Verona shows off offense in Western Section; East a free-for-all

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Western Section

Verona is dominating with two impressive victories, both by 10 runs, over Dodgeville and Wiota. The Cavaliers are hitting and pitching well, and they have shown they can beat everyone.

The only team that beat them, Monroe, lost to Wiota 3-0 on Sunday. At the moment, Wiota is still in second, but Verona is catching stride at the right time.

Southeast Section

Utica and Fort Atkinson are the teams to beat in this section, and they both had some nice wins on the weekend. Utica defeated McFarland for the second time, and they are 9-1 ahead of Stoughton.

Kyle Bates and Matt Ellingson both had wins, and they are on a tough staff for any team. Fort Atkinson edged Whitewater with good pitching by Dan Dean. It’s too bad the game between Utica and Fort Atkisnon was rained out last week, because it would have been the two best teams to see who gets bragging rights.

Northern Section

The three-way tie for first in the East Division came to an end with a big win by Middleton over Cross Plains. Ashton also won, and the East is anyone’s still.

The West Division saw the two top teams continue their dominance. Sauk Prairie and Reedsburg remain No. 1 and No. 2, and they will face each other on the last game of the season. If they continue on this path, they should be battling for first place.

Eastern Section

The section has many teams in the mix, but the big winners of the weekend were Lodi and Deforest who both had big wins over their rivals. Lodi is in first place, but the other teams can easily finish first.

The section will come down to the final few weeks, but Lodi is the team to beat at the moment. The one run win over Sun Prairie was huge with them on their heels.

Mineral Point looks to win fourth straight WIAA team wrestling title; Lodi and Milton look to join them at the top

The WIAA state team wrestling championships are underway, and three local schools, Lodi, Milton and Mineral Point, are all in the semifinals. Milton defeated Muskego 35-31 in the third match of the Division 1 quarterfinals, with Milton’s Landon Shea getting a 5-3 decision over Justin Scherkenbach in the 119-pound weight class. If Milton lost the match, they would have been eliminated.

Milton had three pins and two major decisions to rack up big points in the matches they won. Another big win was John Wells pinning Tyler Dotzler, 1:09, in the 103-pound class. The win gave Milton a 32-28 lead with two matches to go. Here is the link to the full dual meet results: http://www.twnode5.com/teamtournaments/DualMeetWizard.jsp?TIM=1267852383645&twSessionId=nbbnklgwimhngxd

The day should be fun tomorrow with the three local schools battling for a chance at a state championship. In Division two, Lodi will be trying to win its first title since 2008.

Mineral Point is the three-time defending champion in Division 3. Seniors Dylan Schroeder, a state champion in the 130-pound weight class, and Trevor Yager come into the day with only have one loss each. They have been on the varsity since their freshmen year, and they are both 2-1 in Mineral Point’s championship duals.

Mineral Point is the favorite again this year, also having Tucker Pittz, a state champion in the 140-pound weight class, and the Tibbits brothers. Brady Tibbits finished second in the 171-pound weight class, and Todd Tibbits was a sectional qualifier. Pittz and the Tibbits brothers all won their matches last year.

Lodi and Milton look to have a little tougher road. Lodi must go through Pewaukee, ranked fourth; and if they survive, they will go up against either No. 1 Oconto Falls or No. 2 Ellsworth.

Milton has a tough semifinal matchup against West Allis Central, and then No. 1 Wisconsin Rapids looks to be their championship foe. Both Milton and Lodi need to be on top of their games if they want to win.

Whatever the outcomes in tomorrow’s event, all three schools will have their great moments. South central Wisconsin might have the best local showing before the night is over.