Leader-Telegram Sports Extra

We've moved!

2008-06-24T16:17:00.002-05:00

To the faithful readers of Leader-Telegram Sports Extra (all 12 of you) —

We have packed our bags and headed home. The Leader-Telegram sports blog will now be hosted on the Leader-Telegram's Web site. So change your bookmarks, call your friends and tell the kids.

The new blog can be found here: http://www.leadertelegram.com/blogs/blogs.asp?id=4

But wait, there's more. In the first of what should be many spin-offs of the ever-popular main sports blog, Joe Ziemer and I have started an Express blog to bring you all the breaking news concerning Eau Claire's Northwoods League baseball team.

That blog can be found here: http://www.leadertelegram.com/blogs/blogs.asp?id=5

Unfortunately, that means that there won't be any new posts to this particular blog. Please go to the blogs at the L-T site from now on.

- John Casper Jr.

Wendt signs with Predators

2008-06-19T16:38:00.010-05:00

Former UW-Stout standout wide receiver Jesse Wendt, who last April signed a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins, has signed with the Chippewa Valley Predators of the Northern Elite Football League, Predators offensive coordinator Matt Risen said Thursday.

Wendt, a former Chetek star who set a state single-game record with 419 rushing yards as a senior with the Bulldogs during the 1998-99 season, will play in the Predators' game Saturday against the Superior Stampede. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Carson Park.

-Justin Harings

Express vs. Loggers

2008-06-16T17:42:00.003-05:00

A few pregame notes for tonight's game between the Eau Claire Express and La Crosse Loggers:

* Tonight’s starter, Cal Poly right-hander D.J. Mauldin, arrived in town earlier in the day.

“We’ll see what he can bring to the table and go from there,” manager Dale Varsho said.

* Brooks Pinckard (groin) and Pat Colwell (shoulder) are available again.

* Varsho said the Chicago Cubs will be in Madison on Wednesday to watch David Cales pitch. That outing likely will determine whether or not the Cubs sign Cales, who they drafted in the 24th round earlier this month.

“They need to see him throw and then they’ll decide,” Varsho said.

* Right-hander Chris Odegaard and the Minnesota Twins still are negotiating.

* After the game, "Little Big League" will be shown on a portable screen in the outfield.

- Joe Ziemer

Injury bug biting Express

2008-06-12T15:34:00.005-05:00

First there were the draft defections. Now it's injuries.

The already short-handed Eau Claire Express now are even more depleted. Third baseman D.J. Anderson is out two weeks with bicep tendonitis. Outfielders Pat Colwell (shoulder) and Brooks Pinckard (groin)will not play tonight against La Crosse. The extent of their injuries still is unknown.

That makes for a pretty depleted Eau Claire outfield, which is already without Erik Knutson. He'll miss three to six weeks with a sprained ankle. The only healthy outfielders are Kole Calhoun and Robbie Knight.

So, catcher Kyle Holloway very well could start in the outfield tonight. Holloway took fly balls in right field before batting practice.

On another note, I'm still waiting to hear back from Northwoods League president Dick Radatz Jr. on the status of Tuesday night's Express loss to Wisconsin. The Woodchucks used an ineligible player in right fielder Troy Frazier, who should have been suspended for the game after being ejected Monday night. Wisconsin won the game, 4-3, but there's a good case to be made that Eau Claire should win by forfeit.

- Joe Ziemer

Live updates: Barron vs. West De Pere

2008-06-11T18:39:00.013-05:00

Looks like the rain is going to hold off for this one. Barron will go with superstar Brad Hallberg as its starting pitcher. West De Pere counters with Garrett Scray. In a first for Eau Claire area teams at this year's state tournament, Barron is the home team. Maybe that will help the Bears avoid the one-and-done fate that sent Eau Claire Memorial and Bruce home.

Top of the first inning: Nick Pierre reached on an error by the second baseman. Andy Pichler reached on a bunt single. Brent Kakwitch was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brent Jansen struck out looking. Barron shortstop Brett Mueller nearly turned an inning-ending double play but bobbled a soft line drive from West De Pere's Travis Romenesko and everyone was safe. Pierre scored. Tony Cantalupo grounded out to the pitcher Hallberg, who initiated the always entertaining 1-2-3 double play. West De Pere grabbed a 1-0 lead, but it could have been much, much more considering the circumstances.

Bottom of the first: Josh Davidson reached on an error by the shortstop. Shay Herrman bunted him over to second. Brad Hallberg worked a 2-0 count before West De Pere intentionally walked him. Andrew Sloan grounded out to third, moving the runners up a bag. Brandon Johns bounced out to second.

I originally criticized the intentional walk of Hallberg, but shows how much I know. West De Pere leads, 1-0, after the first.

Top of the second: Garret Scray reached on an error by the shortstop and was replaced by a courtesy runner of unknown idenity. David Schneider bunted him over to second. Jake Piontek bounced out to the pitcher. Nick Pierre bounced out to the pitcher again. That's the third time Hallberg has forced a ground ball right back to him. He looks sharp.

Bottom of the second: Brett Mueller struck out looking. Jake Kittleson grounded out to first. Trevor Severson grounded out to short.

At the end of two, West De Pere leads, 1-0.

Top of the third: Andy Pichler led off with an infield single. Brent Kakwitch was hit by a pitch — again. Brent Jansen reached on a fielder's choice as Pichler was retired at third. Travis Romenesko walked and was replaced by courtesy runner Derek Willems. Tony Cantalupo flied to left and Kakwitch wisely did not try to tag. Garret Scray reached on an error by the second baseman, scoring Kakwitch. David Schneider singled down the left-field line to score Jansen and Willems. Jake Piontek grounded out to short.

Big inning for West De Pere, and the Phantoms have taken a 4-0 lead.

Bottom of the third: Justin Balts fouled out to first. Josh Davidson lined out to third. Shay Herrman struck out looking. Barron needs something to go its way, fast.

Top of the fourth: Nick Pierre was retired on a nice play by Hallberg, who chased down a weak dribbler and shoveled it to first with his glove. Andy Pichler grounded out to short. The throw was high but first baseman Andrew Sloan got the tag down. Brent Kakwitch flied out to center.

Bottom of the fourth: Brad Hallberg led off with a double, Barron's first hit of the game. Andrew Sloan grounded to first, moving the runner up a base. Brandon Johns struck out looking. Brent Mueller struck out swinging, leaving Hallberg at third.

West De Pere leads, 4-0.

Top of the fifth: Jared Hillbert replaced Hallberg at pitcher. Hallberg went to shortstop. Brent Jansen popped out to second. Travis Romenesko was hit by a pitch. Tony Cantalupo grounded out to second. Garret Scray was hit by a pitch. David Schneider popped out to second.

Bottom of the fifth: Jake Kittleson led off with a single. Trevor Severson struck out. Justin Balts reached on a fielder's choice. Josh Davidson grounded out to third.

Top of the sixth: Jake Piontek singled and stole second. Nick Pierre walked. The runners moved up a base when Barron tried to pick Piontek off second. Andy Pichler's grounder to second scored Piontek. Brent Kakwitch grounded out to third. Brent Jansen singled, scoring Pierre.

Bottom of the sixth: Shay Herrman flied out to left. Brad Hallberg grounded out to short. Andrew Sloan grounded out to third.

Top of the seventh: Tony Cantalupo flied to right. Garret Scray flied to right. David Schneider walked, but was caught stealing second.

Bottom of the seventh: Jacob Schauf pinch-hit for Brandon Johns and led off with a single. Lance Knutson pinch-hit for Brett Mueller and struck out. Jake Kittleson singled. Pinch hitter Derek Borgen struck out. Justin Balts grounded out to second to end the game.

Barron loses, 6-0, making it 0-for-3 for northwestern Wisconsin teams at the state tournament. Check tomorrow's Leader-Telegram for more.

- John Casper Jr.

Live updates: Bruce vs. Rosholt

2008-06-11T07:55:00.015-05:00

Good morning. And I do mean morning. We're a few minutes shy of 8 a.m. at Fox Cities Stadium, and in a few minutes, Bruce is about to play its first state tournament game against Rosholt.

There's quite the contingent from Bruce. While doing some research ealier this week, I discovered that there was a fan bus that was going to leave Bruce at 3:30 a.m. for this game. Whether or not that actually happened, I'm not sure. But if it did, that's impressive.

Come back here for inning-by-inning updates.

Top of the first: Kurt Johnson swung at the first pitch, flying out to center field. David Hegeholz singled to center. Kyle Wallace struck out, Hegeholz stole second. Ryan Gerber struck out looking.

Bottom of the first: Charlie Bembenek walked. Mitch Zdroik walked. Kyle McHugh lined to short, but Hegeholz overthrew second baseman Cody Stewart in an attempt to double off Bembenek and the runners advanced a base. Styles Carlson struck out swinging. Austin Klesmith reached on another error by Hegeholz which allowed both runners to score. Kyle Zdroik struck out looking.

It definitely wasn't the inning Bruce wanted. The errors were costly, but Bruce pitcher Kyle Wallace put himself in that position by walking the first two batters. Rosholt leads, 2-0.

Top of the second: Kevin Witkiewicz struck out swinging. Casey Gudis singled to right. Damon Petras flied out to center. Gudis stole second. Ryan Wallace struck out swinging.

Bottom of the second: Kyle Borski grounded out to the pitcher. Dan Osowski walked. Osowski's courtesy runner advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shawn Skibba flied out to center. Bembenek grounded out to short.

After throwing 32 pitches in the first inning, Wallace was much more efficient in the second, only throwing 15. Rosholt leads, 2-0.

Top of the third: Cody Stewart popped out to first base. Kurt Johnson walked. Johnson advanced to second on a balk by Styles Carlson, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. David Hegeholz struck out swinging. Johnson scored on a passed ball. Kyle Wallace singled to left. Wallace stole second. Ryan Gerber flew out to center. Bruce now trails, 2-1.

Bottom of the third: Mitch Zdroik walked. Kyle McHugh homered to left, giving Rosholt a 4-1 lead. Styles Carson was hit by a pitch and replaced by courtesy runner Jeff Singer. Singer advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kurt Johnson came in relief of Kyle Wallace, who moved to first. Singer advanced to third on a passed ball. Klesmith walked. Kyle Zdroik struck out looking. Johnson got out of the inning with a 6-4-3 double play. Bruce has got to start throwing more strikes. Wallace didn't have his best stuff today for whatever reason, and was charged with five walks. All but one of Rosholt's runs initially reached base via the walk.

Rosholt leads, 4-1.

Top of the fourth: Kevin Witkiewicz grounded out tos econd. Casey Gudis walked. Damon Petras walked. Gudis took third on a wild pitch. Petras stole second without a throw. Ryan Wallace popped out to first. Cody Stewart struck out swinging. Bruce may want that inning back.

Bottom of the fourth: Shawn Skibba grounded out to second. Charlie Bembenek singled to right on a ball the Bruce rightfielder lost in the sky. Bembenek stole second. Mitch Zdroik lined out to first. Kyle McHugh was intentionally walked. Styles Carson fouled out to third.

Rosholt still leads, 4-1.

Top of the fifth: Kurt Johnson walked. Johnson stole second. David Hegeholz walked. Austin Klesmith came in to pitch for Styles Carlson, who replaced Klesmith in right field. Johnson stole third when Klesmith wasn't paying attention. Hegeholz stole second. Kyle Wallace struck out swinging. Ryan Gerber popped out to third. Kevin Witkiewicz singled to left, scoring Johnson. He advanced to second on the throw home. Casey Gudis beat out an infield single to score Hegeholz. The throw to first was high, and Witkiewicz scored while Gudis advanced to second. Damon Petras flied out to center.

Big, big inning for Bruce, which finally came through with runners in scoring position. We're all tied at 4.

Bottom of the fifth: Austin Klesmith singled to center. Kyle Zdroik tried to sacrifice Klesmith to second, but Kurt Johnson fielded the bunt and whirled around to force out Klesmith. Kyle Borski singled to right. Dan Osowski reached on a fielder's choice. Shawn Skibba reached on an infield single and Borski never stopped running, scoring from second. Charlie Bembenek flied out to deep center.

Bruce was one strike away from keeping the score tied, but Kurt Johnson did a good job of keeping his composure and getting out of the inning without further damage. Rosholt leads, 5-4, but this game is far from over.

Top of the sixth: Ryan Wallace was hit by a pitch and promptly stole second. It was the seventh stolen base of the game for Bruce. Pinch hitter Aaron Ewert tried to lay down a bunt but was unsuccesful. He struck out swining, but the ball was in the dirt and Wallace took third. Kurt Johnson bounced back to the pitcher, who looked Wallace back to third before throwing to first. David Hegeholz flied out to right, stranding Wallace at third.

Rosholt still leads, 5-4. Bruce is down to its final at-bat.

Bottom of the sixth: Mitch Zdroik grounded out to second. Kyle McHugh singled to left. Styles Carson walked. Austin Klesmith doubled to left, scoring Zdroik. David Hegeholz came in from short to relieve Kurt Johnson, who replaced Hegeholz at shortstop. Kyle Zdroik's suicide squeeze scored Carlson. Kyle Borski walked. Dan Osowski struck out.

Rosholt added two very important insurance runs and leads, 7-4, heading into the seventh.

Top of the seventh: Kyle Wallace was hit by a pitch. Ryan Gerber reached on an error. Kevin Witkiewicz singled to load the bases. Styles Carlson, the starting pitcher, returned to the mound. Casey Gudis reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Kyle Wallace. Witkiewicz was forced out at second. Gudis stole second. Damon Petras walked. Ryan Wallace reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Gerber. Cody Stewart struck out to end the game with the tying run on third.

Rosholt wins, 7-6. Check for the story in tomorrow's Leader-Telegram.

- John Casper Jr.

Express fall again.

2008-06-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

The Express’ frustrations continued in the abbreviated second game of Tuesday's hybrid doubleheader, which was of the seven-inning variety. A mistake filled top of the sixth allowed the Woodchucks to score three runs and grab a 4-3 win.

The Express led 3-1 heading into the sixth, but a walk, a hit batter, a passed ball, a wild pitch and back-to-back RBI singles by Bobby Pritchett and Kyle Bubak wiped that advantage away.

Bubak slapped an opposite-field single to left field to drive in Pritchett with the go-ahead run. That came off Brooks Pinckard, who relieved starter Robbie Kilcrease after Kilcrease walked Chris Slater with two outs and then hit Chris Wade.

After a passed ball by catcher Braden Degamo, Pritchett hit an RBI single and then Pinckard uncorked a wild pitch to tie the game. Then came Bubak’s go-ahead single.
Aaron Varnum pitched the seventh for his second save of the day and his third in two days. Pinckard was picked off first base to end the game.

The Express had taken a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth on Pinckard’s RBI single and Robbie Knight’s run-scoring double.

- Joe Ziemer

More on Memorial

2008-06-10T20:57:00.001-05:00

Baseball can be a harsh game sometimes.

Eau Claire Memorial found that out the hard way at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.

Kenosha Bradford ended the Abes’ season in the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals behind a strong outing from pitcher Sam Schissel. The Red Devils won, 6-2.

“We pounded him early, but we just couldn’t hold them down,” Memorial coach Casey Eckardt said. “We’re sad it had to come to an end.”

Check for the game story at www.leadertelegram.com. Here’s a few tid bits that didn’t make it in:

*With Schissel dominating on the mound after the second inning, Memorial needed to play flawless defense. And while the Abes were only charged with two errors, there were several mental mistakes that kept innings alive for the Red Devils, who constantly kept the pressure on Memorial by putting the ball in play.

“We dodged bullets and dodged bullets and dodged bullets,” Eckardt said. “Sometimes that can come back and bite you.”

*This game was a rematch of the 1964 state championship game, won by Memorial. Bradford hadn’t been back since until this season. In 1964 there was only one Kenosha high school, which became Bradford.

