BRODHEAD — When the Cardinals learned they would travel to River Valley for the sectional final with a spot in the WIAA Division 3 state tournament on the line, they didn’t have any fears and instead were confident and at ease.

In 2023, Brodhead beat host River Valley 11-0 in a sectional final to earn its first trip to state since 2004. In fact, the Cardinals’ game against Adams-Friendship May 30 mirrored their game against the Blackhawks the year prior — tight to start before a break-out inning that didn’t leave any doubts as to who earned the state berth.

“We came back here feeling like last year,” senior outfielder Jaelyn Hilliard said. “We are a very superstitious team. We did our ritual that we do before every game. We had to stop on the way here to get taco seeds because we only chew taco-flavored seeds. Being here, all the nerves were gone.”

Now, reaching the state tournament for the second straight season, returners have a swagger to them. Seniors Hilliard, Tessa Kloepping, Jerrica Schwartz, Sophia Leitzen, juniors Tatum Ceslok and Ava Risum and sophomore Allie Dahl are ready to defend their title against the doubters.

“We showed up last year on the first day wide-eyed and bushy-eyed and had no idea what we were doing,” Leitzen said. “This year, we will show up and take care of business like we know how to do. We definitely proved a lot of people wrong. There were a lot of doubts that came this year, saying that we lost too much. Obviously proved that we are just as good, if not better.”

Last season, Brodhead was led by its pitcher-catcher combo in McKenna Young and Taetum Hoesly. Young — who just completed her freshman season at NCAA Division I South Dakota — had a .373 batting average, led the team with 10 doubles and six home runs and stole 11 bases. In the circle, she posted a 13-1 record with a 0.26 ERA and 178 strikeouts. Hoesly hit .325 with seven doubles, four home runs and 26 RBIs. Then-seniors Alexis Kammerer and Macayla Lang played critical roles too.

But the Cardinals are still strong at the pitcher and catcher roles with Risum and Schwartz. Risum — who has already committed as a junior to play for Lindenwood — has a 16-3 record with a 1.14 ERA and 181 strikeouts. In the postseason alone, Risum’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is 57-1. 

“If we aren’t putting kids on base without earning it, we are going to be tough to beat,” Brodhead head coach Steve Krupke said.

Schwartz is hitting .294 with 10 RBIs, which is up 70 points from her batting average last season. Other returners have made strides, too. Leitzen is hitting .556 with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 28 RBIs — all numbers that are up from a season ago. Hilliard, who was hitting just .181 this time last season, is up to .383 with 17 runs scored, six steals and a .440 OPS. Dahl, who showed signs of power as a freshman, is hitting .279 with three home runs and 21 RBIs. 

Collectively, Brodhead’s team batting average is .362. They’ve tallied 186 hits, drove in 129 runs and scored 150. The lowest batting average of a starter is only .264.

“Our order has the opportunity to (break open) throughout the whole thing — one through nine can get it started. We don’t rely on one part of our order,” Leitzen said. “We can start up a rally at any point. Once we hit, it’s really hard to stop us. Once we get going we are a train that keeps on rolling.”

THE REST OF THE FIELD

No. 1-seed Mishicot (25-0, 10-0 Big East) graduated just two seniors from last year’s team that was upset by Mayville in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinal. This year, Indians return with eight seniors on the roster and are ready to take back what they lost. Mishicot is making its third state appearance in the past four tournaments (not including the canceled 2020 season) and sixth overall. The Indians won the Division 4 championship in 2021 and advanced to the championship game in 2019, which resulted in a runner-up finish.

No. 2-seed Brodhead (19-4, 14-1 Rock Valley-Rock) has more losses to its record this season but won its conference for the second straight year. The Cardinals began the season with a 13-game winning streak and were ranked No. 1 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll.  They have since dropped to No. 2.

Three-seed Prescott (19-8, 10-4 Middle Border) returns to state for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2021 and for the seventh time overall. Prior to 2021, the Cardinals were eliminated from title contention in the semifinals in Division 2 in 1993 and 1998, and in Division 3 in 2002, 2018 and 2019.   

Four-seed Laconia (16-8, 9-5 Wisconsin Flyway) embarks on its sixth State Tournament appearance and the first since 2017. The Spartans have advanced to the championship game in each of the previous five experiences at state. They had a run of four straight appearances from 2014-17 that produced three straight championships in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and a runner-up finish in 2014. The Spartans also finished runner-up in 2009.

“There aren’t going to be any weak teams up there,” Krupke said. “We are just going to have to get better this week and put our best team on the field next weekend.”