremely optimistic the results can be reversed.

“I would definitely welcome that matchup,” Cardinals coach Cherie Hellenbrand said. “We played four games in three days, so we really didn’t have time to prepare for Verona the way we would have liked. If we have time to prepare, I think things could be different.”

Verona, the state’s No. 1 ranked team, improved to 9-1 overall and leads the Big Eight Conference at 8-0. Middleton, which sits in second place in the league at 8-3, is now 10-5 overall.

It was a perfect mid-season test.

And because it went so well, the looming final exams could be terrific, as well.

Middleton’s girls track and field team cruised to a first place finish at last Friday’s Cardinal Relays. Middleton won nine-team event with 169 points, while Sun Prairie (114.5) and Appleton North were second and third, respectively.

“Wow,” Middleton coach Tara Franklin said. “We did set out to put our very best possible relays together and it definitely shows.”

It sure did.

Middleton won 13 of 20 events and had several impressive individual performances.

Cole Jordee threw 35’ 8-1/4” and led Middleton to a first place finish in the shot put relay. Jordee also teamed with Kiara Cruz and Ciara Clay to win the discus relay.

Emily Bergum went 16’ 6-3/4” in the long jump, and teamed with Kayla Bauhs and Maygan Neisius to lead the Cardinals to victory there.

Isaac Mezera must take his cues from his boys track and field team at Middleton High School.

Or vice versa.

Mezera, the Cardinals’ head coach, was like a blur last Friday. Coaching here, reporting scores there, and racing from station to station all night.

His team was equally swift and effective.

Middleton won the high quality, nine-team Cardinal Relays finishing with 142 points. Appleton East was a close second with 138, while Sun Prairie was third (89).

"We appear to be in a good place as a team right now,” Mezera said. “I'm excited that we are on track for our start of the season goal: to build off of last year's success.”

Middleton is certainly in the midst of that. And this meet was no different.

Darby Raffel always saw the potential.

So did Katie Fermanich.

But in recent years, Middleton’s softball players have failed to see what really matters — production.

Until now.

Middleton softball program, mired in mediocrity the past few seasons, continued its reversal of fortune last week.

The Cardinals went a perfect 5-0, outscoring their opponents 48-5 in those games. Middleton pushed its winning streak to six games, improved to 8-3 overall and 8-2 in the Big Eight Conference.

“We had a nice week,” Middleton first-year manager Cherie Hellenbrand said.

The Cardinals stand alone in second place in the league, and will travel to conference-leading Verona (7-0, 7-0) Friday at 5 p.m.

“It feels really good to have our hard work pay off,” said Raffel, a senior outfielder. “I love seeing our team’s potential finally turn into real success.

Middleton’s girls soccer team knows Waukesha West all too well.

The teams met in the state quarterfinals a year ago, with the Wolverines prevailing there.

And they met again last Saturday in the championship of the Middleton Invite. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, West again emerged victorious, this time by a 3-1 count.

That was the only blemish on an otherwise terrific week for the Cardinals.

Middleton also defeated Eau Claire Memorial, 2-0, and Bay Port, 5-1, at its own invite. The Cardinals also toppled Beloit Memorial, 7-0, last Tuesday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Waukesha West 3, Middleton 1 — The Wolverines scored a pair of second half goals and rallied past the Cardinals.

“We were looking forward to this match-up and hoped it would play out,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “Waukesha West is a great team to play.  They have some quality stars to their team.”

The weather has made life tricky.

Rounds have been at a premium. And when Middleton’s boys golfers have hit the links, they’ve typically been greeted with heavy winds and storms.

But the Cardinals aren’t just surviving. They’re thriving.

Middleton won the 23-team WPGA Invitational at Maple Bluff Country Club last Monday. The Cardinals also won a Big Eight Conference triangular held at Yahara Hills Golf Course last Tuesday, then finished fourth at the 17-team Waunakee Invite held at The Meadows of Sixmile Creek last Saturday.

“I’m very happy,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said of the Cardinals’ start. “The weather has been bad for everyone, but we’re doing pretty well in it.”

That’s for sure.

Middleton posted a team score of 305 to win the WPGA Invite. That was 13 strokes better than runner-up Lodi.

Four years ago, Middleton’s boys track and field coach Isaac Mezera was looking to add another event to his schedule.

He decided the Watertown Invitational would be a good fit, and today, that move appears to be pure genius.

The Cardinals went to this event last Friday and won the championship for a fourth straight year.

Middleton won the title with 150 points, while Mount Horeb finished with 96. Neenah (86.5), Baraboo (63.5) and Waunakee (58) rounded out the top five.

Watertown was sixth (52.5), followed by Janesville Craig (45.5), Waukesha Catholic Memorial (43), Madison Memorial (43), Sugar River (37) and Lakeside Lutheran (27).