*Eckardt made special mention of the seniors that may not get all the headlines — Cory Munden, John Stang, Jordan Walling and Brad Ruesch.

“They were a fun group at practice,” Eckardt said. “They brought energy every day and had a great attitude every day. They knew their role and were always ready, whether they were needed to pinch-hit or pinch-run. In today’s society, there are kids that if they aren’t starting or playing all the time, they go in the tank psychologically. From the best player down all the way to the 18th, they were all great team players.”

- John Casper Jr.

Express lose game one

2008-06-10T20:50:00.002-05:00

The Eau Claire Express waited about two weeks for to finish their season opener.
After all that waiting, what they got was missed opportunities and some bad luck for right-hander Drew Kendrick.

With his offense unable to cash in on some early chances, Kendrick left the game injured and took a tough-luck loss as the Express fell to the Wisconsin Woodchucks, 6-2, on Tuesday at Carson Park. That concluded the suspended Northwoods League season opener that originally began May 29.

“We couldn’t execute again,” Express manager Dale Varsho said. “We have a hard time executing with runners in scoring position. We have to start playing good baseball again. We haven’t been playing good baseball for three days now.”

The loss, the first game of a hybrid doubleheader, dropped Eau Claire (4-7) five game behind division-leading Wisconsin (9-2) in the South Division first-half standings. Check back for results of the second game, which will be of the seven-innings variety.

The Express began play Tuesday trailing 2-0 in the middle of the fourth inning. They had plenty of chances early to rough up Woodchucks left-hander Terrance Jackson, who allowed seven baserunners in his three innings of work.

But the Express left runners at third base in the fourth and fifth innings and managed only an RBI infield single by David Cales in the fourth. Jackson, who took over for opening day starter Zac Moore, was wild high early. But the Express didn’t make Jackson fully pay.

“It’s disappointing,” Varsho said. “We just have to start playing good baseball and try to score some runs. They’re giving us runs. All we have to do is hit a groundball and we’re not getting runs. We just have to start playing good baseball and putting the ball in play.”

The Express tied the game at 2 in the seventh inning when an errant pickoff throw by reliever Brad Riddle allowed Robbie Knight to score.
Kendrick, meanwhile, was turning in a stellar long relief outing in what essentially was a start. He took over for Shane Dyer, who started on opening day and allowed two runs. Dyer is no longer with the Express, having signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Rays last week.

Kendrick threw three 1-2-3 innings Tuesday before hitting a rather unfortunate patch in the eighth.

Carson Vitale began the inning with a chopper up the middle that snuck into the outfield. Kendrick then got Brent Weaver to hit what could have been a double-play ball to D.J. Anderson at third base. But Anderson bobbled the ball and everyone was safe.

After Bobby Pritchett’s sacrifice bunt, Troy Frazier drove in the go-ahead run with a single through the drawn-in infield.
Kendrick then left the game with what Varsho said was a groin injury.

“Who knows how serious,” Varsho said, “but I’m sure we’ll get a diagnosis soon and find out where we’re at.”

Kendrick was replaced by Joe Bonfe, who gave up an RBI double by Chris Wade and a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Jeremy Barnes. That made the score 5-2.

Kendrick was charged with three runs – one earned – on two hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five in 3 1/3 innings but took the loss.
Weaver added an insurance run for the Woodchucks with an RBI double in the ninth inning.

Notes
Several lineup changes were made prior to the conclusion of the game. The Woodchucks, who were short-handed for the opener and had to use three pitchers in the field, made three changes. Pitcher Terrance Jackson, who took over for Zac Moore, still had to bat for himself because Wisconsin forfeited the designated hitter in the opener. The Express made two lineup changes, both out of necessity. Robbie Knight replaced the injured Erik Knutson (sprained ankle) in center field, and Landis Ware took over for Ronnie Olson at shortstop. Olson is no longer with the team after his 10-day contract expired. … Woodchucks left fielder Troy Frazier played in the first game but was ineligible for the second game. Frazier was ejected from Monday’s game so he was suspended for Tuesday’s regularly scheduled game. Because the first game technically was played May 29, he was eligible to play in that game.

- Joe Ziemer

More on Cales and Odegaard

2008-06-10T18:19:00.001-05:00

David Cales is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan. But he’s not complaining about drafted by the other Chicago team, the Cubs.

“You know what, it’s just a privilege to get picked by anybody,” Cales said. “I don’t have any disgruntles. I’m glad I am a Cubbie. I’ll still hold a soft spot for the White Sox, that’s for sure.”

Cales, a first baseman/reliever for the Eau Claire Express, was taken by the Cubs in the 24th round of last week’s Major League Baseball draft. He’s batting .240 with five RBIs and has shown a good glove in the field. But Cales’ professional future is as a reliever. The righty closer throws in the high 80s to low 90s and has a good slider. This season he has no record, a perfect 0.00 ERA and one save in 3 2/3 innings. Cales hasn’t pitched since a three-inning outing last Monday against Battle Creek at Carson Park. That outing – which Cales said was one of the longest he’s thrown – happened to take place with Cubs representatives in attendance.

“Three innings is a lot for me,” Cales said. “I’m usually a one-to-two (innings) guy.”

Cales will have another chance to impress the Cubs – and make a case for them to sign him – Thursday.

Chris Odegaard would like to sign with his hometown Minnesota Twins. But he doesn’t have to.

The Glencoe, Minn., native was a 23rd-round draft pick of the Twins last week, but he has some leverage in negotiations. He’ll be a redshirt junior next season, so he has two more opportunities to test his luck in the draft. Should he return to Minnesota State-Mankato, he’d also have the chance to play with his younger brother, Matt.

“The team’s going to be pretty good next year and my brother’s going to be there. So it will be pretty fun if it doesn’t happen this year to just go back and play again.”
Odegaard is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts this summer. He’s struck out 17 batters in 11 innings, but also has issued a somewhat-troubling 12 walks. Like Cales, he’ll be trying to showcase his arm Thursday with the Twins in attendance.

“My arm’s feeling good, but the walks are up, obviously,” Odegaard said. “That’s my biggest thing right now, is the walks.”

- Joe Ziemer

Express notes: Bench getting thin

2008-06-10T17:55:00.002-05:00

At the beginning the season, the Eau Claire Express had one of the Northwoods League’s best-stocked benches.

Suddenly, the Express are a little thin.

The most recent round of defections has the roster down to 26 players.
Right-hander Shane Dyer has left the team after signing with Tampa Bay Rays. Righties Anthony Bass and Brad McAtee will not be reporting after opting to sign with the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies, respectively. And San Diego State shortstop Brett Tanos no longer will be joining the team.

Also gone are Winona State (Minn.) infielder Ronnie Olson and left-hander Ross Hellenbrand, whose 10-day contracts expired.

Because of a new NWL rule this season, the Express cannot add to the roster until they have fewer than 26 players. Last season teams had a 26-man active roster with four inactive spots.

“I think it’s fair,” Express manager Dale Varsho said of the rule change. “It’s something you knew going into the season. I played my cards with the draft guys. I was hoping that would be more of a draft-and-follow than just sign right away. That’s just the way it bounces I guess.”

Varsho isn’t completely out of the woods either. The statuses of St. Xavier (Ill.) first baseman/reliever David Cales and Minnesota State-Mankato right-handed starter Chris Odegaard still are up in the air. Odegaard was a 23rd-round pick of the Minnesota Twins, and Cales was drafted in the 24th by the Chicago Cubs.

“We’re just in negations,” said Odegaard, who’s 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts this summer. “We’re just talking, trying to get close to what each side thinks is a reasonable price.”

Thursday’s home game against the La Crosse Loggers will be an important one for Cales and Odegaard. Varsho said the Twins and Cubs will have representatives on hand and both players will pitch.

“It’s not really too much pressure,” Cales said. “They’ve pretty much got me, so it’s up to them. It’s nice definitely to have someone come up and watch you.”

Cal Poly right-hander D.J. Mauldin also was drafted – in the 48th round by the Seattle Mariners – but Varsho anticipates Mauldin reporting to Eau Claire. Mauldin is only a sophomore, so he can return to school and hope to be picked higher next summer.

Reinforcements
The Express did get a boost from the arrival of four players since the last homestand. Baylor right-hander Wade Mackey, Elon (N.C.) left-hander J.D. Reichenbach, Illinois-Chicago right-hander Adam Worthington and San Diego State outfielder/infielder Pat Colwell are now with the team.

Cal Poly outfielder Ryan Lee also could join the team Friday.

Varsho said Worthington likely will start Friday or Saturday. As things stand now, that would give the team a six-man starting rotation of Mackey, Worthington, Odegaard, Nebraska-Omaha lefty Ryan Hines, Texas Tech lefty Robbie Kilcrease and Reichenbach.

If Mauldin joins the team, he would replace one of those six in the rotation.

“Our rotation’s OK,” Varsho said. “Once Mauldin comes, it’ll be pretty solid.”

Knutson out
Yavapai College (Ariz.) outfielder Erik Knutson will be out three to six weeks with a sprained ankle. Knuton, who is ninth in the Northwoods League with a .407 batting average, was injured Saturday night in Battle Creek.

Knutson went home to Rochester, Minn., to have his ankle checked out.

“Hopefully, it will get better but right now they say at least three to six,” Varsho said. “That’s not going to help our situation.”

Bonfe transferring
Infielder/pitcher Joe Bonfe is looking for a new school after seeing very little playing time at Creighton this season.

Bonfe said he probably will tranfer to Sierra College, a community college in Sacramento. There he will be able to see more action in the field.

- Joe Ziemer

Live updates: Eau Claire Memorial vs. Kenosha Bradford

2008-06-10T15:31:00.015-05:00

Looks like we're going to get underway pretty soon. Things seem to be moving about an hour behind schedule, which isn't too bad considering the first game of the day lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes. The way they pack the schedule here at the WIAA baseball state tournament, anything other than a "fast" game backs up the schedule.

The grounds crew is watering the field as I type. First pitch should be about 20-25 minutes away. Check back for updates, which I'll post below.

Memorial will be the away team. Bradford super southpaw Sam Schissel will take the mound for the Red Devils, who have by far the best uniforms of anyone I've seen this year. Classic white with deep red numbers and lettering. Memorial will go with Ben Kincaid.

Top of the first: Jefferson Dahl strikes out swinging. Ben Kincaid walked. Ben Sebesta drilled what appeared to be a hanging curveball off the light post in left-center field, giving the Abes a 2-0 lead. Will Fadness walked. David Donnellan struck out looking. Joe Ackerman bounced out to second. In all, a good start for the Abes, although it had the makings of a big inning. Schissel, by all accounts, has a bit of a temper on the mound and is prone to the big inning if his emotions get the best of him. But the Minnesota-bound lefty composed himself after the walk to Fadness.

Bottom of the first: Matt Lewer singled to right. John Atkins struck out swinging. Sam Schissel singled to right, sending Lewer to third. Kincaid picked out courtesy runner Dustin Proud, who was in for Schissel. Matt Richer struck out swinging. Great job by Kincaid of working out of trouble.

At the end of one, Memorial leads, 2-0.

Top of the second: Brady Sand led off with a double down the left-field line. Tyler Sparger struck out swinging. Cory Munden struck out swinging. Sand stole third. Dahl just missed what would have been a triple down the right-field line by a few inches before grounding out to second to end the inning. Memorial hopes that not getting in Sand doesn't come back to haunt them.

Bottom of the second: Pete Djurickovic grounded out to the pitcher. Eric Corrao singled to right. Matt Chwala walked. Nick Pinnola sacrificed the runners up a base. Brenden Schulz lined out to center as Donnellan made a nice diving catch to end the inning.

At the end of two, Memorial leads, 2-0.

Top of the third: Kincaid popped out to the first baseman. Sebesta made good contact again, but got a bit underneath a fastball and flied out to center. Fadness grounded out to third.

Bottom of the third: Lewer hit one all of five feet but reached first and advanced to second on an error by the catcher Fadness. Atkins walked. Schissel reached on a fielder's choice, Atkins was forced out at second as Lewer advanced to third. Richer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Djuickovic struck out. Corrao reached on an infield single, scoring Lewer. Sebesta stopped the ball from getting into the outfield, momentarily saving a run. But Kincaid walked Chwala and Schissel's courtesy runner scored to tie the game at 2. Pinnola struck out looking. Bradford finally took advantage of an opportunity.

At the end of three, the game is tied, 2-2.

Top of the fourth: Donnellan struck out. Ackerman was retired when his bunted ball hit him when he was out of the box. Sand lined out to left field. This game may be turning Bradford's way.

Bottom of the fourth: Schulz walked. Lewer reached on a bunt single. Atkins popped out to third trying to bunt. Schissel lined out to center. Richer walked. Djurickovic struck out.

End of four, still tied at 2.

Top of the fifth: Sparger struck out. Munden struck out. Dahl reached on an error by the second baseman and advanced to second. Kincaid lined out to right. Before Dahl reached, Schissel retired 12 straight.

Bottom of the fifth: Corrao was hit by a pitch. Chwala pulled back on a bunt attempt and lifted one to center for a base hit. Pinnola sacrificed the runners upa base. Corrao scored on a sacrifice fly by Schulz. Lewer singled to score Chwala. Atkins bounced to short, forcing out Lewer.

After five, Bradford moves in front, 4-2.

Top of the sixth: Sebesta grounded out to short. Fadness flied out to right. Donnellan grounded out to third. The Abes have three outs remaining on their season, and they are going to have to get it done with the bottom of their lineup.

Bottom of the sixth: Sand is in to pitch for Kincaid, who battled through his five innings. Schissel was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Richer grounded out to second. Djurickovic singled to left. Corrao singled to center, Djurickovic advanced to third. Djurickovic scored on a delayed double steal. Chwala had an infield single and took second on a throwing error. Corrao scored. Chwala was picked off second base.

After six, Bradford leads, 6-2. The Abes need to score four times off a pitcher that hasn't given up a hit since the second inning.

Top of the seventh: Ackerman bounced out to second. Sand grounded out to third. Sparger singled to left. Pinch hitter Will Sanders walked. Dahl flied out to left.

Memorial, the top-ranked team in the state, ends its season at 22-1. Bradford adavnces to play Wausau West later tonight.

Check back tonight for a bit more on the quarterfinal game, and all day tomorrow for updates on Bruce's D4 semifinal against Rosholt and Barron's D2 semifinal against West De Pere.

- John Casper Jr.

Live from the baseball state tournament

2008-06-10T14:11:00.003-05:00

You're looking live at a blog from the WIAA baseball state tournament, where (hopefully) in an hour or so, the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes will take on Kenosha Bradford in a Division 1 quarterfinal.

La Crosse Central and Kimberly won the morning games. Central beat Beaver Dam, 14-4, while Kimberly throttled Madison Memorial, 11-1, in five innings.

Right now, Wausau West leads Wisconsin Lutheran, 4-1, in the third inning. If Memorial wins, it plays the winner of this game later tonight. If the gods that control time and weather, respectively, are kind to us, we may get out of here at a respectable time.

Check back for an in-game blog from each of our area teams participating at state (Bruce and Barron play tomorrow) and other news and notes from the state tournament.

- John Casper Jr.

Draft aftermath

2008-06-07T14:02:00.002-05:00

Despite seeing five pitchers selected, the Eau Claire Express staff may emerge from Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft relatively in tact.

Express manager Dale Varsho said Saturday afternoon that he expects most of his drafted players to remain with the team for the time being.

“I think we’ll be OK,” Varsho said. “I like what we have right now. Hopefully, we can improve as the season goes on.”

One player who will not be in Eau Claire is right-hander Shane Dyer, who Varsho said left the team Saturday morning after signing with the Tampa Bay Rays. Varsho said Dyer, who was drafted in the sixth round, received a $135,000 signing bonus.

But Varsho is expecting to have right-hander Chris Odegaard and reliever David Cales available. Odegaard was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 23rd round, and Cales was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 24th round.

