MONROE - One can't blame Monroe coach Dale Buvid for being a bit spooked.
His Lady Cheesemakers, coming off a first-round bye, were done no favors by the postseason seeding committee. Tonight, in a WIAA Division 2 softball regional semifinal, Monroe hosts fourth-seeded McFarland, winners of 12 straight and the only team in Wisconsin.
"You'd think playing the winner of the 4-5 matchup that you'd have a good matchup on paper," Buvid said. "We might be the better team, but if we are, it's not by much. They're scary good offensively."
After the Cheese finished off Sparty, 11-2, in a rain-suspended game in McFarland Tuesday, April 29, McFarland took the nightcap 5-2 and never looked back - since that fateful doubleheader, the Spartans haven't lost.
Catcher Lindsey Reno, shortstop Andrea Steinhofer and first baseman Ashley Brown fill in the middle of a formidable lineup for McFarland. After leaning on last year's all-state ace, Stephanie Schmikla, McFarland has a new, more potent identity this season.
"They were a very young team last year and relied on Stephanie to carry them," Buvid said. "This year it's their team and we've gotta keep the top of their order from stringing hits together."
It will be on Monroe's senior ace, Renee Schuttler, to do just that. A master in the craft of painting the corners, Schuttler will likely turn to her changeup frequently to keep the eager McFarland batters off-balance.
While Buvid praises McFarland, he admits that the Cheesemaker lineup likely boasts more power. Schuttler, her junior sister Maggie, and Kylie Kaiser are just a few Cheesemakers who are capable of driving the ball to the far reaches of the park, including beyond the fence for the elder Schuttler, who has three career homers.
McFarland has also shown the ability to win the close one behind this year's ace, Shauna O'Malley. With their bats not exactly ringing in the first round, the Spartans snuck past Big Foot to earn a rubber match at Twining Park.
"I'd rather see just about anybody else," Buvid said. "We talked to our kids and told them, 'Repect them; don't fear them.'"
DIVISION 2
NO. 3 EDGERTON AT NO. 2 BRODHEAD
While the Crimson Tide are probably feeling plucky over having to travel given these teams' similar seeding resumes, Edgerton can bank on the fact that the road team won both games in the regular-season split.
The top two teams in the Rock Valley will settle the score once and for all as the Tide won a 9-4 season-opener before Brodhead took the rematch April 22, 9-6. Edgerton made Brodhead work for every out of the split as they rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Cardinals threw a 3-run knockout blow in the top of the eighth.
Freshman leadoff hitter Tia Collins had a double and triple in that rematch and has been a steady table-setter for Steve Krupke's crew.
DIVISION 4
NO. 3 MONTICELLO AT NO. 2 BLACK HAWK
Neither of these teams have been exactly crushing the ball as of late. Thus, the steadiness of the squad's respective aces and the defense behind them will be paramount in advancing to the finals and face either Argyle or Barneveld.
The teams split the season series and Monticello needed to slip past the sixth-seeded Miners of Shullsburg while Black Hawk quietly thumped Juda, 7-0. Almost as vital as the arm of the Ponies on the pitching plate, senior starter Mary Hershberger, is the one that throws the ball back after each pitch. Senior catcher MacKenzie Hilliard has emerged as a premier defender and plucks base-stealers like apples from a tree. She'll need to be sharp as fleet-footed junior Gabi Lehner and her Lady Warriors love to take the extra base.
NO. 4 ARGYLE AT NO. 1 BARNEVELD
Argyle's birds are ready to prey on the Eagles' nest again.
The Orioles look to oust Barneveld for the second straight season, and the Eagles' recent loss of two pitchers, most notably ace Kelly Mueller, puts them firmly behind the 8-ball.
Argyle will send its newest ace, freshman Kelsey Bartels. So long as her stacked lineup shows up and stays back on what will be significantly slower Barneveld pitching, the Orioles should have no problem taking advantage of their short-staffed foe.
NO. 4 ALBANY AT NO. 1 BURLINGTON CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Another season, another run at a sectional for the Hilltoppers. Only they haven't seen a team as hot as the Comets in some time.
Catholic Central's hard-throwing junior ace Michelle Smith (133 strikeouts, 1.73 ERA) also swings the heaviest bat in the lineup (.390 avg., 3 HR, team-high 21 RBI). While Albany starter Tara Walz isn't quite as formidable at the dish, she's been lights out on the pitching plate in winning 10 of her last 11 starts.
