FOCUS ON PREP SOFTBALL
Area rankings
(Records through Sunday)
Teams (W-L) last week
1. Burlington (19-3) 1
2. Oak Creek (18-2) 2
3. Arrowhead (20-1) 4
4. Cedarburg (21-4) 3
5. Kenosha Indian Trail (18-3) 5
6. Kenosha Bradford (16-8) 7
7. Menomonee Falls (18-5) 6
8. Wisconsin Lutheran (17-3) 8
9. New Berlin West (19-5) 9
10. Slinger (15-6) 10
Player of the week Sydney Kalonihea, Nicolet
The senior shortstop hit .667 (8 for 12) with four home runs, seven runs batted in and seven runs scored to lead the Knights to a 2-1 record. Two of her home runs came Monday in a 9-0 win over Whitefish Bay. The next day she had another two-homer performance as she drove in five runs and scored three times in a 10-5 victory over West Bend East. Nicolet lost the second game of that doubleheader, but the Evansville recruit went 2 for 5 with a double in a nine-inning loss. She enters the postseason with a .524 batting average, nine home runs and 30 RBI with a 1.690 OPS.
Team of the week Oak Creek
The Knights wrapped up their sixth straight Southeast Conference title with a doubleheader sweep of Racine Case on Tuesday and a win over Kenosha Tremper on Thursday. Junior Riley Grudzielanek allowed two hits and struck out 16 in 12 innings in the circle to score wins over Case, 5-0, and Tremper, 10-0. Senior Olivia Joosten hit .583 (7 for 12) with six runs batted in. Junior Madisen Noll also delivered a monster single-game performances, falling a triple short of the cycle and driving in nine runs in a 23-5 win over Case. The victories raised extended the Knights' conference winning streak to 35 games.
Coming up
The WIAA tournament began Thursday, but postseason play for most area teams starts Tuesday with regional semifinals. Assuming the seedings play out, here are some of the top matchups we can look forward to in the regional finals Thursday. Check wiaawi.org for game times and sites. Mukwonago at Kettle Moraine: These Classic 8 rivals split two games with Mukwonago scoring a 10-2 victory Thursday.
Wilmot at Oak Creek: Wilmot, which closed the regular season by winning four of its last five games, gets a second chance at the Knights. Oak Creek won the first meeting, 14-1, May 4. Union Grove at Muskego: Union Grove, which tied for second in the Southern Lakes travels to the secondplace finisher from the Classic. 8. Westosha Central at Kenosha Bradford: Bradford, which went 3-1 against Southern Lakes teams, is on track to face a team that tied for second in that conference.
South Milwaukee at Kenosha Indian Trail: The Woodland East champion takes on the state-ranked Hawks, who finished second in the Southeast Conference.