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.

Girl's Badger conference hoops breakdown; Sauk Prairie and Monroe looking to sweep their way into first-place finishes

Northern Badger

For standings go to: http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=2&sport_id=2

Key games left until WIAA playoffs:

Reedsburg at Waunakee Feb. 12.

Baraboo at Sauk Prairie Feb. 19.

Waunakee at DeForest Feb. 19.

Reedsburg at Baraboo Feb. 26.

Waunakee at Sauk Prairie Feb. 26.

Sauk Prairie controls their own destiny heading into the final few games with a one game lead over Waunakee, who they beat 57-53 at Waunakee on January 16. In fact, the only conference loss for the Eagles came at Baraboo, and they hold a three game lead on them with only four conference games to play (Baraboo only has three left). The biggest game of the conference may come on February 26 when the Waunakee Warriors travel to Sauk Prairie in a game that may decide the conference.

The last those two teams met, senior guard Kelsey Budd, a Bradley recruit, dropped 30 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter and 19 of her team’s 28 in the second half. Waunakee couldn’t get ahead in the fourth, despite sophomore forward Kelly Preston’s 15-second half points. If Waunakee wants to win at the Eagles, they will have to find someway to stop Budd, who has averaged 18.75 points per game in conference play. She has scored double-digit points in all but one Northern Badger game this season.

Southern Badger:

For standings go to:

http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=93&sport_id=2

Key games left until WIAA playoffs:

Monroe at Milton Feb. 12.

Madison Edgewood at Monroe Mar. 5.

The Southern Badger has been a two-team race all season, and the biggest game is tonight with Monroe traveling to Milton in a battle for first place. Milton’s only loss came at Monroe on January 11 with a 45-28 loss. Milton was outscored 28-16 in the second half, and senior forward Jamie Armstrong scored 18 points in a blow out win over the Lady Red Birds.

Milton will need to play much better if they want to knock the Cheesemakers out of first, and it starts with their top scorers. In Southern Badger conference games, junior Liz Eide has averaged 14.3 points per game, senior Amber Davis has averaged 11 and junior Ashley Roherty has averaged 9.1. Against Milton, all three players combined for only 16 points, including the leading scorer, Eide, being held to four. The Lady Red Birds also have to stop Armstrong who has averaged 12.9 points in conference games. She has been the first or second leading scorer for the Cheesemakers in six out of the eight conference games Monroe played.

Stay tuned for girl’s Big Eight and Capitol conference breakdowns coming tomorrow and Saturday respectively.