Neither player has signed yet. Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign draft picks, meaning those organizations could wait and monitor those players’ progress this summer before inking them to deals. Short-season rookie ball leagues don’t start until mid to late June, so there’s not a huge rush.

“We still have to talk about it,” Cales said. “I don’t plan on leaving too soon.”
UC-Davis pitcher Brad McAtee, who has yet to report to the Express, also was picked in the draft, going to the Colorado Rockies in the 45th round. Varsho still expects him to report to the Express once the UC-Davis spring academic semester ends next week. McAtee also likely would be in a draft-and-follow situation.

Varsho is not expecting to see Wayne State (Mich.) right-hander Anthony Bass, who was picked in the fifth round by the San Diego Padres. Bass was waiting to report until after the draft.

- Joe Ziemer

McAtee to the Rockies

2008-06-06T17:37:00.002-05:00

UC-Davis right-hander Brad McAtee, an Express signee, was picked in the 45th round by the Colorado Rockies. McAtee, who has yet to report to Eau Claire, was the 1,364th overall pick.

If he doesn't sign with the Rockies, McAtee won't arrive in Eau Claire until mid June, when UC-Davis finishes its school year.

- Joe Ziemer

Frew picked by Phillies

2008-06-06T17:23:00.003-05:00

Two-year Express veteran Bryan Frew was picked in the 43rd round by the Philadelphia Phillies. Frew, who played at Nebraska-Omaha, was the 1,306th overall pick.

Frew is tied for the Express career record for most games played with 128. He also set a team record for most walks in a season, when he drew 35 in 2007.

- Joe Ziemer

Huber picked by KC

2008-06-06T14:33:00.003-05:00

Former Express left-hander Tim Huber was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 27th round -- No. 805 -- of the MLB draft.

Huber, who played at Division II Nebraska-Omaha, is Eau Claire's career leader in ERA (2.44), wins (14), strikeouts (129), starts (22) and innings (158.2).

- Joe Ziemer

Cales taken by the Cubs

2008-06-06T13:37:00.002-05:00

This one you could kind of see coming.

The Chicago Cubs took Express infielder/reliever David Cales in the 24th round of the MLB draft with the 731st overall pick.

The Cubs had representatives on hand Monday, when Cales threw three innings of relief. Cales struck out five in those three innings.

He's played a lot of first base for the Express but Cales' professional future lies as a reliever. Cales, who is now at St. Xavier (Ill.) after stops at Missouri and Illinois-Chicago, throws from a three-quarters right-handed delivery. He generally is in the high 80s but will touch the low 90s. He throws a fastball with a good slider and is working on a changeup.

Cales entered the season as a big part of the Express' bullpen picture, likely sharing closing duties with Kole Calhoun. It remains to be seen if he will stay with the Express or sign with the Cubs. Interestingly enough, Cales is a die-hard White Sox fan.

- Joe Ziemer

Twins pick Odegaard

2008-06-06T13:27:00.002-05:00

After seeing Shane Dyer be drafted yesterday, the Eau Claire Express just had another starting pitcher taken on day two of the MLB draft.

Chris Odegaard, a hard-throwing right-hander from Minnesota State-Mankato, was taken by his hometown team, the Minnesota Twins, in the 23rd round. Odegaard was the 696th overall pick. He's a native of Glencoe, Minn.

Odegaard earned a no-decision Thursday night in the Express' loss to Waterloo. The 6-foot-3 righty strikes out a ton of hitters -- 17 in 11 innings this season -- but struggles with his control at times. He walked five batters in his first start and seven last night.

Stay tuned as to whether or not Odegaard remains with the Express.

- Joe Ziemer

O's take former Express pitcher

2008-06-06T13:21:00.003-05:00

The Baltimore Orioles picked UC-Davis' Eddie Gamboa in the 21st round, the 626th overall pick.

Gamboa, a right-handed pitcher, went 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA last summer for the Express. After beginning the season in the bullpen, he stepped into the starting rotation in place of the injured Jon Ganzen and never left. Gamboa earned the victory in game three of the Northwoods League South Division playoffs, beating the Green Bay Bullfrogs on the road to get the Express into the NWL championship series.

It's hard to find a nicer guy than Eddie, who was a favorite of everyone in the Carson Park press box.

- Joe Ziemer

Priday drafted in 11th round

2008-06-06T12:29:00.003-05:00

Former Eau Claire Express slugger Jacob Priday was taken in the 11th round -- No. 332 overall -- by the Houston Astros on day two of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft Friday.

Priday, who plays at Missouri, hit eight home runs for the Express in 2005 -- the franchise's first season. That not only is the club's single-season record, but the career record.

- Joe Ziemer

More on Dyer

2008-06-05T20:27:00.002-05:00

A quick update on Shane Dyer's status. I caught up with the Express right-hander during a 32-minute rain delay here at Carson Park, and while he wouldn't come out and say it, he certainly sounded like a guy who's going to be starting a professional career very soon.

“I want to stay here in Eau Claire as long as I can, but I want to make this thing happen as soon as possible and get on the road, get after it and start a career," Dyer said. "If that doesn’t happen, so be it. I’ll stay here all summer and go to Nebraska next year.”

For more on Dyer, see Friday's Leader-Telegram.

- Joe Ziemer

Dyer selected by Tampa Bay

2008-06-05T19:30:00.002-05:00

The Eau Claire Express likely just lost part of their starting rotation. Right-hander Shane Dyer, who earned the win in Wednesday's win over Waterloo, was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the first pick of the sixth round -- No. 173 overall.

Dyer, who pitched for South Mountain Community College (Ariz.) last season, is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA this summer. Should he choose not to sign -- which seems unlikely -- he would play for the University of Nebraska this fall.

I'll try to catch up with Dyer after tonight's game and get his thoughts on being drafted.

Dyer joins former Express catcher Jacob Jefferies as Rays draft picks.

- Joe Ziemer

Padres take Bass

2008-06-05T19:23:00.003-05:00

Here's guessing Wayne State (Mich.) right-hander Anthony Bass will not be showing up in Eau Claire this summer.

Bass just was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round -- No. 165 overall.

Bass was waiting to join the Express until after the draft. And given what kind of signing bonus he's looking at as a fifth-round pick, odds are he'll be joining the Padres organization quite soon.

- Joe Ziemer

Jefferies picked by Tampa Bay

2008-06-05T17:56:00.003-05:00

Former Eau Claire Express catcher Jacob Jefferies was picked with the first pick of the third round -- No. 78 overall -- by the Tampa Bay Rays in Thursday's Major League Baseball first-year player draft.
Jefferies is the second Express catcher in the Rays system, joining Nevin Ashley, who was taken in the 2006 draft.
Jefferies batted. 350 with 21 RBIs last summer. He hit .387 with four home runs and 54 RBIs for UC-Davis this season. Here's what MLB.com had to say about Jefferies:

"Not on the map to start the season, Jefferies has had a tremendous junior campaign and has been steadily moving up the ladder all year. A terrific contact hitter who almost never strikes out, he hasn't shown much power. Defensively, he's pretty good, though the arm is fringy. Whichever team sees more arm or more power in the future will likely be the one to take him."

- Joe Ziemer

More on Battle Creek and the draft

2008-06-05T14:05:00.002-05:00

You have to give the Battle Creek Bombers credit. Whatever they did last season just didn't work. So they cleaned house and started over. In came a new manager in Matt Fonteno, who's an assistant at UNLV, along with a new coaching staff. And in came an entirely new group of players.

“Just kind of get a breath of fresh air with everything and a whole new attitude," Fonteno said of his approach to taking over the Bombers. "My coaching staff and the new players – there isn’t any returners from last year’s squad. We’re just kind of starting over and developing a whole new atmosphere.”

* On an unrelated note, we're now about an hour into the 2008 Major League Baseball first-year player draft. I'll try to keep you posted throughout the day on any Express-related picks. I would imagine the first player with Eau Claire connections to come off the board would be UC-Davis catcher Jacob Jefferies, who's expected to go in the first four or five rounds. There's been a mini run on catchers early in the first round, so Jefferies might climb up a few boards. Jake was a big, big part of the Express' run to the Northwoods League championship series last summer and is a real nice kid.

A few current Express players also should come off the board -- whether it be today or tomorrow, when the draft concludes. I'll have my draft tracker up during batting practice and tonight's game against Waterloo. So stay tuned.

- Joe Ziemer

Express offense comes to life

2008-06-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

And to think, two days ago the Eau Claire Express were struggling to score runs.
Now it seems the Express can’t stop scoring.

Wednesday the dam burst in a big way for previously-offensively-challenged Eau Claire. The Express broke out for 12 runs on 17 hits as they won a 12-7 slugfest against the Waterloo Bucks at Carson Park.

“It was a great feeling today,” said left fielder and leadoff hitter Brooks Pinckard, who was 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. “It seemed like everybody had a hit or two. Everybody’s starting to come through with hits and I think everybody’s starting to feel really good.”

Almost everyone had a hand in Wednesday’s offensive romp. Kole Calhoun was on base five times, scored four runs, stole two bases and drove in two runs – including a scorched RBI double to the gap in left-center field. Yavapai College (Ariz.) teammate Braden Degamo homered and drove in two runs. David Cales drove in three runs. Joe Bonfe hit the ball hard. And slumping center fielder Robbie Knight had his first two hits of the season.

“We started swinging it good,” Calhoun said. “Hopefully, we can stick with that all year. We’re starting to mesh in the field. Things are looking up right now.”
The offensive tide began to turn late in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Battle Creek and that momentum carried in Wednesday’s win, which pushed the Express (3-3) back to even on the season. Both of those performances came with the speedy Pinckard at the leadoff spot.

Tuesday Pinckard played shortstop and was on base twice. Wednesday he was in left field. On the roster, he’s listed as a pitcher.

“Brooks is a good athlete,” Express manager Dale Varsho said. “He’ll put the ball in play and try to beat things out. He’s so fast. I really am going to use him at every position possible. He’s just so valuable to have in the lineup that I can’t take him out. His speed creates so many problems.”

The Bucks (2-5) stayed within striking distance of the Express for most of the game. But Eau Claire finally seemed to shake free of the visitors in the sixth inning, when Cales smashed a single back up the middle in the sixth inning to score Calhoun and put the Express up 9-6. Two innings later Cales gave the Express firm control of the game by singling in two more runs. Ronnie Olson then added an RBI double to give the Express a 12-6 lead.

The red-hot Eau Claire bats made a winner out of starter Shane Dyer, who at times labored through five innings. Dyer, who could be taken in today’s Major League Baseball first-year player draft, allowed four runs on five hits while walking three.

“We’re really trying to be more aggressive at the plate,” Varsho said. “We just have to keep putting the ball in play. If you had told me before the year we’d have less strikeouts than the other team every game, I’d think we’d be undefeated. It hasn’t gone that way for us. We just haven’t done very well with the bats until tonight and last night. Hopefully, we can continue that.”

Notes
Mankato State right-hander Chris Odegaard will start tonight’s season finale. Odegaard (0-1) started the Express’ season opener against Wisconsin. He allowed three runs on four hits in five innings. Only one of those runs was earned though. Odegaard, who throws in the 90s, struck out 10 but walked five. Waterloo will counter with Villanova right-hander Brian Streilein. … Odegaard is another Express player likely to be taken in the MLB draft, held today and tomorrow. Other potential draft concerns for the Express include Cales, Calhoun, right-hander John Kessick and three right-handed pitchers who have yet to report – UC-Davis’ Brad McAtee, Wayne State’s Anthony Bass and Cal Poly’s D.J. Mauldin. … Wednesday’s attendance was 833 – the third consecutive game the Express have drawn fewer than 1,000 fans. … Bonfe made his first start at third base and made several nice plays. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Bonfe had been used at first base, designated hitter and pitcher in his Express career. Bonfe was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the game. Two of those outs were very hard hit. “Right now Joe Bonfe’s just on fire,” Varsho said. “He’s hitting the ball hard every at-bat. He found some holes tonight.”

- Joe Ziemer

Express break out against Bombers

2008-06-03T21:33:00.002-05:00

That’s what the Eau Claire Express had been looking for.
Finally, some hard-hit balls.
First it was a ringing RBI double off the bat of Kyle Holloway. Then two batters later a lined, run-scoring single from Erik Knutson.
Granted, those eighth-inning runs didn’t decide the game. But they turned a slim, two-run lead into a more comfortable four-run margin as the Express beat the Battle Creek Bombers, 4-0, on Tuesday at Carson Park.
Those two RBIs also gave a big boost to an offense that’s been struggling early in the Northwoods League season.
“It felt very good,” said Holloway, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. “I’ve been struggling myself a little bit, so it felt good to get that hit.”
Knutson was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run for Eau Claire (2-3), which entered the game hitting just .150. Tuesday the Express had eight hits and finally squared up some pitches.
“You always worry when you’re struggling but when you’re doing good, it all flows,” Holloway said.
Prior to the eighth, the Express had used some small ball to scratch out two runs in support of starter Robbie Kilcrease, who tossed seven shutout innings.
Ronnie Olson led off the bottom of the fifth inning by spraying an opposite-field single to left. He moved to second on Joe Bonfe’s sacrifice bunt, took third on a balk by the Bombers’ Jesse Hernandez and scored on D.J. Anderson’s groundout to the right side of the infield.
Then in the seventh Knutson started things with a single that took a high hop over the head of third baseman Evan Sharpley. An errant pickoff attempt by Hernandez put Knutson at second, and Olson’s groundout to second moved him to third. Knutson then scored on a sharp single to left by Bonfe.
“I think we played really well tonight,” Express manager Dale Varsho said. “Robbie Kilcrease did awesome. He threw strikes, got ahead, his changeup was phenomenal.”
As it turned out, two runs were about all Kilcrease needed – though the offense-starved Express weren’t complaining about extra runs. Kilcrease, a left-hander from Texas Tech, didn’t allow a run on six hits. He struck out six and walked two. Used as a reliever by the Red Raiders, Kilcrease is still in the process of being stretched out as a starter. Tuesday was a pretty good first step.
“I felt good,” Kilcrease said. “I had good defense behind me. They made a lot of plays for me. I’m pretty excited.”
Willie Beard pitched the final two innings to earn his first save. Beard did not give up a run or a hit. He walked two and struck out two.
“Willie’s been really good,” Varsho said. “He’s got a really good curveball. He throws strikes. In his two appearances, he’s done a really good job for us.”

Notes
Right-hander Shane Dyer, who started Thursday’s suspended season opener, will take the mound tonight against Waterloo. … Battle Creek second baseman Colin Kaline is the grandson of Hall of Famer Al Kaline. Kaline had nine assists in Monday’s game and another seven Tuesday. … Bombers third baseman Evan Sharpley made two starts at quarterback for Notre Dame last season. … Trax the Express mascot won the mascot race Tuesday – against a child – for what is believed to be the first time in four seasons. … Tuesday’s attendance of 790 was the smallest in franchise history. … Eau Claire right fielder Kole Calhoun made a nice diving catch of a sinking fly ball in shallow right in the top of the seventh. … Holloway became the first Express player this season to record a three-hit game.

- Joe Ziemer

Express notes

2008-06-02T18:22:00.004-05:00

We're about 10 minutes away from the first pitch of tonight's game between the Eau Claire Express and Battle Creek Bombers at Carson Park. It's an overcast evening, so let's cross our fingers that this game gets played.

Here are a few game notes:

* New Mexico right-hander Drew Kendrick is making his first start since high school. Kendrick was injured last season, but went 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA for the Express in 2006. Kendrick has pitched solely out of the bullpen in his collegiate career.

* Wayne State right-hander John Kessick joined the Express over the weekend. Manager Dale Varsho expects the Baylor duo of infielder Landis Ware and right-hander Wade Mackey to join the team Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

* Texas Tech lefty Robbie Kilcrease will start Tuesday’s season finale against Battle Creek. Kilcrease is an unknown quantity to Varsho, who will be getting his first look at the southpaw in the game. Shane Dyer likely will start Wednesday game against Waterloo. Right-hander Chris Odegaard would follow Thursday.

