Augusta's hot start puts them in state rankings
If you win, you are rewarded and the softball team Augusta High School has been rewarded handsomely to start the 2026 season.
The defending regional champion Beavers are 6-1 overall, 3-0 in the Large Dairyland and ranked No. 4 in state in Division 4. They began last week with a 3-0 shutout at rival Eleva-Strum on Tuesday, April 7. Winning pitcher sophomore Laney O'Brien and her E-S counterpart senior Ruby Bartholomew both put down plenty of batters, 17 for O;Brien and 14 for Bartholomew. But the Beavers were able to get four hits, take advantage of five Cardinal errors to get the runs they needed to win. Rachel West had two hits and scored twice for Augusta and also drove in a run. Maddea Brown led E-S with two hits.
Augusta then edged No. 4 ranked (Division 5) Blair-Taylor at home 4-3 in eight innings. The game was tied at three in the bottom of the eighth when AHS's Brooklyn Krueger singled, scoring the winning run. O'Brien struck out 12 batters.
Then the very next day AHS participated in the Northern Jamboree Softball Festival in Poynette. While the Beavers lost to the defending state champion Pumas 1-0 despite Krueger striking out nine and going 2-for-3 at the plate, Augusta bounced back to down Stratford 9-4. O’Brien mowed down 13 Tiger batters and she and Krueger each went 2-for-3.
On Tuesday, April 14, Augusta blanked Cochrane-Fountain City at home 10-0 in five innings. AHS outhit the Pirates 14-3 led by Cecelia Schroeder's second-inning three-run homer. She had four RBIs to lead the Beavers, including an RBI-double. O'Brien was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored and Schrieder scored twice. Rilee Bethke had two hits as well for the home team. Hailey Strauch also hit a triple. O'Brien struck out 11 batters.
Augusta's start contrasts with that of Eleva-Strum who is yet to have a win. Besides losing to Augusta last week, the Cards were edged by Arcadia 3-1 in eight innings on April 10 and then the Cards lost 2-1 in 11 innings at home to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Tuesday, April 14. All this is happening despite the fact that Bartholomew has been doing her darndest to keep the young E-S squad in every ballgame. She struck out a whopping 25 ECIL batters and held the Lancers to just one hit and against Arcadia she struck out 18 batters. But the Redbirds have struggled at the plate so far. Freshman Aubri Rustad had two hits to lead the Cards vs. the Lancers.
Osseo-Fairchild is off to a 3-3 start so far (1-3 in the Dairyland Large). While O-F dropped a 5-0 decision to Blair-Taylor in eight innings on Tuesday, April 14; the Thunder did top Immanuel 6-5 last week Friday, April 10 in Eau Claire. Brylie Johnson and Madison Lafky both drove in two runs to lead the Thunder at the plate. Johnson and Alexis Ness both hit doubles while freshman Jaliyah Bush hit an RBI-triple. The junior Johnson struck out nine and scattered five hits to get the win. O-F also played Whiethall last week Tuesday, April 7 and lost 7-3 as they could not overcome six errors. Bush and Johnson both had two hits and Lafky hit a double.
Fall Creek's season has been up and down as well. FC is 2-2 min the Western Cloverbelt but 2-6 overall. After getting their first win over Thorp at home last week Tuesday April 7 by a 15-5 score, FC lost 3-2 in nine innings to Chippewa Falls McDonell on Thursday, April 9 and the lost the next day, again by a run, at West Salem 5-4. This week FC edged Elk Mound 10-9 on Tuesday, April 14 but lost at Bloomer 15-4 on Thursday, April 16. The Blackhawks not only out hit the Crickets 15-5 but Fall Creek also committed a whopping eight errors.
