Verona's one-loss record is best among HTL

Another week of Home Talent Baseball has gone by and Verona remains atop all Sections with a 13-1 record.

Verona holds a three game lead over second place Monroe and a 3.5 game lead over Wiota. Whether it is Monroe or Wiota that comes away with second place, they are going to have a difficult time with Verona, whose only loss came at the hands of Monroe June 12.

Wiota defeated Monroe twice, however, and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

In the Southeast Section, the highly anticipated matchup between Division leaders Fort Atkinson and Utica was postponed again due to poor field conditions at Utica Park.

The two teams are eyeing an Aug. 3 makeup date, and the location may be moved to Jones Park in Fort Atkinson.

The Generals lost Sunday to Stoughton, 3-2. The Merchants took advantage of Fort Atkinson errors and played sound defense behind starting pitcher Ben Riffle.

With the win, Stoughton improved its outside chance of making the playoffs out of the West Division. The Merchants still trail McFarland by half a game and Albion by a full game for the last postseason spot in the West.

Elsewhere, the Jefferson Blue Devils, who had rocketed up the East Division standings, had a setback Sunday. Jefferson got blanked by Orfordville, 7-0. Because Lake Mills and McFarland was postponed, the Blue Devils now sit one game back of the Grays for second place, and the final playoff spot in the East Division.

In the Western Section, Ashton made the East Division race a little more interesting by defeating first-place Middleton, 4-1. Middleton still leads the East with a 12-3 record, but Ashton is close behind at 11-4.

In the West Division of the Western Section Reedsburg won twice this weekend, topping Mazomanie Saturday and Richland Center Sunday. Reedsburg improved to 12-2 and took a half game lead ahead of Sauk Prairie (12-3).

Sauk won a thriller over attempted spoiler Cazenovia (4-12).

Finally in the Eastern Section, DeForest gave itself some breathing room at the top of the standings when they defeated Cottage Grove, 5-1, Sunday. DeForest is a comfortable 13-3, but there is a log-jam of teams behind them.

With Monona’s win over Sun Praire the Eastern Section looks like this: DeForest 13-3, Sun Prairie 10-4, Cottage Grove 10-5, Lodi 10-5, Monona 10-5.

The race down the stretch should be a fun one to watch in the Eastern.