* Varsho hopes Mackey would be available to take the place of Joe Bonfe in the rotation. Bonfe, a righty from Creighton, started Saturday’s win over Alexandria, but primarily will be used as a reliever. Varsho also isn’t sure whether or not Nebraska-Omaha lefty Ryan Hines will remain in the rotation.

*Right-hander Adam Worthington and Illinois-Chicago were eliminated from the NCAA tournament Sunday. When Worthington arrives – Varsho is hoping to have him in three to four days – he’ll immediately slot into the six-man rotation. Cal Poly righty D.J. Mauldin also will be a starter once he arrives in mid June.

“Starters won’t be my problem,” Varsho said.

- Joe Ziemer

Live updates from state track: Day 2

2008-05-31T10:59:00.003-05:00

Greetings everyone. We're back at UW-La Crosse for day two of the state track meet. It was a late one last night. A near two-hour delay extended everyone's night. Hopefully the weather will be better today.

Once again, I'll be posting updates as I can throughout the day. For up-to-the-minute results, go to www.wiaawi.org.

- John Casper Jr.

Quick hitters: Sorry for the lack of updates, but the finals come one right after another on Saturday and I didn't want to miss any local participants. Here's a quick run down of what has happened so far: Mary Theisen of Regis has a title in the discus to go with her title in the shot put. The Ramblers, however, lost thier spot atop the team standings to Whitehall. Chelsey Simon was a repeat winner in the 100 for the Norse, and also ran on the second-place 800 relay team. Durand's Mike Zika took second in the shot put. Memorial's Chim Okoroji ran a season-best 12.16 in the 100, but took third.

Amateur sports preview: May 31-June 1

2008-05-30T19:29:00.004-05:00

BASEBALL
Wisconsin State League
Eau Claire Cavaliers
Record: 5-0, 0-0.
Standing: Tied for second in the WSL, one-half game back of Addison (Ill.).
On tap this week: First, a pair of doubleheaders against the defending WSL champion Lombard (Ill.) Orioles, 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday at Carson Park. The Cavs then have a pair of non-league games, at Hastings (Minn.) on Wednesday and home against Red Wing (Minn.) on Friday.
Notes: The biggest WSL weekend tilt for the Cavs very well could be this one — the first of the summer. The Orioles and the Cavs finished 1-2 in the WSL last season and were co-champions with Kenosha in 2006. The Orioles took three of four a year ago. It’s obviously early, but it’s not far-fetched to think the outcome of this series could go a long way in determining how the WSL ultimately shakes out.
Question: Will the Cavs have enough arms to get through the all-important four-game series?
Answer: It’ll be close. First-year manager Mark McHorney still is waiting on a number of high school arms but can’t get their services until the prep season ends. However, they still will have Garrett Nix, one the team’s most reliable last season, in addition to lefty Dan Olson, hard-throwing Cody Bunkelman, Yoshinori Machida, Dave Oestreich and Troy Peiffer. If none of the starters blow up early and wreck the light bullpen, the Cavs should be OK until the reinforcements arrive.

FOOTBALL
Northern Elite Football League
Chippewa Valley Predators
Record: 1-0, 1-0.
Standing: Tied for first in the Western Conference.
On tap this week: at the Superior Stampede, 4 p.m. Saturday.
Notes: It took some doing before the Predators got their offense rolling in a 24-0 victory to open the NEFL season against the Green Bay Gladiators. They didn’t need much offense, though, considering their defense was lock-down — much like it was last season.
Question: Will the offense get its legs under it any quicker on the road against a proven Superior team?
Answer: It will have to if the Preds want to stay undefeated. The Stampede blew out the East Metro (Minn.) Phoenix, 41-0, in Week 1. The Stampede, who beat the Preds in a rain-shortened game last season, have as good a chance as any at scoring some points against the Preds defense. If they do that, and quarterback Nick Schumacher — who misfired on his first 11 passes in Week 1 — has another slow start, it could be a frustrating night for first-year coach Martin Adams. But, again, that ball-hawking Preds defense is athletic enough to keep the team afloat in a close game.

Eau Claire Crush
Record: 2-0, 1-0.
Standing: Tied for first in the Eastern Conference.
On tap this week: A home game against the Central Wisconsin Panthers at 6 p.m. Saturday at Carson Park.
Notes: After tagging the Minnesota Valley Wolfpack in a 58-0, non-league victory to open their season, the Crush went on the road and came away with a much closer, 14-0 victory over the Northern Wisconsin Wolverines a week ago.
Question: Can the Crush put up a third straight shutout?
Answer: It’s certainly possible. That’s a pretty high expectation, though. The Crush, who have all kinds of new personnel on both offense and defense, haven’t shown any signs of slowing after getting to the Great Plains Football League championship game last season. New quarterback Ben Luehrs has been strong under center, and the backfield has been good led by John Wolfe, so the Crush usually won’t need a zero from their defense.

Questions? Comments? Drop me a line at justin.harings@ecpc.com.

-Justin Harings

More from Lisa Stone

2008-05-30T18:50:00.000-05:00

University of Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone was back in Eau Claire on Thursday afternoon along with a number of other Badgers coaches as part of the university’s statewide Badger Days tour.
Stone coached at UW-Eau Claire from 1988-89 to 1999-2000, going 277-59 (.824) and taking the Blugolds to the NCAA Division III tournament in all 11 seasons. To read about her ongoing connection with the Eau Claire community, click here.
Below are her thoughts on the approaching season for her Badgers. It’ll be Stone’s sixth. Last season, the Badgers went 16-14 overall, 9-9 in the Big Ten Conference and bowed out in the second round of the Women’s National Basketball Invitational.

On what she expects from her team next season. Keep in mind she will be without Jolene Anderson, UW’s all-time leading scorer — men or women. Anderson graduated and was drafted 23rd overall by the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
“The biggest question mark might be, ‘What do you do without Jolene Anderson?’ Well, you know what? We have a very excited group of people coming back that are going to have to pick up some scoring for her but a great freshman class coming in. Just hired two new assistants, and we’re real excited about that. There’s great energy, passion. Our kids are really excited about next year.”

On the May 1 hiring of assistant coach Kathi Bennett, the daughter of former UW men’s basketball coach Dick Bennett. She was the head coach at UW-Oshkosh from 1989-90 to 1995-96, and she coached against Stone in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“She knows what I need from assistants. To partner with somebody that you went head-to-head with ... When I played against Kathi and she played against me, we brought the best out of each other, and that’s what you’re seeing in the office. It’s great passion, great energy. We’ve already been to talk to Dick Bennett already himself. I’m real excited about the additions of the staff, our news kids coming in and the bright future for our program.”

-Justin Harings

Live updates from state track: Day 1

2008-05-30T09:54:00.006-05:00

Greetings from Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of UW-La Crosse. Intrepid part-timer Travis Mester and I are at the WIAA state track meet, and we will be providing updates throughout the day, so come back often.

Up-to-the minute results can be found online at www.wiaawi.org.

- John Casper Jr.

Okoroji qualifies for 100 finals: It wasn't much of a surprise, but Memorial senior sprinter Chim Okoroji qualified for the Division 1 girls 100 finals by running a 12.63 in the prelims. Jasmyn Hudgins of Milwaukee Tech turned in the top qualifiying time with a 12.10. Okoroji's time was the sixth-best.

Luer takes fourth in the shot put: His best throw came in the warm-ups and he scratched in the finals, but Menomonie senior Grant Luer isn't leaving La Crosse empty-handed. He took fourth in the boys Division 1 shot put with a toss of 56-8½. Jared Hassin of Kettle Moraine won the title with 59-8¾. "I feel pretty good," Luer said. "I'm just looking forward to the discus tomorrow." Luer is the top seed in the discus.

Cumming recovers to win the 3,200: Hudson's Katie Cumming was a repeat champion in the girls Division 1 3,200, but it came at a price. Cumming was knocked to the ground, forcing a restart. She received brief medical attention, some bandages, and shook off the incident to win her second state title in the event.

Warner wins the D3 high jump: Tessa Warner of Eau Claire Regis claimed the area's first state championship by winning the girls Division 3 high jump with a leap of 5-5. She narrowly missed her two attempts at 5-6, which would have tied a personal best she said at an indoor meet in April.

Hetke takes second in the 1,600: He was a bit surprised, but Paul Hetke of Chetek is the boys D2 runner-up in the 1,600 nonetheless. Hetke ran a 4:19.11, almost 12 seconds faster than his sectional time, to win the silver medal. His time set a school record.

Other highlights so far: John Gillespie of Altoona took fourth in the boys D2 triple jump, Holly Mertens of Stanley-Boyd took third in the girls D2 high jump, Rickey Hagen of Colfax took fourth in the boys D3 discus, Nicole Flakey of Ladysmith took third in the girls D2 shot put, Jodi Bender and Chelsey Simon of Whitehall took second and fifth in the girls D3 long jump.

We're in a delay: Blame this one on Travis. Less than 10 minutes after he made a positive comment about the weather, ominous skies started to develop to the west, forcing WIAA officials to delay the meet and clear the stadium at 6:15 p.m. We're midway through the 400 relay preliminaries and will have about five track events and a handful of field events to complete once the meet resumes. Nobody is entirely sure, but some are saying it is the first delay since 2002.

Express opener suspended

2008-05-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

For the second year in a row, the Eau Claire Express were unable to complete their scheduled home opener. Thursday’s season opener against the Wisconsin Woodchucks was suspended because of weather in the middle of the fourth inning with the Woodchucks leading 2-0.
The game will be resumed at a later date – the most likely day would seem to be June 10, when the Woodchucks return to Carson Park.
Wisconsin took advantage of some wildness by Express starter Shane Dyer and some shaky defense to score two strange runs early.
The first came with two outs in the top of the second, when Bobby Pritchett came around to score all the way from second on a wild pitch. Dyer’s offering went between the legs of catcher Kyle Holloway, who couldn’t locate the ball. That allowed Pritchett to round third and slide in safely with the game’s first run.
Another wild pitch – also between Holloway’s legs – put runners at second and third with no one out in the third. Jeff Cowan then came across to score when third baseman D.J. Anderson bobbled a chopper off the bat of Carson Vitale. Anderson appeared to have a play at home but bobbled the ball on the transfer.
The game was played in fairly steady rain. It finally was delayed at 8:55 p.m., when flashes of lightning appeared just as Express left fielder Brooks Pinckard gloved a fly ball to end the top of the fourth.
After a 38 minute delay, during which the rain increased, the game finally was officially called at 9:33 p.m.

- Joe Ziemer

It's opening day

2008-05-29T19:21:00.002-05:00

Well it looks like the weather is going to hold off long enough for the Eau Claire Express to at least get their season opener underway. It's cloudy and drizzly but I think we're going to have baseball at Carson Park.

That being said, here's a few game notes:

*Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez threw out the first pitch prior to the game. All the Badgers coaches – in town for Badger Days at Carson Park – also were introduced to the crowd by Matt Lepay, the radio voice of the Badgers.

*The Express unveiled their new alternate jerseys. The more light-weight burnt orange tops feature black shoulders and a logo on the breast. Last season’s orange unies were heavier and had “Express” printed on the chest.

*Woodchucks manager Jim Gantner has little choice but to forgo the DH. Wisconsin has only five position players available for the game, meaning starting pitcher Zac Moore has to hit for himself, right-hander Bobby Pritchett is playing center field, righty Chad Moreland is playing left field and lefty Eric Dayton is at first. All four bench players are pitchers.

*Right-hander Chris Odegaard will start tonight’s game for the Express, while the Woodchucks will counter with righty Kyle Gumieny. Odegaard, a hard-throwing 6-foot-3 sophomore from Minnesota-Mankato, went 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA in three appearances last summer for the Express.

- Joe Ziemer

Calhoun likely staying put

2008-05-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

Kole Calhoun strolled into Carson Park on Tuesday night with a big grin on his face.
Last season’s Northwoods League co-MVP looked right at home. He was back in familiar surroundings and flanked by a quartet of friends — last summer’s running buddies, David Cales and Dominic Piazza, and Yavapai College (Ariz.) teammates Braden Degamo and Erik Knutson.
It’s safe to say the Eau Claire Express’ standout right fielder/closer is happy to be back in Eau Claire.
“I’m so happy,” Calhoun said. “Me, Dom and Dave have been driving around all day, just checking out stuff. I’ve got some friends from Yavapai up here now, so it’s fun to show them around and tell them it’s going to be a great summer.”
Early indications are Calhoun will be in Eau Claire for the duration, despite a monster sophomore season and the looming Major League Baseball first-year player draft.
While Calhoun said he’s had contact with the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, he’s not expecting his professional career to begin this summer.
Outside of Calhoun, the Express’ biggest draft concerns likely are right-handed pitchers Shane Dyer (South Mountain Community College), Brad McAtee (UC-Davis), Anthony Bass (Wayne State) and Chris Odegaard (Mankato State).
Dyer will start Thursday’s season opener and Odegaard will start Friday.
Bass won’t be reporting to the team until after the draft, held June 5 and 6.
Calhoun will head to Arizona State this fall and his intent is to play a year at the Division I level before going pro. So barring an overwhelming signing bonus, he’ll be in an Express jersey all summer.
“They all know I’m going to ASU and are just kind of laying off me I guess,” Calhoun said. “It would take a hefty amount because I want to play there. It would take a lot. I’m more looking to next year — kind of prove myself a little more and get some more education too.”
Calhoun’s stature — he’s a stocky 5-foot-10 — may scare some scouts off, but the left-handed batting and throwing fan favorite can put up statistics with the best of them.
He tore the cover off the ball — while using a wood bat — this spring at junior-college Yavapai. Calhoun hit .402 with 17 home runs, 20 doubles, four triples and 56 RBIs. He had a .527 on-base percentage and an equally jaw-dropping .820 slugging percentage. Oh, and he stole 18 bases in 21 attempts.
The Roughriders finished their season roughly two weeks ago, so he should still be relatively in rhythm.
“I’m pretty locked in right now,” Calhoun said. “I’m excited to be back — to see Dave again. Me, Dom and Dave are back together. It’s just going to be a fun year.”
Calhoun said he didn’t draw much interest from the Cape Cod League — generally regarded as the nation’s premier summer showcase — but that really wasn’t of much concern to him.
“I didn’t want to go there anyway,” Calhoun said. “You only play two or three times a week. Here you get to play every day. Plus I had a great experience last summer and wanted to do it again.”

- Joe Ziemer

Dahl verbally commits to Wisconsin

2008-05-27T18:19:00.006-05:00

Eau Claire Memorial standout Jefferson Dahl has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team following an official visit over Tuesday.

Dahl, who earlier this month was traded to the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League, will spend the next two seasons honing his skills at the USHL level before joining the Badgers for the 2010-11 season.

"They have such a nice venue there, the coaching staff was awesome and everyone wsa really friendly there," said Dahl, who grew up a Badgers fan. "It was my first choice."

Dahl enjoyed a stellar senior campaign, leading the Old Abes to their first state title and grabbing the state's Mr. Hockey Award, given each season to the state's top senior, along the way. He finished his senior season with 36 goals and 40 assists, the highest single-season total in school history.

Dahl also leaves the Old Abes program holding the school record in career goals (96), assists (112) and and points (211). Dahl is the second Eau Claire native in the past three years to commit to an NCAA Division I program, joining former Eau Claire North standout Derrick LaPoint, who just finished up his first season as a member of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

Be sure to check out Wednesday's Leader-Telegram for more thoughts from Dahl on the commitment.

-- Adam Parks

Sand sings with Thunder

2008-05-20T14:20:00.004-05:00

I just got off the phone with Eau Claire Memorial goaltender Brady Sand, and he confirmed that he'll be joining the Albert Lea Thunder of the North American Hockey League this season.

After a conversation with Thunder coach Paul Willett Friday and a breakfast Sunday, Sand decided to join the newly-formed NAHL squad, which is entering its first year of existence.

