Rain wreaks havoc in Orfordville; WIAA state local rundown

ORFORDVILLE – After a regional finals loss as the underdog last year, Orfordville Parkview was looking to continue their run. The Vikings struck quickly with four runs in the first two innings. Cole Isenberger and Matt Woodstock each had two RBI singles in the first two innings.

Wisconsin Heights didn’t have the same success. Darryl Dykstra had five strikeouts into the third inning for the Vikings, including two in the top of the third before the game was suspended due to lightning. The Vanguards only had two hits as the black clouds swallowed the sunny, blue sky.

When play resumed, the layoff affected Dykstra. Aaryn Handel hit a line drive double, and Bryce Barsness singled him in. Now down 4-1, Barsness went to second on a throwing error and to third on a balk. Was this the beginning of a comeback?

Dykstra took a few deep breaths and recovered to pitch like he did before the delay. He struck out A J Donaldson to end the inning.

The bottom of the third looked promising for the Vikings to put up a few more runs. Andrew Roth walked to lead off, and he reached base for the first time in the regionals. Suddenly, the storms came. Within a few minutes, buckets of water were pouring onto the field like a waterfall; a river formed in the parking lot; and the teams rushed to their locker rooms to wait it out.

Parkview desperately wanted to finish the game, knowing they needed to get through the top of the fifth with the lead. However, it looked bleak for both squads. The rain didn’t end, and the field looked like a barren marsh. It only took 30 minutes, but the coaches called the game.

So, Parkview leads 4-1 in the bottom of the third with a runner on first and no outs. The game is going to resume today at 4:45 P.M. However, the Vanguards will have plenty of rest and a little extra time to shift the momentum in the game. They had a chance in the first inning, when Bryce Barsness survived a bases loaded jam, but they stranded a runner at second base in the next inning.

Overall, Parkview must get production from the bottom of their order to move further in the tournament. The bottom of the order stranded five runners, four in scoring position, and they had two strikeouts with the bases loaded. If they put the bat on the ball, it may have been 7-1.

Other games: Lancaster upset top seeded Boscobel 5-0, in a WIAA Division 3 Regional Final, on stellar pitching by Brian Day. Day allowed only two hits and no runs in six innings. He struck out 11 and only walked one. Lancaster scored four in the top of the third inning.

Nate Mezera hit a homerun in the bottom of the sixth to power Prairie du Chien over River Valley 5-4 in a WIAA Division 2 Regional Final. River Valley took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth, before the power of Mezera.

In the WIAA Waunakee golf sectional, Madison Memorial and Middleton qualified for the state tournament in Division 1 on June 7-8. Middleton finished seventh as a team in 2009.

In the Wisconsin Dells sectional in Division 2 golf, Madison Edgewood and McFarland qualified. Edgewood will be going for their second straight team title. They also finished second in 2008.

In Division 3, Cuba City finished second in the New Holstein sectional to make it to state. The Cubans are in their second straight state tournament.

Note for today: The WIAA state individual tennis tournament begins. Madison Edgewood has the No. 3 and No. 4 seeded doubles teams in the tournament, Danny Meicher/Austin Papenthien and Tyler Piddington /Ben Winding respectively.

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.