With all the anticipation of the 2008 spring season getting legs, the main characters have busted out now that the dam has at least somewhat cracked.
After a brutal winter, the rains have continued to fall where the flakes left off. However, when teams have been able to get their games in, some pretty extraordinary things have been taking place.
It's not terribly surprising. Patience is the toughest virtue to perfect and the most insatiable sensation for an athlete is anticipation.
So the heroes have come out slugging, shocking and, most notably, no-hitting.
One of the most unfortunate side effects of record-threatening precipitation is the stuffy schedule that results.
When weeks stack up, Monroe baseball skipper Steve Christensen will be scraping all over the barrel for starters to fill out an impromptu five-man rotation. That barrel, frankly, didn't look very promising after Brock Bidlingmaier graduated last year.
But the guy who stepped away from the basketball spotlight months ago appeared the most anxious athlete around. Christensen's de facto No. 2 starter, senior Jake Teasdale, took the ball early Saturday morning and refused a hit to the Baraboo Thunderbirds over seven innings.
Just before Monroe's hoops season opened, Teasdale elected to take the winter off, showing no illusions over who the major minute-men would be on Pat Murphy's state-hopeful squad. When that decision was made, the hands swung in motion within Teasdale's mental clock and the second hand couldn't have ticked toward opening day quickly enough.
Stingy softball
Just five days prior, the Lady Orioles played a non-conference softball game against Belmont that couldn't have looked less like a non-league battle. Usually the season-opener has at least a scene or two out of the Comedy of Errors department, but Argyle and Belmont duked out in a battle that resembled a playoff game.
The sort of electricity felt in the Braves' clutch 3-2 victory is usually reserved for at least the sectional semifinals, which is where Belmont crunched Argyle 8-0 last season in the Division 4 level. That was motivation enough for all of the Lady Orioles to scratch off a spring training day at a time as they braced for another shot.
Racking up the runs
The Lady Redbirds of Darlington are used to starting out hot and have dispatched of their first two opponents, even if Monticello and Benton are Division 4 foes. Their male counterparts may strangely be in the doghouse for their performance Monday night. Don't be surprised if Darlington coach Andy Sawall gets an earful from his bosses when the light bill comes out after his Redbirds lit up River Ridge to the tune of 24 runs at home while surrendering 16 runs back to the Timberwolves.
Jumpstart Juda
One team that isn't used to feeling much hotter than the opening-game temperatures is the Juda Panthers' baseball club. But, somehow, the club that hadn't opened Six Rivers East play with a win in five years tripped up the beast-like Black Hawk Warriors, 5-2, with some small-ball tripwires Friday night in Juda. Then Brent Bockhop's club rode that momentum to a 2-0 start with a win at Argyle Monday night.
The first of those two victories was made far more remarkable when Black Hawk's boys turned around to sock six homers and score 26 runs in a sweep of Belmont the very next morning.
Marveling in Monroe
It's tough to be surprised by anything the Warriors achieve, as their senior class and understudies have been making minced meat of the opposition since football kicked off. Another team that will have a hard time shocking anyone with their accolades due to its undeniable makeup is Dale Buvid's softball club here in Monroe. The Lady Cheesemakers notched a pair of victories at Saturday's Watertown Tournament that they may be pointing back to late in the season. With a lot of pitching, some timely hitting and, admittedly, a splash of luck, Monroe took the title in two 8-inning games over perennially-solid Division 1 clubs.
Perhaps they just channeled the rare air Teasdale was breathing as he took all the sound out of the Thunderbirds' bats at the high school.
After a brutal winter, the rains have continued to fall where the flakes left off. However, when teams have been able to get their games in, some pretty extraordinary things have been taking place.
It's not terribly surprising. Patience is the toughest virtue to perfect and the most insatiable sensation for an athlete is anticipation.
So the heroes have come out slugging, shocking and, most notably, no-hitting.
One of the most unfortunate side effects of record-threatening precipitation is the stuffy schedule that results.
When weeks stack up, Monroe baseball skipper Steve Christensen will be scraping all over the barrel for starters to fill out an impromptu five-man rotation. That barrel, frankly, didn't look very promising after Brock Bidlingmaier graduated last year.
But the guy who stepped away from the basketball spotlight months ago appeared the most anxious athlete around. Christensen's de facto No. 2 starter, senior Jake Teasdale, took the ball early Saturday morning and refused a hit to the Baraboo Thunderbirds over seven innings.
Just before Monroe's hoops season opened, Teasdale elected to take the winter off, showing no illusions over who the major minute-men would be on Pat Murphy's state-hopeful squad. When that decision was made, the hands swung in motion within Teasdale's mental clock and the second hand couldn't have ticked toward opening day quickly enough.
Stingy softball
Just five days prior, the Lady Orioles played a non-conference softball game against Belmont that couldn't have looked less like a non-league battle. Usually the season-opener has at least a scene or two out of the Comedy of Errors department, but Argyle and Belmont duked out in a battle that resembled a playoff game.
The sort of electricity felt in the Braves' clutch 3-2 victory is usually reserved for at least the sectional semifinals, which is where Belmont crunched Argyle 8-0 last season in the Division 4 level. That was motivation enough for all of the Lady Orioles to scratch off a spring training day at a time as they braced for another shot.
Racking up the runs
The Lady Redbirds of Darlington are used to starting out hot and have dispatched of their first two opponents, even if Monticello and Benton are Division 4 foes. Their male counterparts may strangely be in the doghouse for their performance Monday night. Don't be surprised if Darlington coach Andy Sawall gets an earful from his bosses when the light bill comes out after his Redbirds lit up River Ridge to the tune of 24 runs at home while surrendering 16 runs back to the Timberwolves.
Jumpstart Juda
One team that isn't used to feeling much hotter than the opening-game temperatures is the Juda Panthers' baseball club. But, somehow, the club that hadn't opened Six Rivers East play with a win in five years tripped up the beast-like Black Hawk Warriors, 5-2, with some small-ball tripwires Friday night in Juda. Then Brent Bockhop's club rode that momentum to a 2-0 start with a win at Argyle Monday night.
The first of those two victories was made far more remarkable when Black Hawk's boys turned around to sock six homers and score 26 runs in a sweep of Belmont the very next morning.
Marveling in Monroe
It's tough to be surprised by anything the Warriors achieve, as their senior class and understudies have been making minced meat of the opposition since football kicked off. Another team that will have a hard time shocking anyone with their accolades due to its undeniable makeup is Dale Buvid's softball club here in Monroe. The Lady Cheesemakers notched a pair of victories at Saturday's Watertown Tournament that they may be pointing back to late in the season. With a lot of pitching, some timely hitting and, admittedly, a splash of luck, Monroe took the title in two 8-inning games over perennially-solid Division 1 clubs.
Perhaps they just channeled the rare air Teasdale was breathing as he took all the sound out of the Thunderbirds' bats at the high school.