Sand is one of two goaltenders who have signed tenders with the Thunder and will be heading down to Chicago to take part in the team's tryout camp June 20-22.

Sand was a perfect 20-0 for the state champion Old Abes last year, compiling a 0.93 goals against average and a .954 save percentage.

Be sure to check out tomorrow's Leader-Telegram for more on Sand's tender signing.

-- Adam Parks

More on the WIAA soccer playoffs

2008-05-19T22:15:00.002-05:00

Three Things to Watch
* Don’t forget about the Old Abes: Eau Claire Memorial finally may have lost a Big Rivers Conference game, but that doesn't change the Abes' status as favorites in the Division 1 sectional.

Memorial isn't as dominant as last year — it would be hard to be — but the Abes still put a ton of quality on the field. Lisa Marco, Carrie Kishaba, Emily Humphreys and friends are top-notch players.

* Impact freshmen: Second-seeded River Falls and No. 4 Eau Claire North are two teams capable of challenging the Old Abes. Both have freshmen playing key roles.

Left wing Kelsey Buchholz has emerged as one of the Huskies' top performers this season. She takes all of the team's corner kicks and also provides quality service on crosses, tallying five assists to go along with her five goals. If Buchholz and the Huskies can beat Hudson in their playoffs opener, they could set up an intriguing second-round matchup with Memorial.

A very solid River Falls team has been getting a ton of production from defensive midfielder Taylor Kizlik, a good ball-winner who distributes well for the possession-oriented Wildcats.

Keep an eye on River Falls in the bottom half of the bracket.

* Division 2 Warriors: Rice Lake has shown marked improvement this season. The Warriors ended a string of last-place finishes in the Big Rivers Conference. Rice Lake finished 2-8-2 in conference play this year, earning two wins over Menomonie and drawing with River Falls and North. The Warriors have played everyone tough and now drop down to Division 2 for the playoffs. With the experience they’ve gained against D1 teams, they have a real shot at doing some damage in the D2 bracket.

"I think we’re starting to want a little more than just showing up and playing hard," Warriors coach Mike Shomion said.

"I think if anything, it sets us up better for next year, as far as the conference. We can go in saying, 'Hey, you know you can play with these guys. So let’s take the next step — not just staying close all the time but maybe pulling out a few of these games.'"

— Joe Ziemer

Kulig named Eleva-Strum boys basketball coach

2008-05-15T21:10:00.001-05:00

When longtime Eleva-Strum boys basketball coach Rich Roginski stepped down last month, assistant coach Cory Kulig seemed the logical successor.

It's now official. Kulig is the Cardinals' new coach.

Kulig was informed of his hiring a week and a half ago and approved by the school board Monday night.

"I'm definitely excited," Kulig said. "It's going to be a lot more pressure. We've had a lot of success the past few years. It's a new challenge for me. It's something different. I'm looking forward to working with the kids I've worked with at the JV level the past few years."

For the past six seasons Kulig has served as Roginski's top assistant. In his playing days, he was a standout at Independence and later UW-Eau Claire.

The 6-foot-8 Kulig was a 1992-'93 first-team All-Northwest pick as a senior. While in college he also served as an assistant at Eau Claire Regis, coaching the freshman team. There he coached under current Memorial coach Greg Van Grunsven.

Kulig takes over an Eleva-Strum team that went 27-0 and won the WIAA Division 4 state title. Nearly the entire rotation graduated.

"We definitely have our work cut out for us," Kulig said. "We'll have a big bull's-eye on our chest. We've got some good athletes, good kids. I think we can accomplish some good things."

— Joe Ziemer

Donnellan, Frey drafted; Dahl traded in USHL draft

2008-05-14T15:18:00.002-05:00

It was a busy day for some area hockey players in the USHL draft. Eau Claire Memorial had a pair of players have their name called during the draft today with defenseman David Donnellan going to the Sioux Falls Stampede and Jefferson Dahl being traded to the Green Bay Gamblers. River Falls standout Trent Frey was also selected, going in the 18th round to Sioux Falls.

Donnellan was selected with the 8th overall selection by the Stampede after having an impressive showing during his senior year with the Old Abes.

“He is a steady, stay at home defenseman,” head coach Kevin Hartzell said in a release on the 6-foot-0 185-pound defenseman. “His game is much similar to Chris Berenguer and will compliment the skilled defensemen we have returning.”

After being drafted by the Des Moisnes Buccaneers last season, Dahl was traded to the Gamblers during the first selction of today's draft. Green Bay traded the rights to Aaron Crandall, Jacob Youso and Joe Gleason to Des Moines in exchange for the rights to Dahl as well as their first round (#2 overall)and third round #23 overall)picks in the 2008 draft.

Frey was selected in the final round by the Stampeded after finishing his senior year with 32 goals and 54 points.

-- Adam Parks

Alberson signs with D1 school

2008-05-09T14:42:00.006-05:00

Flambeau senior Beth Alberson signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Centenary College, a Division I school located in Sherevport, La. Alberson was being courted by several WIAC schools and had a late offer to walk-on at Wisconsin, but chose to play for the Ladies (yes, the women's athletic teams are called the Ladies while the men's athletic teams are called the Gents).

Centenary was 4-25 last season and competes in the Summit League with schools like Oakland (Mich.), Oral Roberts, Missouri-Kansas City, etc.

Alberson was a two-time first-team All-Northwest selection and helped lead the Falcons to three WIAA Division 4 state championships. She received honorable mention all-state the past two seasons.

Alberson is the second girls basketball standout to sign with a Division I school. Eau Claire North's Hannah Quilling will play at UW-Green Bay.

Express update

2008-04-17T23:21:00.000-05:00

Here's an update on how a few Eau Claire Express products are faring in college:

Jacob Priday, a senior at Missouri, hit four home runs in a game against Texas last Friday. Priday was 5-for-5 in the game, a 31-12 Tigers win. The four homers are a Big 12 Conference single-game record.

Pat Colwell, who won a Northwoods League Silver Glove award in the outfield last summer, became the first player in San Diego State history to hit for the cycle. Colwell, a sophomore, singled in the third inning, homered in the fourth, doubled in the sixth and tripled in the eighth. Colwell's homer was of the inside-the-park variety.

Kole Calhoun, last summer's league co-MVP, is hitting the snot out of the ball at Yavapai College (Ariz.). Currently, Calhoun is batting .392 with a .525 on-base percentage and an .810 slugging percentage. In 48 games, he leads the Roughriders in hits (62), runs (47), walks (40), home runs (13) and RBIs (47). He's second on the team in doubles (19), triples (four) and stolen bases (15). Not bad. Not bad at all.

Also, at some point I'll be starting up an Express-only blog. So keep an eye out for that.

- Joe Ziemer

End of an era

2008-04-17T13:23:00.002-05:00

Eleva-Strum boys basketball coach Rich Roginski’s retirement is a bittersweet thing for me and everyone else in the local media.

On one hand, it’s great that a coach of his quality is able to go out on top with an undefeated season and a state championship. It’s also great that he can take a step back, relax and spend time on his hobbies because for 23 seasons Roginski poured his heart and soul into that basketball program.

But it’s also a bit sad because I’ve gotten to know Roginski over the past few seasons. I’ll definitely miss seeing him around and talking hoops with him. He’s a bit of a character and was very, very good for area basketball. WQOW’s Bob Bradovich and I were talking about Roginski’s retirement after work last night at a local establishment and we both said the same thing: “It’s kind of a bummer.”

When it comes to coaching, I’ll put Roginski against anyone. He certainly had a talent-laden team at Eleva-Strum but talent alone doesn’t win state titles. The Cardinals won not only because they were talented but because they outworked and outhustled almost everyone they played. The way they carried themselves on the court and the way they played were reflections of Roginski.

There’s a bit of a changing of the guard in the area coaching ranks. Jim Kasmarek left Eau Claire Memorial after last season, and Pat Hammond is nearing the end at North. While it’s exciting to see the next wave of coaches cut their teeth, it’s also sad to see guys who have given so much to area basketball step away.

As for the Cardinals, they should be in good hands. Assistant Cory Kulig would be a great choice to succeed Roginski, who’s laid a strong foundation for years to come.

- Joe Ziemer

More on Ryan Braun

2008-04-07T23:26:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share a few extra thoughts about and quotes from Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. He's certainly a confident dude. Cocky? I'm not sure about that. But he's very sure of himself.

It's not necessarily a bad thing. He doesn't come off as a bad guy, he's quite approachable and easy to deal with from a media standpoint.

I have to say his selection of "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco -- one of my favorite artists -- as a walk-up tune is pretty fitting (You can check out the video here:). There's also a good remix featuring Young Jeezy and T.I. floating around Youtube if you're into that genre of music.

Anyway, here are a few quotes from Braun that didn't make the article in today's Leader-Telegram:

On his goals for the season:
“Just stay healthy and try to help the team win in as many ways as possible. That’s it.”

On the Brewers' talent:
“From a pure talent perspective, I think I’d put us up there against any team in baseball. For me, it’s exciting to be a part of it. It’s fun to come to the field and watch everybody play every day. I’m really enjoying it.”

On his reaction to switching to left field:
“I was excited about it. Whenever you have an opportunity to acquire someone like Mike Cameron, it’s exciting. It makes us a better team, and I was all for it.”

On the transition itself:
“Eddie Cedar, our baserunning, outfield coach, he’s been great. He’s been awesome to work with. I’m trying to get my fundamentals down — footwork and reading balls of the bat. Stuff like that.”

On what his key to hitting is:
“Just seeing the ball well. I think my approach is good, I’ll hit the ball and drive the ball the other way.”

On the importance of hitting to the opposite field:
“It’s just a sign of staying on the ball. For me, the longer I’m able to stay on the ball, the better off I normally am and the more successful I am.”

- Joe Ziemer

About the All-Northwest girls team

2008-04-06T00:44:00.002-05:00

This was the first time I had to pick an All-Northwest girls basketball team, and I can't imagine a more difficult year to pick the squad.

After a solid three weeks of comparing players, going over stats and talking to area coaches, I finalized the team Saturday afternoon. In my mind, there were easily 10-15 players that could have made the first team and another 30-40 that could have made teams three through five.

Needless to say, it wasn't easy.

I especially agonized over the player of the year choice. The handful of times I had a chance to see Rice Lake's Casey Weber, I was blown away. As the article stated, nobody was better when the game was in the balance. But as the year went on, I took a closer look at North's Hannah Quilling. I also considered Flambeau's Beth Alberson. Anyone that leads a team to three straight state championships has to be considered.

Combined with what I saw during the regular season, their stats and what I heard from a variety of coaches, it became apparent the right choice was Weber.

Quilling was a very close second. In fact, if I had to build a team, I'd start with Quilling. She is a real coach on the floor, and I can see why UW-Green Bay offered her a scholarship.

I was also impressed with Quilling's character. After North lost to Marshfield in a sectional final, WQOW's Bill Port, WEAU's Matt Queen and I waited outside the North locker room, hoping for a quote or two from a player. Most were a little too upset to talk, and we understood that. But Quilling knew it was her job — so to speak — as the team leader to talk with the media. Her answers were well-thought out and sincere. It probably seemed like a small thing to her, but she handled that interview with more class than several professional athletes I've dealt with in the past few years. I really appreciated it, as did Bill and Matt.

The rest of the first team is also worthy. There was quite a bit of support for Flambeau's Beth Alberson to win player of the year, especially from the Lakeland Conferences. Altoona's Tiffany Gregorich was one of the best emotional leaders you'll ever find. And I really liked the unselfish of Memorial senior Katie Pospishil. If she wanted, she probably could have scored 30 points a night. But in order for the Abes to be successful, she needed to kick the ball back outside to their shooters.

I felt it was a solid first team. And, for my own sanity, I hope next year's is a bit easier to pick.

Billy Hall finding a groove?

2008-04-04T15:21:00.003-05:00

Yeah, it's early. But Brewers fans have to like what they're seeing from Bill Hall.

The infielder-turned-outfielder-turned-infielder-again has two home runs today. He's only done that two other times — June 21, 2005 at Chicago and July 24, 2006 against Pittsburgh. The six RBIs is a career high.

A hot start may be just what Hall needs after coming off a subpar season. He hit .254with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs, all of which were down quite a bit from the year before. Hall, who played exclusively in center field last season, signed a four-year, $24-million deal after the 2006 season and struggled to reproduce the same numbers he had to warrant the deal.

Perhaps the move back to the infield has helped Hall focus at the plate a bit more, or maybe the emergence of Ryan Braun as the club's No. 2 power threat has taken some of that pressure off, but Hall seems to have a better approach at the plate this season.

- John Casper Jr.

Sanchez looking good ...

2008-04-04T14:46:00.003-05:00

Brewers starter Carlos Villanueva has tied a career high with six strikeouts but he's not the only pitcher throwing well at the moment. After a shaky first inning, Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez has settled down and held the Brewers offense in check. He has a career-best eight strikeouts.

And after I wrote all of that, Gabe Kapler just singled in the fourth Milwaukee run of the game. The Brewers officially are threatening ... I'll just stick to my usual assortment of nerdy jokes. Another RBI single, this time by Prince Fielder, just chased Sanchez. Still, he looked decent in stretches.

On an unrelated note, I think I went 0-for-9 in my walk-up music predictions. Villanueva's song does seem to have the exact same beat as "Gasolina," though. So that's at least in the ballpark.

- Joe Ziemer

Hanel switches numbers

2008-04-04T14:33:00.002-05:00

There is one sad young man in the Eau Claire area today.

Marcus Hanel, who has been the Brewers bullpen catcher since 1999, no longer wears No. 54. He had to give it up when the club acquired reliever David Riske. Hanel now wears No. 55.

Why does this matter to you?

It probably doesn't. But when I was out enjoying a local establishment with some friends on Monday night, there was someone wearing a customized Marcus Hanel jersey that was autographed. I've seen some crazy jerseys in my day, but that was the first bullpen catcher jersey I've seen on anyone other than, well, a bullpen catcher.

So to Marcus Hanel's biggest fan in Eau Claire, looks like you need some new threads.

- John Casper Jr.

Melvin remains modest

2008-04-04T14:19:00.002-05:00

Although he is considered the chief architecht of the Milwaukee Brewers' turnaround, general manager Doug Melvin isn't about to pat himself on the back just yet.

"I have a bad rotator cuff and arthritis," Melvin said. "I can’t get my coat on. Patting yourself on the back would be a tough thing to do."

Nobody would blame him if he did. The current 25-man roster has to be considered the Brewers' best since the early 1980s. Budding superstars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are coming off breakthrough seasons in which they combined for an NL-best 85 home runs. The pitching rotation is a solid mix of veterans and promising youngsters. And the bullpen, a major weakness last season, appears to be improved after an offseason facelift.

But Melvin wouldn't take too much credit for that.

"I’m just as happy for all the Brewer employees that have been here through all the down times that now get to come to work knowing there’s a chance to go to the postseason," he said. "I get to push the final button, but there’s a lot of people here sharing their input. I’m happy for them that they can feel good about what is going out there for the next 159 games."

- John Casper Jr.

Weeks sets franchise record

2008-04-04T14:15:00.002-05:00

When he scored on Prince Fielder's single in the first inning today, Rickie Weeks carved out his own little place in Milwaukee Brewers lore.

It was the 17th straight game in which Weeks scored a run, breaking the record previously held by Paul Molitor. It also tied the NL modern-day record held by Ted Kluzewski and Rogers Hornsby.

The MLB record of 18 straight games is shared by Red Rolf and Kenny Lofton.

- John Casper Jr.

Lineups are in

2008-04-04T12:39:00.004-05:00

I've finished my chicken sandwhich and am back on press row here at Miller Park. While Casper lays waste to the dessert bar, here is the Brewers starting lineup, complete with my predictions for what each player's walk-up music will be:

1. Rickie Weeks 2B: I'm going to say "Good Life" by Kanye West.

2. Gabe Kapler CF: Kapler's pretty buff and seems kind of intense. How about "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica.

