Buss' long-ball sends No. 4 Lakeside past McFarland

Tyler Buss stared down the opposing McFarland pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning in a WIAA Division 2 Regional baseball game, tied 3-3.

With his Lakeside Lutheran High School teammate Connor Vredeveld representing the winning run on first base, Buss ripped a towering shot down the left field line that brought the home crowd to its feet. The ball drifted foul.

Buss, a first baseman for the No. 4 seeded Warriors, settled in for the next pitch and promptly crushed it over the center field fence to top No. 5 McFarland, 5-3,and send Lakeside into the next round of the playoffs.

I was just trying to put the ball in play – not trying to do anything special,” Buss said after the game. “I wasn’t thinking about hitting a home run.”

The Warrior said he was disappointed when the first shot did not stay fair, but he used a simple approach – “get back in there.”

“He has just come up with big hit after big hit all season long,” Lakeside coach Dan Kuehl said.

“It looked good early,” the coach said of the first long shot. “I thought it was out of here right away.”

Buss had a whale of a game, batting 4x4 with a run scored and two RBIs. But Buss, who was still out of breath from being mobbed by his teammates at home plate, said the game-winner was a thrill

“It feels awesome. I’ve wanted this for a long time,” he said. “Definitely, the biggest (hit) of my life.”

Lakeside advanced on to play No. 1 Jefferson for the chance to play in the Regional final. The two teams have not faced each other this season.

Girl's basketball: Northern Rock Valley race may come down to a photo finish

Rock Valley: (Northern and Southern Rock crossover games count in the conference standings).

For standings for Northern Rock Valley go to:

http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=220&sport_id=2

For standings for Southern Rock Valley go to:

http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=221&sport_id=2

Key games before WIAA playoffs:

Jefferson at McFarland Feb. 18.

McFarland at Edgerton Feb. 25.

Orfordville Parkview at Brodhead Feb. 25.

Walworth Big Foot at Brodhead Mar. 1.

Edgerton at Jefferson Mar. 5.

Both the Northern and Southern Rock Valley are up for grabs in the final few games. In the South, the big game is Parkview traveling to Brodhead. Parkview currently holds a half game lead, but they lost on February fourth 44-36 at home in the first meeting between these two teams. Brodhead survived a late comeback attempt by Parkview, who was held to only 12 points in the first half, to get the big conference win. Jenna Larson, who averaged 11.5 points a game in conference play for Parkview, dropped 20 points in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Brodhead will need to control either her or Stephanie Aasen who averaged 10.5 points a game in conference play. Parkview was held to the fewest points all season last meeting. Look for them to step it up here. They have only lost twice all season. Brodhead is 7-0 against Rock Valley teams at home.

If Parkview wins, Brodhead will need to beat Walworth Big Foot, a team over the five hundred mark and hope Orfordville loses to the two worst teams in the conference. Beloit Turner has only one win in conference, and Palmyra-Eagle is winless.

The North has a few more possibilities down the stretch. Jefferson is one game behind McFarland and Edgerton. They get to face both teams in the last few weeks of the season, which gives them a chance to at least share a title. Jefferson lost 60-52 at home versus McFarland on January 15. Kaitlynn Eversoll and Caitlin Alsmo combined for 44 points in the win for the Spartans. Jefferson will need to draw up a defense to control the inside if they want to win on the road. If Jefferson wins, they would tie the Spartans. If McFarland wins, they would have a chance to take the outright lead the next week at Edgerton.

McFarland lost at home 52-44 on February 4. They were crushed in the first half 29-16, and they never really had a rhythm in the game. They will need Eversoll, who dropped nine points in the fourth quarter, and Alsmo to step it up early on the road. Edgerton could easily drop over 20 points in a quarter and get the home crowd into the game. Regardless of the outcome, the final game of the season on March 5 should be the final decider. Jefferson, the defending Northern Rock Valley champion will face Edgerton in a showdown.

In the last meeting on January 29, Edgerton came back from an 11-point deficit and sent the game into overtime. Meggie Schmidt scored seven points in the OT, and Edgerton was nine of 10 from the free throw-line to help clinch the win. Jefferson will need to shoot well from the line. They were 8 of 14 in the last meeting, while Edgerton finished 16 of 19. If Jefferson hits more free throws in the fourth, they would have won the game. With the two teams so closely matched, the game might come down to who has the better stat-line from the foul line.