His Lady Cheesemakers, coming off a first-round bye, were done no favors by the postseason seeding committee. Tonight, in a WIAA Division 2 softball regional semifinal, Monroe hosts fourth-seeded McFarland, winners of 12 straight and the only team in Wisconsin.
"You'd think playing the winner of the 4-5 matchup that you'd have a good matchup on paper," Buvid said. "We might be the better team, but if we are, it's not by much. They're scary good offensively."
After the Cheese finished off Sparty, 11-2, in a rain-suspended game in McFarland Tuesday, April 29, McFarland took the nightcap 5-2 and never looked back - since that fateful doubleheader, the Spartans haven't lost.
Catcher Lindsey Reno, shortstop Andrea Steinhofer and first baseman Ashley Brown fill in the middle of a formidable lineup for McFarland. After leaning on last year's all-state ace, Stephanie Schmikla, McFarland has a new, more potent identity this season.
"They were a very young team last year and relied on Stephanie to carry them," Buvid said. "This year it's their team and we've gotta keep the top of their order from stringing hits together."
It will be on Monroe's senior ace, Renee Schuttler, to do just that. A master in the craft of painting the corners, Schuttler will likely turn to her changeup frequently to keep the eager McFarland batters off-balance.
While Buvid praises McFarland, he admits that the Cheesemaker lineup likely boasts more power. Schuttler, her junior sister Maggie, and Kylie Kaiser are just a few Cheesemakers who are capable of driving the ball to the far reaches of the park, including beyond the fence for the elder Schuttler, who has three career homers.
McFarland has also shown the ability to win the close one behind this year's ace, Shauna O'Malley. With their bats not exactly ringing in the first round, the Spartans snuck past Big Foot to earn a rubber match at Twining Park.
"I'd rather see just about anybody else," Buvid said. "We talked to our kids and told them, 'Repect them; don't fear them.'"
DIVISION 2
NO. 3 EDGERTON AT NO. 2 BRODHEAD
While the Crimson Tide are probably feeling plucky over having to travel given these teams' similar seeding resumes, Edgerton can bank on the fact that the road team won both games in the regular-season split.
The top two teams in the Rock Valley will settle the score once and for all as the Tide won a 9-4 season-opener before Brodhead took the rematch April 22, 9-6. Edgerton made Brodhead work for every out of the split as they rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Cardinals threw a 3-run knockout blow in the top of the eighth.
Freshman leadoff hitter Tia Collins had a double and triple in that rematch and has been a steady table-setter for Steve Krupke's crew.
DIVISION 4
NO. 3 MONTICELLO AT NO. 2 BLACK HAWK
Neither of these teams have been exactly crushing the ball as of late. Thus, the steadiness of the squad's respective aces and the defense behind them will be paramount in advancing to the finals and face either Argyle or Barneveld.
The teams split the season series and Monticello needed to slip past the sixth-seeded Miners of Shullsburg while Black Hawk quietly thumped Juda, 7-0. Almost as vital as the arm of the Ponies on the pitching plate, senior starter Mary Hershberger, is the one that throws the ball back after each pitch. Senior catcher MacKenzie Hilliard has emerged as a premier defender and plucks base-stealers like apples from a tree. She'll need to be sharp as fleet-footed junior Gabi Lehner and her Lady Warriors love to take the extra base.
NO. 4 ARGYLE AT NO. 1 BARNEVELD
Argyle's birds are ready to prey on the Eagles' nest again.
The Orioles look to oust Barneveld for the second straight season, and the Eagles' recent loss of two pitchers, most notably ace Kelly Mueller, puts them firmly behind the 8-ball.
Argyle will send its newest ace, freshman Kelsey Bartels. So long as her stacked lineup shows up and stays back on what will be significantly slower Barneveld pitching, the Orioles should have no problem taking advantage of their short-staffed foe.
NO. 4 ALBANY AT NO. 1 BURLINGTON CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Another season, another run at a sectional for the Hilltoppers. Only they haven't seen a team as hot as the Comets in some time.
Catholic Central's hard-throwing junior ace Michelle Smith (133 strikeouts, 1.73 ERA) also swings the heaviest bat in the lineup (.390 avg., 3 HR, team-high 21 RBI). While Albany starter Tara Walz isn't quite as formidable at the dish, she's been lights out on the pitching plate in winning 10 of her last 11 starts.
