FC has sectional experience, Augusta back for first time since 1992

For one team, winning WIAA regional titles is old hat.

For the other, it's an entirely new experience.

The No. 4 ranked Fall Creek High School Softball Team won its fifth regional title in a row since 2021 last week Thursday, May 29 at home by a 9-1 score of Western Cloverbelt rival Stanley-Boyd.

Augusta High School's Softball Team, meanwhile, won its first regional title in prep softball since 1992 when it upset defending champ Eleva-Strum 7-1, also last week Thursday, May 29, at Central.

Both teams will be playing this afternoon, Monday, June 2 to avoid rain predicted for Tuesday, June 3. Fall Creek will host No. 6 ranked and like the Crickets defending champions Prescott in Division 3 while No. 6 seed Augusta is at top seeded and Large Dairyland champ Melrose-Mindoro in Division 4. Both games start at 5 p.m.

WIAA Sectional Finals will be played on Thursday, June 5. Division 3 will be in Cumberland at Islander Park and Division 4 will be in Necedah at the high school. Both games begin at 5 p.m.

Speaking of old hat, both Prescott and Fall Creek, 23-5 overall, have met once this season with the Crickets winning 4-3 at Prescott. The Cardinals, 21-6 overall, finished tied for second in the Middle Border Conference behind this year's MBC champ Somerset but the Cardinals repeated as regional champions with a 3-0 win over the Spartans last week. PHS's top players who are conference leaders in batting average and RBIs include seniors Leah French and Rory Zuehlsdorf and their pitcher sophomore Grace Ptacek. Prescott has six seniors from last year's state championship team on their roster along with two juniors.

Augusta and Melrose-Mindoro have met twice as both are in the Large Dairyland with vastly different outcomes. The Mustangs, 20-3 overall, easily won the first meeting back on April 13 by a score of 13-2 but it was Augusta, 12-7 overall, winning the second go 'round 5-2 at Mel-Min., part of a late-season, six-game winning streak after the team had started 4-5 overall. Still, the Mustangs possess one of the best hitting line-ups in the LDC this season led by juniors Cooper Zeman, Opal Buchanan and sophomore Isabella Rozek, league leaders in hits and RBIs with over 30 each and senior pitcher Emma Severson the leader in wins with 17. Augusta sophomore Brooklyn Krueger has 24 RBIs this season and freshman pitcher Laney O'Brien is in the top three in wins.

"We've started 9 freshmen and sophomores this year at different times. So we knew it was going to take time. In addition, we had a couple of early-season injuries as well, and we didn't have the same lineup in back-to-back games until our first game of the playoffs." AHS head coach Joe Zawacki said.

Some may argue the Grantsburg-Fall Creek sectional final last season was the actual state championship game in Division 4 and a rematch may on tap this Thursday. The Crickets edged the Pirates 1-0 in extra innings to secure their first-ever trip to the state tournament. Grantsburg, 20-4 overall, is back to get back to Madison as the No. 3 ranked Pirates shutout St. Croix Falls to win their regional title. Grantsburg won the West Lakeland Conference title again led by junior pitcher Piper Olson and catcher Ruby Rengo. Their losses this season have been to Prescott (11-1), Medford (6-1), Pacelli (5-0) and Hayward (6-5). They will take on Maple Northwestern, the No. 2 seed at 19-3 overall, co-champs of the Heart O'North Conference with the team they beat for the regional title 3-0 in Spooner. Senior Ellie Peterson is their pitcher and also their top batter in terms of average and RBIs.

Speaking of top-ranked, if Augusta can keep their run going and top Mel-Min again, they will face No. 1 ranked Stevens Point Pacelli (25-1) or No. 4 Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (20-3) who are squaring off in the other semifinal in the D-4 Necedah Sectional Tournament. Pacelli's top hitter with 57 RBIs is junior Amelia Martini while senior catcher Kaylin Yenter has 40 RBIs. Senior Payton Mancini is Pacelli's top pitcher on their CWC South-winning squad. Assumption, champs of the Marawood Conference over No. 6 Auburndale, is led by their top batters, both over .500 in average, junior Arianna Cavanaugh and sophomore Madison Moss, RBI leader in senior Claire Nelson. Assumption's top pitcher is senior Macy Vollert with 10 wins on the season.

The WIAA State Softball Tournament will be in Madison June 11-14 at Goodman Diamond on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

https://halftime.wiaawi.org/CustomApps/Tournaments/Brackets/HTML/2025_So...