3. Prince Fielder 1B: "Sweetest Girl" by Wyclef. I think there's an outside chance of Prince bumping "Umbrella."

4. Ryan Braun LF: Something by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

5. Bill Hall 3B: That Usher Song with Young Jeezy.

6. Corey Hart RF: It's probably going to be some newer heavy metal or rock song that I a. don't know and b. don't like. I'll guess something by Nickelback.

7. J.J. Hardy SS: "Low" by Flo Rida. Someone's got to have it.

8. Carlos Villanueva P: "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee.

9. Jason Kendall C: Stone Cold Steve Austin's old WWF entrance music.

There you have it. If I get even one of those correct, I think that's pretty good. Check back throughout the game for wit, wisdom, insight and bad jokes from John and I.

- Joe Ziemer

Gwynn out for today's game

2008-04-04T12:11:00.001-05:00

Don’t expect to see Tony Gywnn Jr. make an appearance in today’s game.

The young center fielder injured his hamstring during Thursday’s game against the Chicago Cubs and is most likely out of commission today.

“I’m just trying to stay positive,” said Gwynn, who sounds almost exactly like his Hall of Famer father. “Hopefully I won’t be (out for) too long.”

Gwynn had a rather productive series in Chicago, going 4-for-7. He had the game-winning RBI in the season opener and was the only Brewers player to have a hit in all three games.

Brewers manager Ned Yost said before today’s game he wasn’t sure how long Gwynn would be out or if he’d need to go on the disabled list. Gwynn was holding out hope he’d be able to play Saturday, but if the hamstring doesn’t get much better overnight, he probably won’t risk it.

For more on Gwynn, check tomorrow’s Leader-Telegram.

- John Casper Jr.

Live from Miller Park

2008-04-04T08:50:00.003-05:00

Greetings from a rather empty Miller Park, where in a few hours the Milwaukee Brewers will play their first home game of the 2008 season against the San Francisco Giants.

After a night in a rather posh suburban Milwaukee hotel that featured an HDTV, some of the softest pillows your cheek will ever touch and $3.50 bottles of water, we (meaning Joe Ziemer and I) are ready to provide you with reports throughout the day from the Brewers' home opener.

Be sure to check back after noon or so. For actual game updates, check www.mlb.com. Joe and I will provide you more of a behind-the-scenes look at today's game.

Enjoy.

- John Casper Jr.

Picking the All-Northwest team

2008-03-30T11:56:00.000-05:00

Another Leader-Telegram All-Northwest boys basketball team is in the books. I have to say, picking this year’s teams wasn’t easy. But after a lot of discussion and pondering, I like what we ended up with. If I was a coach, I certainly would like my odds with our first team on the floor.

For those interested, the process of picking the teams is basically this: After the season we send out nomination forms to area coaches. After reviewing those Ron Buckli and I sit down and make a preliminary list. We’ll slot players into teams, sleep on it, discuss them some more, talk to a few more coaches and then finalize our teams.

(What’s a sign that your job’s getting the better of you? Try waking up at 3 a.m. thinking about high school basketball and then going to the computer to review all-conference teams on the internet.)

Statistics certainly play a part in All-NW selection, but stats alone don’t decide the teams. If they did, there wouldn’t be much suspense. You could just pull out the area scoring leaders and count them off by five.

The biggest factors for us are what we’ve seen and what opposing coaches have to say. When a coach says Player X is the best defender or toughest matchup in the conference, that definitely counts for something.

A perfect example is Eau Claire Regis’ Jack Eaton. He’s not the leading scorer on his team, but he earned second-team honors because of his consistency and how many big shots he hit. The kid’s cold-blooded. Almost every coach I’ve talked to raves about his shot. And almost every time Buck or I saw him play, he hit a big shot.

The choice for player of the year was a pretty easy one after the performance Eleva-Strum’s Lance Rongstad put on at the state tournament. His combination of skill, poise and athleticism is one we might not see in this area for a few years. I agree with his coach, Rich Roginski. Rongstad could play DI ball.

Those are just a few of my thoughts on the teams. Feel free to share yours by leaving a comment. That’s the great part about sports, being able to debate. Thanks for stopping by.

- Joe Ziemer

Flambeau wins third straight title

2008-03-15T13:41:00.000-05:00

Look out Milwaukee Washington and Cuba City. You’ve got company.

Tiny Flambeau High School cemented its place in WIAA girls basketball lore Saturday, beating Neenah St. Mary Central, 61-36, in the Division 4 state championship game at the Alliant Energy Center. It became the third team — and the first in Division 4 — to win three straight titles.

Milwaukee Washington won three straight Division 1 titles from 1994-’96, while Cuba City won three straight from 2005-’07.

Although the WIAA didn’t sponsor a girls basketball state tournament until 1976, winning three straight championships is nothing to sneeze at. Other than Flambeau, Washington and Cuba City, only nine schools have won two straight titles. In boys basketball, which started a state tournament in 1916, only 30 teams have won consecutive titles and five have won three straight.

Randolph is the only school in boys or girls basketball to win four straight titles.
Flambeau is also just the sixth girls team to have won four state titles. It’s other championship game in 2000.

- John Casper Jr.

Flambeau up at the half

2008-03-15T13:05:00.001-05:00

Flambeau coach Ted Alberson said Friday that his team won because of desire.

That’s pretty much the same for today. Flambeau certainly isn’t lighting it up from the field, but offensive rebounding and a few defense-into-offense baskets have the Falcons ahead, 25-17 at the half.

Flambeau’s Susan Bischoff leads the Falcons with eight points. Lindsey Brost, who had a big game Friday, has seven points and four rebounds. Freshman Shelby Sterba continued her coming out party with six points.

Reegan Cheslock has 10 points to lead St. Mary Central. No other player has more than two.

Flambeau is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and has 10 offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points. It also has scored 20 of its 25 points in the paint. St. Mary is shooting 26.1 percent from the floor.

The first quarter was a bit rocky by Flambeau standards.

The Falcons turned over the ball eight times and made just one of six free throws. St. Mary didn’t seemed phased at all by Flambeau’s press and even started to establish its own. The Zephyrs led, 11-9, at the end of the first quarter.

Flambeau opened the second quarter by going on a 8-0 run and has kept its lead above five points ever since.

- John Casper Jr.

Altoona trails, 30-16, at halftime

2008-03-14T16:38:00.000-05:00

Whether it is state tournament jitters, an off shooting night or problems with Monroe’s zone defense, things aren’t going too well for Altoona in its Division 2 state semifinal against Monroe at the Alliant Energy Center.

The Railroaders are shooting 31.8 percent from the floor while Monroe is connecting at a 52.6-percent clip. The result is a 30-16 lead for the Cheesemakers, who won the state title in 2006 but have an almost entirely new roster from that championship team.

Brittany Gregorich leads Altoona with eight points while Tiffany Gregorich has five.

Altoona missed its first nine shots and fell behind 12-1 before Tiffany Gregorich’s 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the first quarter. She added a driving layup just before the buzzer to make the score 12-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The Rails cut it to two points on two occasions, but were stuck on 14 points for almost 3 minutes. Meanwhile, Monroe took advantage of a depleted Altoona frontline. Six-foot sophomores Ashley Hermanson and Jamie Armstrong scored 13 of Monroe’s 18 points in the second quarter.

Foul trouble became an issue in the second quarter. Four players — Brittany Gregorich, Aimee Reyzer, Rachel Larson and Monica Rasmussen — had two fouls midway through the second. That’s partly why Hermanson and Armstrong have taken over.

They have a combined 18 points and 10 rebounds at the half.

On another note, I don’t see the Monroe mouse. I’m devastated.

- John Casper Jr.

Flambeau beats Eleva-Strum, 57-40

2008-03-14T12:46:00.002-05:00

Kyle Kaufman said it was offensive rebounding and a lack of offensive execution. The stat sheet suggested it was Flambeau’s fullcourt press.

Whatever the reason, the Eleva-Strum girls basketball team just didn’t have enough firepower to hang with the Falcons in this morning’s WIAA Division 4 state semifinal at the Alliant Energy Center.

The two-time defending state champion Falcons scored 36 points off 29 Eleva-Strum turnovers and pulled away in the second half for a 57-40 victory. Flambeau (25-1) plays Neenah St. Mary Central at 12:05 p.m. Saturday for its third straight state championship. It can become the third team in WIAA history — and the first in Division 4 — to win three straight championships.

To its credit, Eleva-Strum (20-6) didn’t go into a shell after Flambeau built a double-figure first-half lead. The Cardinals took a one-point lead late in the first half and trailed by one at halftime.

But the Falcons made some adjustments to their fullcourt pressure defense and the Cardinals hit a wall offensively. Flambeau outscored Eleva-Strum, 15-4, in the third quarter to seal its date in Saturday's championship game.

Lindsey Brost scored 16 points to lead Flambeau while Beth Alberson, who was celebrating her 18th birthday, was one of three players with 11 points. Brynn Salava scored 13 to lead the Cardinals.

Aside from committing 29 turnovers, Eleva-Strum surrendered 18 offensive rebounds. Flambeau finished with 22 second-chance points compared to just five for the Cardinals.

- John Casper Jr.

Flambeau up by 1 at the half

2008-03-14T11:37:00.003-05:00

We’ve got a good one on our hands.

After getting over the initial shock of Flambeau’s fullcourt press, Eleva-Strum has fought and clawed its way back into this morning’s WIAA Division 4 state semifinal at the Alliant Energy Center.

Flambeau leads, 28-27, at halftime. Eleva-Strum’s Brynn Salava leads all scorers with seven points while Megan Schultz has six. Flambeau’s Lindsey Brost has six points, while Whitney Verdegan and Shelby Sterba each have five.

The Cardinals led for a moment after two free throws by Brynn Salava made it 27-26 with 1:13 left in the half. Flambeau answered with a bucket by Sterba, a freshman, and Eleva-Strum missed four shots on its last possession of the half.

Eleva-Strum got back into the game by getting to the free-throw line. The Cardinals are 11 of 12 on free throws and four Flambeau players — Susan Bischoff, Brost, Beth Alberson and Sam Zimmer each have two fouls.

The beginning couldn’t have been much worse for Eleva-Strum. Flambeau led, 6-0, the first time the Cardinals got the ball past halfcourt. It was 10-2 shortly thereafter.

But Eleva-Strum eventually calmed down and found the holes it needed to in the Falcons’ aggressive fullcourt pressure. It went on a 7-2 run and had Flambeau on its heels for a bit.

The Falcons answered by scoring five points in a 13-second span to bump the lead back to eight, but the Cardinals slowly crept back.

Other observations:

*Members of the Eleva-Strum boys basketball team are front-and-center in the student section, leading those cheers. The Flambeau student section has “The Red Man Group,” three guys that are like the Blue Man Group, only, you know, red.

*I stated my affinity for mascots in an earlier blog post. Eleva-Strum has a pretty good lookin’ Cardinal. I’m still giddy over the thought of Monroe’s mouse, however.

- John Casper Jr.

Closing out Colfax

2008-03-13T17:13:00.003-05:00

The Colfax girls basketball team gave Markesan a good run Thursday morning, but fell a bit short. As coach Joe Doucette said in the postgame press conference (and in my game story), the Vikings seemed to be one or two baskets away from grabbing control of the game in the third quarter.

Had Colfax built a two- or three-possession lead, it would have been content to go into what Doucette called "the weave," which is an offensive set designed to make the other team chase you around the floor. It could lead to an easy basket, but at the very least, it takes big chunks of time off the scoreboard.

But the Vikings could never get that run going.

Markesan did a pretty good job of following around Courtney Doucette wherever she went. Kelsi Knutson made a couple of big shots and took the ball to the hoop and the Vikings had others step up in spots but never developed a third scoring threat.

Defensively, the Vikings did a great job on Markesan's Jadee Rooney. The UW-Parkside recruit was held to just six points on 2-of-11 shooting. Marieanna Dulas, the other half of the Hornets' talented backcourt duo, was the benefit of some of that additional help on Rooney, and she finished with 15.

But I thought it was Markesan's inside game that did the most damage. Caitlyn Krenz and Jecel Gerner combined for 15 points and 15 rebounds. Gerner didn't miss a shot, and Krenz hit a backbreaking 18 footer that gave Markesan some momentum in the second half.

This is far from Colfax's swan song. While it loses Knutson and Abby Johnson to graduation, the team does return Courtney Doucette, Adrien Sarauer, Kasey Laramy, and Jenni Gust, a freshman who didn't shy away from getting involved Thursday.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Colfax back here again next year.

- John Casper Jr.

Colfax falls, 41-35

2008-03-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

They rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit and kept one of the state’s best players to her lowest point total of the season.

But the Colfax Vikings just didn’t have enough this morning at the Alliant Energy Center.

Markesan’s Mareianna Dulas scored 15 points and the inside duo of Caitlyn Krenz and Jecel Gerner gave Colfax fits, as the Vikings’ season came to an end with a 41-35 loss to the Hornets in a WIAA Division 3 state semifinal.

Markesan (24-2) advanced to play Oostburg in the state championship game at 6:35 p.m. Saturday. Colfax ended its season at 21-4.

- John Casper Jr.

Colfax trails at halftime

2008-03-13T11:34:00.001-05:00

It’s not the guard tandem of Jadee Rooney and Marieanna Dulas that gave Colfax the most trouble in the first half, rather it’s been Markesan’s inside play that has helped the Hornets take a 19-11 halftime lead.

Caitlyn Krenz and Jecel Gerner combined for eight points and nine rebounds in the first half, keeping the Hornets afloat while Dulas was on the bench with foul trouble and Rooney struggled to find her shot.

Once Dulas got back on the floor, she started to take over. She leads all scorers at halftime with eight points. Rooney, on the other hand, is 0-for-6 from the floor. That duo came into the game averaging a combined 33 points.

Colfax can’t seem to find the net. The Vikings are 4-for-22 and 0-for-7 on 3-pointers. Kelsi Knutson has four points and four rebounds. Courtney Doucette has three points and five rebounds. Other than that, it’s some slim pickings.

That’s also where Markesan’s inside combo of Krenz and Gerner are doing some damage. Kasey Laramy, who scored 16 points in the sectional final victory over Osseo-Fairchild and has emerged as a real inside threat for the Vikings, has just two points on 1 of 7 shooting.

Other random thoughts:

*A little disappointed that Markesan didn’t bring its giant bee mascot. I think a mascot should be mandated from all teams participating at state. Even if you don’t have one, borrow one from another school. As for Colfax, the Viking is rocking it in the front row. The best mascot at the state tourney should be here tomorrow; the Monroe mouse is where it’s at.

*The Alliant Energy Center is an OK place for the girls state tournament, but could they at least get a better floor? This thing is putrid and just a big advertisement for Alliant Energy. Couldn’t they truck over the floor from the Kohl Center or the Fieldhouse?

*When one student section starts chanting “We can’t hear you?” why does the other never respond with “Get a hearing aid?” These are the things that keep me up at night.

- John Casper Jr.

Shootaround notes: Northwest Wisconsin takes over the Alliant

2008-03-12T18:32:00.000-05:00

The four teams from northwestern Wisconsin at this weekend’s WIAA girls basketball tournament had the last four slots during Wednesday’s shootaround at the Alliant Energy Center.

Every team gets 25 minutes on the floor to explore the dead spots and get used to the rims. Most just go through pregame drills, others held a brief scrimmage and some, like Eleva-Strum, tried shooting halfcourt shots.

“It was really fun,” Eleva-Strum junior Brynn Salava said. “The last two minutes were kind of a joke, but it was fun.”

For the record, one Cardinals player made a shot. The others, including coach Kyle Kaufman, came up a bit short.

“I came pretty close,” Salava said.

Altoona junior Brittany Gregorich said the floor and the rims weren’t as bad as she was expecting. That’s the most important part of a shootaround, considering there aren’t too many teams that will run an actual practice or go through any offensive sets.

“It’s more just to get the feel for it so when we come out here it’s not like ‘Oh my gosh, this is so different,’” she said. “It’s more to just get the feeling, get out there and relax a little bit, feel how it is and get used to it.”

It’s a thrill, even if you’ve gone through it before. Flambeau’s Beth Alberson is playing in her third state tournament, the novelty hasn’t worn off.

“No, it’s a blast,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. It can never get old.”

Other happenings:

*Three of the teams — Altoona, Colfax and Flambeau — played in a summer league on Wednesday nights at Altoona. To show solidarity, Chuck Gregorich, father of Altoona’s Brittany and Tiffany, said there were shirts that say “Go Big Red” on the front with the names of the three teams on the back. Those three schools, including Eleva-Strum, have red among their school colors.

*Gregorich also told me about T&C Wings, a brand he and Tom Reyzer perfected over the years. I had to find out more about these wings. Apparently, they are pretty good.

“Not only are Tommy and Chuck the best wing makers, they are also the best braggers of their wings,” Flambeau coach Ted Alberson said. “They do a better job of advertising their wings better than Buffalo Wild Wings does.”

Colfax notes: Laramy key for the Vikings

2008-03-12T03:54:00.000-05:00

Courtney Doucette may lead the Colfax girls basketball team in scoring, but perhaps an even more important cog in the Vikings’ offensive gameplan is 6-foot junior center Kasey Laramy.

A stress fracture in her foot limited her production early in the season, but Laramy has come on strong lately. She had 16 points in the sectional final victory over Osseo-Fairchild and did what she could to slow the Chieftains’ potent inside combo of Hailey Hart and Katey Wrobel.

Overall, her numbers are rather modest. She’s averaging 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, although that includes the beginning of the season when she was limited with the foot injury.

“She started playing about four games into the season and it took seven or eight games to get her confidence,” Colfax coach Joe Doucette said. “It’s really added a new dimension to us. She’s our best rebounder and has improved so much defensively.

“What it’s done for us is that it’s kept us from being just a jump-shooting team.”

They are family

Courtney Doucette and Sam Doucette may be sisters in real life, but Colfax — like other teams — likes to think it is a family.

“We are family,” Courtney Doucette said. “We are all friends. We don’t care who is a senior, who ‘s a junior. We have great chemistry.”

Even the graduated Colfax players still feel part of the team. Laramy’s older sister, Kristen, was at the game Saturday and was just as excited as the current players.

“She was crying more than I was,” Kasey Laramy said. “She was really happy. She misses the team. She really wishes it could be her, but she was really happy for us.”

A little surprise

A few eyebrows were raised around the state when Markesan beat Cuba City to advance to the state tournament. The Cubans were the three-time defending state champions and ranked among the state’s top teams for the entire season.

But Markesan is not a pushover by any means.

The Hornets (23-2) have a Division II recruit in Jadee Rooney (UW-Parkside) and another potential college recruit in Marieanna Dulas. The two average a combined 33 points per game for Markesan, which uses a four-guard lineup.

“I was surprised,” Joe Doucette said. “I know Markesan is a very good team. I know Cuba City is probably the best Division 3 team in the history of Wisconsin girls high school basketball. They got a little banged up at the end of the year and that may have hurt them. But I was a little surprised and I think a lot of the people around the state were surprised.”

Markesan and Colfax play at 10:45 a.m. Thursday. Check back her for live updates during and after the game.

- John Casper Jr.

Cards up after three

2008-03-08T13:08:00.004-06:00

After trailing by three at halftim, Eleva-Strum has rallied to take a 41-34 over Suring after three quarters of the WIAA Division 4 championship game.

Nick Zander has 14 points to lead the Cardinals, while Lance Rongstad has 10.

- Joe Ziemer

Bench comes up big for Cardinals

2008-03-07T15:35:00.003-06:00

A big reason why Eleva-Strum is headed to the WIAA Division 4 state title game is the play of the bench.

Reserves Nick Rogness, Cole Schreiner and Mitch Klopp all contributed in Friday's semifinal win over Randolph.

Rogness scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists in 18 minutes. Schreiner, who might be the team's most improved player, had six points, three rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes. Klopp didn't score but gave the Cards 12 solid minutes off the bench. He brought the ball up court and took his turn guarding Tyler Tillema, which eased the burden on Jordan Petersen.

“Lance and I were talking about that walking in here, how great our bench played," Eleva-Strum coach Rich Roginski said at Friday's postgame news conference. "Cole was sensational. Mitch gave us great minutes and just did a great job. Nick Rogness, that 3, that was a big 3. That was really a momentum basket.”

Rogness made several key plays, including the 3-pointer with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the second quarter. That put E-S up by 14. He entered the game early on and gave the Cards a lot of energy upon entering the game.

“Nick Rogness, I’ll tell you, he is a silent killer," Roginski said. "He doesn’t put up great stats but he’s always going to hurt you in some manner – with a deflection, a defensive play, a hustle play. Today I was happy to see him score. That was a great thing for him. He’s worked really hard on his shooting.”

- Joe Ziemer

Cardinals win

2008-03-07T12:14:00.002-06:00

Eleva-Strum advanced to the WIAA Division 4 state title game Friday with a 61-45 victory over Randolph.

Lance Rongstad scored 26 points to lead the Cardinals, who will play Suring at 12:05 p.m. Saturday in the title game.

For more, visit www.leadertelegram.com. I should have more details shortly.

- Joe Ziemer

Eleva-Strum leads at halftime

2008-03-07T11:33:00.003-06:00

Talk about playing some defense.

Eleva-Strum leads Randolph, 30-16, at halftime. The Cardinals forced 10 Rockets turnovers in the first half and scored 11 points off turnovers. Randolph shot 26.3 percent, while E-S shot 45.8 percent.

Lance Rongstad has 10 points to lead the Cards, including an impressive follow-up dunk.

Nick Rogness has six points, keying an E-S bench that's outscored the Randolph reserves 10-2.

Remember, the Cards had an early lead on Randolph last season too. I'm sure that was brought up in the locker room at halftime.

Stay tuned.

- Joe Ziemer

Suring into the finals

2008-03-07T10:31:00.004-06:00

Suring advanced to the WIAA Division 4 state championship game with a 57-45 win over Luck in Friday morning's first semifinal.

Josh Regal, the pint-sized Suring guard who never fails to impress, scored 25 points and had eight assists.

Brennan Olson scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Luck, while Tyler Petersen had 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles (26-0) will get the winner of Eleva-Strum and Randolph, who will be tipping off in approximately 20 minutes.

Check back for more on that game. There's a good crowd on hand for what should be a fantastic game.

- Joe Ziemer

Huskies fall at state

2008-03-06T22:46:00.005-06:00

Eau Claire North gave Tosa East all it could handle in Thursday's WIAA Division 1 quarterfinal. The Huskies just didn't have quite enough, though, falling 50-38.

Sorry for the lack of halftime update. With deadline creeping up on me, I got a head start on my article.

North did almost everything it needed to do to win -- other than get a couple more shots to fall. Were it not for a slightly slow start from the field from Evan Anderson and Tyler Brown, who knows what happens.

Either way, the Huskies represented the area quite well in the Division 1 field. I think they surprised a few folks by hanging with the Red Raiders.

“I don’t think we get enough credit up in our part of Wisconsin,” Brown said. “But I think we came out and played a pretty tough game. Towards the end of the game, they kind of made a run. That’s why they were able to win by a large margin. But I was happy with the way we played and how we played with them.”

And the quote of the night comes -- not surprisingly -- from Huskies coach Pat Hammond:

“We’ve gotten nothing but better throughout the year. Sometimes we don’t get a lot of credit up north. … Our kids are pretty good players. They’re no cakewalks. Maybe we caught them by surprise, I don’t know. You get north of Madison sometimes and they figure we just have snowmobiles up there. My kids are good kids. I always tell them I’d go to war with them anytime. Our goal is to play 32 minutes and leave it on the floor. We’re not bad. We’re pretty good.”

North loses six seniors to graduation, including both starting guards in Paul Hahn and Brian Hundt. Also gone will be top reserves James Moist and Mark Joswiak.

The Huskies' imposing frontcourt of Anderson, Brown and Andy Kleist returns, so if some guards emerge to complement the big guys, look out. North should be the team to beat once again in the Big Rivers Conference.

- Joe Ziemer

Brookfield Central wins

2008-03-06T20:17:00.002-06:00

Whoever wins the Eau Claire North-Wauwatosa East Division 1 quarterfinal will take on Brookfield Central at approximately 8:15 Friday night.

The Lancers advanced to the semifinals with a 63-55 win over Bay Port, which is coached by Eau Claire Regis graduate Nate Rykal.

It looks like we'll be tipping off around 8:40 or 8:45 p.m. (This will make my deadline exciting).

And by the way, Evan Anderson is in fact shooting in warmups. I suspect he's ready to go.

I'll check back in at halftime.

- Joe Ziemer

Division 1 update

2008-03-06T15:05:00.003-06:00

Well one Division 1 quarterfinal is in the books. Former Ladysmith coach Forrest Larson and his Lake Geneva Badger team put up a heck of a fight but fell to a very good Madison Memorial team, 79-63.

Eau Claire North won't play until about 8:15 p.m. Keep an eye on 6-foot-11 sophomore Evan Anderson, who injured his shoulder diving for a loose ball in the sectional final Saturday in Marshfield.

Anderson did not fully participate in yesterday's shootaround, but coach Pat Hammond told me he'll play. Anderson came back into the game Saturday after the injury.

Obviously, Anderson's shot-blocking, rebounding and interior offense is crucial to the Huskies' chances against Wauwatosa East.

- Joe Ziemer

What's next for the Ramblers

2008-03-06T12:15:00.002-06:00

The silver lining for Eau Claire Regis is that five of the eight players who saw action in Thursday's WIAA Division 3 state semifinal loss will be back next season.

The Ramblers' top two scorers -- guards Adam Ganske and Jack Eaton -- both are sophomores and should form the core of next season's team. Ganske and Eaton combined for 32 of the Ramblers' 50 points Thursday.

“It’s definitely always your goal to get down to state," Ganske said. "We’re going to be trying that the next couple years. We have a young team so hopefully, we can get back down here.”

Regis will have to replace its entire frontcourt, following the graduation of Zac Berry, Mike Nezworski and Kurt Roubal. Junior Nick Bowe, who started while Ganske missed six games with a thigh bruise, figures to claim one of those spots.

- Joe Ziemer

Ramblers fall

2008-03-06T10:50:00.003-06:00

After leading by as many as 15 points in the second half, Eau Claire Regis fell to Iola-Scandinavia, 53-50, in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinals.

A rash of turnovers and a crucial foul call cost Regis, which had 10 turnovers in the second half.

The Thunderbirds' Mike Griffin hit two free throws with 1 minute left to give his team the lead at 51-50. That was after a very questionable foul call on Nick Bowe, his fifth. Bowe poked the ball away from Griffin near midcourt, got ahead of Griffin and appeared on his way to getting the ball when Griffin initiated contact. But the foul was called on Bowe. He fouled out, Griffin hit the eventual game-winning free throws and the Ramblers missed out on a state title game berth.

- Joe Ziemer

Regis leads at half

2008-03-06T09:44:00.003-06:00

Apparently, not shooting on the Kohl Center floor yesterday didn't bother Eau Claire Regis.

The Ramblers shot 47.6 percent in the first half and have a 24-17 lead over Iola-Scandinavia.

Regis has held the Thunderbirds to 27.3 percent shooting and kept star Mike Griffin to four points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Jack Eaton has seven points to pace the Ramblers.

Shootaround update

2008-03-05T17:11:00.003-06:00

I just got back from the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion at the Kohl Center, where Eau Claire North and Eau Claire Regis were having their shootarounds (I didn't arrive in Madison in time for Eleva-Strum's -- my car needed an oil change).

Since the Badgers are playing Penn State tonight, the teams weren't able to use the Kohl Center floor. Instead they used the adjoining practice facility. That's probably the only downside of today's activities. But as far as practice facilities go, the pavilion is a pretty nice one.

One of the security guards did let the Huskies get a peak inside the Kohl Center, so they were able to get a brief glance at where they'll play tomorrow night.

Both teams seemed pretty loose and ready to go. Regis had a practice today at Edgewood, while North will practice at MATC tomorrow morning. The Huskies also had a quick practice this morning at the Doghouse before their sendoff festivities.

I'd say the highlight of today's shootaround was the impromptu dunk contest North had. Andy Kleist and Tyler Brown probably had the most impressive dunks -- Brown threw one ball off the backboard before tomahawking it home -- but James Moist also showed some hops in throwing one down for what I'm told is his first dunk.

And for the record, after being called out by several Ramblers players, I swished a free throw. I hope the TV guys have that on tape.

See y'all bright and early -- at least by sports writer standards -- tomorrow morning at the Kohl Center for Regis and Iola-Scandinavia in the Division 3 semifinals. I'll also check in throughout the day with more on that game and North's Division 1 quarterfinal against Tosa East.

- Joe Ziemer

Championship

2008-03-01T16:37:00.002-06:00

Edgewood's Cody Strang picked up a 6-on-4 goal with 48 seconds remaining but it was too little too late as Memorial completed its perfect season with a 3-1 victory over Madison Edgewood.

It's the first state title for Eau Claire Memorial since 1977 and the first-ever boys hockey title.

Jefferson Dahl, Hunter Scott and Ryan Falch all scored goals for Memorial and Sand collected 21 saves.

Edgewood's Cody Strang scored the Crusaders lone goal and goalie Brad Jerzewski made 41 saves.

--Adam Parks

Dahl gives Memorial 3-0 lead

2008-03-01T16:02:00.002-06:00

There's still 10 minutes remaining, but Wisconsin's Mr. Hockey award winner my have just put the game out of reach for the Crusaders with his 36th goal fo the game.

Dahl took a pass from Ryan Falch on the 2-on-1 breakaway and beat Edgewood's Brad Jerzewski with a wrist shot for the goal.

But don't take my word for it, the opposing student sections are now playing a game of verbal volleyball with a series of light-hearted chants. Seems like they've got the same feeling I do.

-- Adam Parks

Memorial pads the lead

2008-03-01T15:06:00.002-06:00

Hunter Scott became the seventh Old Abes player to score in the tournment, slamming home a rebound for the 2-0 advantage.

Scott and Jefferson Dahl attacked the Edgewood zone on a 2-on-1 opportunity when Dahl fired a shot from the right side that caromed off of goaltender Brad Jerzewski to Scott on the backside for the tally.

-- Adam Parks

Abes take lead

2008-03-01T14:43:00.003-06:00

One power-play opportunity, one goal for the Old Abes.

Ryan Falch took a pass from Shayne McLaughlin in the circle just to the left of Edgewood goalie Brad Jerzewski and flipped a wrister past the sophomore netminder over his glove for the tally.

It's the second goal of the tournament for Falch, who notched the game winner in yesterday's win over Superior.

-- Adam Parks

WIAA state boys hockey tournament-LIVE

2008-03-01T14:18:00.003-06:00

The Eau Claire bad is pounding out the final countdown, a sea of purple rose in waves as the Old Abes stepped on the ice and the excitement nearly unbearable.

All of which can mean only one thing...

We're back live from the Alliant Energy Center in Madison where the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes will look to earn their first-ever boys hockey title when they face off against the Madison Edgewood Crusaders.

The Old Abes are warming up, fighting through the butterflies and getting ready for the biggest hockey game in Memorial history.

And while they get warmed up, here's a few nuggets for some pre-game reading (kind of like my own little warmup):

-- The 2008 all-state team was released and four Old Abes are on the first team list: Jefferson Dahl, David Donnellan, Brady Keegan and Brady Sand. It was the consecutive first team honor for Dahl, Keegan and Sand. Donnellan was an honorable mention pick last year. Shayne McLaughlin, Nate Verbracken and Ben Kincaid all made the honorable mention list.

-- Memorial is looking to end a state title drought that dates back to 1977, when the boys golf team took home the state title. This is the first time in the state tournament championship game for the Old Abes.

-- Edgewood is here by virtue of its 3-2 victory over Appleton United yesterday evening. Freshman Gage Maurer scored the game-winner 12 minutes, 20 seconds into the third period.Maurer has two goals in the playoffs.

-- The scoring has been balanced the past two games for Memorial with five different players scoring and only one, Nate Verbracken, scoring more than once (he's got 2 goals).

-- Madison Edgewood has only two losses all season, both coming while star forward Cody Strang was on the shelf with a broken ankle. Strang missed nine games during the season and still entered the state tournament as the Crusaders' third-leading scorer.

-- Memorial will have to stay out of the penalty box, where they've gotten in trouble at state. All three state tournament goals have come on the power-play, the same number the Old Abes have given up in 23 games entering the state tournament.

-- Like Memorial, Edgewood can claim a finalist for the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association player of the year award in senior defenseman Tyler Sorenson.

Previewing the WIAC women's title game

2008-03-01T00:13:00.007-06:00

The top-seeded UW-Eau Claire women’s basketball team had Zorn Arena rocking Thursday night in an 86-61 rout of fourth-seeded rival UW-Stout in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. But one of the most enthusiastic roars from the crowd of 1,409 came after the game, when it was announced that third-seeded UW-Stevens Point upset second-seeded UW-Whitewater, 79-71, in the other semifinal.

Technically, the Pointers were the underdogs. But they’ve shown all season long that they can run with –- and defeat –- anyone else in the conference. And that includes the Blugolds.

The Blugolds (22-5) host the Pointers (23-4) in the WIAC tournament championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Zorn Arena, and the winner will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. The teams split their regular-season series, with the Blugolds winning, 62-54, on Jan. 23 at Zorn Arena and the Pointers getting even with a 57-43 victory Feb. 13 in Stevens Point.

Three things the Blugolds must do to defeat the Pointers this time:

1. Contain the Pointers’ athletic guards: The Pointers usually start three of them –- Katie Webber, Jessi Sporle and Haley Houghton. Houghton is their biggest scoring threat, averaging 12.8 points per game and scoring from just about everywhere on the court, but all three guards are matchup headaches. Neither Webber nor Sporle averages more than 10 per game, but both are smart, move well without the ball and create opportunities for their teammates. Heather Witt, Amanda Zenner, Heidi Arciszewski, Missy Fremstad and Rachel Mueggenborg will have their hands full Saturday.

2. Shut down the Pointers’ perimeter game: Houghton has drilled more 3-pointers this season (53) than anyone else in the conference, and forward Laura Neuenfeldt (41) is sixth in the WIAC. As a forward who can do just as much damage outside as inside, Neuenfeldt especially is dangerous, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Michelle Burns seeing a lot of that assignment. Since Blugolds freshman forward Hannah Mesick spends much of her time in the paint, it likely will be on Burns to keep Neuenfeldt quiet. Of course, the Blugolds will count on Witt and Mueggenborg to establish their own presence outside the arc. Mueggenborg has been especially surgical of late, nailing a school-record nine treys in the WIAC quarterfinals against UW-River Falls on Tuesday at Zorn Arena.

3. Get the ball to Michelle Burns: This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Burns has become the Blugolds’ unquestioned go-to player down the stretch, and there aren’t many players in the WIAC with the ability to both slow her in the paint and chase her around the outside. She averages 14.7 points per game – fourth in the WIAC –- and 6.3 boards –- fifth in the WIAC. But, more than that, she’s been there before, she’s poised, and she’s the glue that holds her team together. She scored a combined 31 points in the teams’ first two meetings. She’s got a lot of reliable help around her in veterans Witt, Zenner and Arciszewski, and her presence both inside and outside could set the game’s tone early in what should be a jam-packed Zorn Arena.

-Justin Harings

Abes Win

2008-02-29T21:37:00.002-06:00

The Old Abes had opportunities to pad their lead in the third period, but couldn't seem to figure out Superior goalie Kyle Johnson.

But the disappearance of their finishing touch seemed to matter little.

Memorial's lone goal of the third was an empty net tally and the Old Abes set a record that means more to them than the rest of the records they’ve broken this year combined, becoming the first team in school history to make it to the WIAA boys state hockey tournament final by virtue of their 4-1 win over Superior on Friday night at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

Memorial grabbed its second win over Superior this season – and fourth straight—to advance to play Madison Edgewood in the state final today at approximately 2:30 p.m.
A little more than a day removed for its first goalless game of the season, Memorial’s top line responded with authority, scoring the first two goals of the game to help lead the Memorial offense that peppered Superior goalie Kyle Johnson with 36shots in the game.

The Spartans capitalized on a power play opportunity, tying the game at 2-2.
Noah Gilbertson took a pass from Tim Smith and sent a slap shot past Sand to tie the game.

Shayne McLaughlin put the Old Abes on top when he poked a Jefferson Dahl rebound past Superior's Kyle Johnson to regain one-goal advantage for the Old Abes.
McLaughlin broke into the offensive zone and threw a shot on net that sailed wide and bounced to a waiting Jefferson Dahl at the right side of the net. Dahl tried to sneak a shot past Johnson, who made the save but allowed the rebound to go right to McLaughlin for the 2-1 advantage.

A first-period penalty hurt the Old Abes when Pat Dalbec finished a 3-on-2 breakaway for the equalizer.

After Mike Miettenun was stopped on a breakaway opportunity, Dalbec got the puck back and skated in between the circles to power the goal past Memorial's Brady Sand.
It didn't take long for the Memorial offense to get into the swing of things. Just 38seconds into the contest, Jefferson Dahl scored his first goal of the tournament, tipping in a Ben Kincaid shot from the blue-line to take the early advantage.

Dahl set up the play by digging the puck out of the corner to the left of Superior netminder Kyle Johnson, sending a pass to Kincaid and then breaking to the net to tip in the tally.

Old Abes lead/Second intermission thoughts

2008-02-29T20:59:00.004-06:00

The Memorial defensemen just keep on firing from blue line and their forwards just keep tipping them in. This time it David Donnellan who let loose a shot from just inside the blue line that was tipped by Ryan Falch to give Memorial a 3-2 advantage with just 35.9 seconds remaining in the second.

Memorial now takes a one-goal advantage into the final period with just 17 minutes standing between it and its first-ever state title appearance.

Some more thoughts:

The penalties continue to be a problem for ECM as both of Superior's goals have come on the powerplay. All three of Memorial's goals allowed in the state tournament have come on the power play, the exact same number that they allowed in 23 previous games this season.

Memorial is starting to put a little more pressure on Superior goalie Kyle Johnson, firing 15 shots at the senior netminder this period -- giving them a two-period shot total of 23 to Superior's 17.

-- Adam Parks

Sup ties it...again

2008-02-29T20:50:00.003-06:00

No sooner do I stop writing than do the Spartans capitalize on the power play opportunity, tying the game at 2-2.

Noah Gilbertson took a pass from Tim Smith (who is currently doing penance for a hooking infraction), and sent a slap shot past Sand for to tie the game.

Let's see if Memorial can repay the favor on the power play, just its second opportunity of the game.

-- Adam Parks

Memorial back on top

2008-02-29T20:45:00.002-06:00

Shayne McLaughlin put the Old Abes back on top when he poked a Jefferson Dahl rebound past Superior's Kyle Johnson to regain one-goal advantage for the Old Abes.

McLaughlin broke into the offensive zone and threw a shot on net that sailed wide and bounced to a waiting Jefferson Dahl at the right side of the net. Dahl tried to sneak a shot past Johnson, who made the save but allowed the rebound to go right to McLaughlin for the score.

Similar to the last Memorial goal they committed a penalty soon after and are currently on the penalty kill.

-- Adam Parks

First Intermission

2008-02-29T20:09:00.002-06:00

After a period of action there aren't a whole lot of surprises as the two squads battled to a 1-1 tie after the first 17 minutes.

The action remained back and forth with neither team dominating in the offensive zone as evidenced by the shots on goal totals (Memorial 8, Superior 7).

Penalties were a major point of emphasis for the Old Abes after yesterday's 3-1 victory over Janesville and they came back to haunt them again today as the lone Superior goal came on the power play.

Memorial coach Mike Schwengler made a much more concerted effort to get in his third and fourth lines tonight in the first period. By unofficial count I saw the third line of Curtis Deprey, Connor Moe and Alec Budzinski in for at least two shifts and the fourth line of Lukas Campbell, Will Fadness and Will Robertson once. Part of this strategy is due in part to Superior's use of three lines for a good portion of the period, while he may also be hoping to wear down a Superior team that went into overtime last night and is playing on less than 24 hours of rest.

It was good to see the top line get into the scoring early after being held without a goal last night while Ben Kincaid continues to be the most dangerous offensive weapon from the blue line in the playoffs by notching an assist tonight to go along with yesterday's tally.

-- Adam Parks

Sup ties it up

2008-02-29T20:02:00.002-06:00

A first-period penalty hurt the Old Abes when Pat Dalbec finished a 3-on-2 breakaway for the equalizer.

After Mike Miettenun was stopped on a breakaway opportunity, Dalbec got the puck back and skated in between the circles to power the goal past Memorial's Brady Sand.

-- Adam Parks

Old Abes lead

2008-02-29T19:43:00.003-06:00

It didn't take long for the Memorial offense to get into the swing of things. Just 38 seconds into the contest, Jefferson Dahl scored his first goal of the tournament, tipping in a Ben Kincaid shot from the blue-line to take the early advantage.

Dahl set up the play by digging the puck out of the corner to the left of Superior netminder Kyle Johnson, sending a pass to Kincaid and then breaking to the net to tip in the tally.

Memorial has also killed a penalty since the early tally.

-- Adam Parks

Old Abes on tap

2008-02-29T19:05:00.003-06:00

Well folks, after a quick bite to eat with WQOW-TV 18 sports director Bob Bradovich and his lovely fiance, it's back to hockey here at the Alliant Energy Center where the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes prepare to take on the Superior Spartans in the second WIAA boys hockey state semifinal.

Memorial already owns a 6-5 victory over Superior this season. Brady Sand struggled in that game, making only four saves on eight shots in the first before being pulled in favor of Aarin McLaughlin who let in only one goal the rest of the way. Sand would love to redeem himself today.

Superior needed an extra frame yesterday, but pulled off the 6-5 win over University School of Milwaukee to advance. John LeDoux scored the overtime power-play tally, his second of the game, to power the Spartans.

The winner will advance to play Madison Edgewood in tomorrow's state title game at approximately 2:30 (though probably later, let's be honest here...the trophy presentation for the girls game prior to the boys game will take longer than expected. And unlike the Oscars, there's no music to push people off the stage.)

We're about 15 minutes from game time right now but be sure to check back later for live updates of all the scoring and a few insights as well.

--Adam Parks

Chi Hi falls

2008-02-29T13:05:00.002-06:00

Jess Lakin won the faceoff and sent a shot past Kiara McChesney to win the game for Fond du Lac. The power play tally came with just more than a minute to play in overtime.

-- Adam Parks

Tied up and going to OT

2008-02-29T12:51:00.002-06:00

Allie Tanzer knocked home a backside rebound to knot the game up for CF at 2-2.

The Warbirds responded with two penalties that put them at a 5-on-3 disadvantage but a bunch of spectacular saves by Fond du Lac's Samantha Lakin kept the Warbirds in it to force overtime.

Let's just hope we don't see another 6 OT game like the Wisconsin Rapids/Middleton affair from two years ago. I sat through that game--and sitting through a game that long once was more than enough for this sports writer.

-- Adam Parks

Warbirds take the lead

2008-02-29T12:06:00.002-06:00

The goals are coming in bunches for Fond du Lac/Waupun, taking the lead on an Amy Knutson goal just 2 minutes, 2 seconds following the equalizing tally.

With a faceoff in the right circle, Knutson took the puck across the face of Kiara McChesney and beat the junior for the goal.

-- Adam Parks

Warbirds knot it up

2008-02-29T12:03:00.002-06:00

Penalties finally hurt the Cardinals when Fond du Lac's Katie Lindsley beat the Cards Kiara McChesney on the power play to tie the game up at one apiece.

With Mikayla Hogan in th box. Lindsley took a pass from Megan Sesing-Gomoll, skated in a circle before throwing a shot on net from the top of the right circle that found the upper left corner of the net.
-- Adam Parks

Chippewa Falls leads

2008-02-29T11:50:00.001-06:00

Mikayla Hogan scored the first tally of the game 4 minutes, 4 seconds into the second when she poked the puck past the Fond du Lac defense, had a one-on-one with Samantha Lakin and beat the Warbirds senior high for the unassisted goal.

-- Adam Parks

First Intermision

2008-02-29T11:23:00.002-06:00

Well, it looked like the Cardinals were finally going to a take a lead with 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining when Rebecca Foster appeared to poke a wraparound backhand past the Warbirds Samantha Lakin in the the first period, but the goal was disallowed as a penalty was called on CF's Sam Phephles instead. I'm sure the Cards are none too happy about it either.

In other news:

-- Chippewa Falls dominated its only power play opportunity of the period, getting a handful of good shots on Lakin, but couldn't quite get the puck bast the senior netminder.

-- The same couldn't be said for Fondy, who struggled during its lone power play opportunity. Allie Tanzer nearly broke loose on a breakaway during the span and Mikayla Hogan skated in circles to eat up a good chunk of the time as well. There is four seconds remaining on that power play for Fondy.

-- Shots were pretty even through 17 minutes, with the Cards managing 12 and Fondy getting 11 with neither goalie breaking.

-- Fond du Lac seemed to do a fairly good job of keeping up with the Cards in the first period, which shouldn't come as a surprise. The Warbirds were tied with the Cards 2-2 in the first meeting after two periods. From the looks of things, it could come down to the third period again.

-- Adam Parks

Line Notes

2008-02-29T11:10:00.003-06:00

Just a quick observation on the Fondy lines. Coach Mike Cowan opened up the game with his top three scorers-Amy Knutson, Katie Fritz and Lindsey Farmer - as his second line, matching them up with CF's second line. Not sure if this is the Fondy's usual line setup, or if Cowan is trying to keep his top line away from CF's top line but it'll be something to keep an eye on throughout the game.

--Adam Parks

Back at the WIAA state hockey tournament

2008-02-29T10:48:00.002-06:00

Well folks we're back bright and early this morning. The parking lot here at the Alliant Energy Center closely resembles the sheet of ice inside -- something I found out the hard way. Guess I should have brought some skates.

We're about five minutes from the day's first girls semifinal of the day between the Chippewa Falls Cardinals and the Fond du Lac/Waupun Warbirds. The Chippewa Falls band is getting the fans warmed up with some old favorites as the teams take the ice (I, on the other hand, and enjoying some Caroline's Spine on my headphones--but I digress.)

A few quick hitters before we get this party started:

-- Chippewa Falls is looking to make it to the state final for the second consecutive season. They lost last year to Appleton United (who isn't in the tournament this year) 4-2.

-- The Cardinals won the only matchup between the two teams this season 5-2.

-- Mikayla Hogan shattered the girls scoring records last year -- scoring six goals and seven points in one game.

And now, without further adieu...let's play hockey.

-- Adam Parks

Old Abes win

2008-02-28T18:54:00.003-06:00

It was far from the dominating performance the Old Abes have had all season, but they held on for the 3-1 victory to advance to the state semifinal against either Superior or University School tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Nate Verbracken put the game out of reach with a one-timer that slipped past Janesville's David Jacobson with just 46.3 seconds remaining.

The Old Abes battled through eight penalties -- allowing just one power play goal to advance to the semifinal for the second consecutive year.

I'm heading down to talk with coach Schwengler and the boys but be sure to check back later for some more observations from the Alliant Energy Center. Also be sure to check out tomorrow's Leader-Telegram for an in-depth look at the Old Abes victory.

-- Adam Parks