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Most Eyes are on the Sectionals -



Hello Again Everyone - The number of people getting these bulletins just keeps growing and growing. We increased by 50 more in the last week.



The sectional pairings are set and there were some upsets in the process. Just take a look at the rankings page where I have put the ranked teams that have been knocked out of the tournament in Bold Blue type and the ranked teams still alive in Bold Red type.



Rankings are not a real scientific thing and we always miss a team here or there but not teams that regularly send us reports on how they are doing. If you take a look at the rankings in all four divisions of play you will see that 15 of the 19 teams we had ranked are still in the sectional race and a few had to play each other to get there. In Division 2 there are 12 ranked teams still alive while in Division 3 a total of 12 ranked teams still have a shot at the state title. In Division 4, both our top ranked and #2 ranked teams fell and so did the defending state champion but there are still 11 of the ranked teams yet alive.



So who did we miss during the season in the rankings? In Division 1 it appears that Pulaski was a team that needed more or our attention while Hortonville beat #1 ranked SPASH 4-0 today but we had Hortonville on the radar the entire season. In Division 2 Campbellsport and Southern Door ran below most our D2 rankers throughout the season. In Division 3 I think we had things pretty well ranked. The Division 4 rankings were also very good throughout the year. Perhaps Eau Claire Immanuel was flying under our radar a bit but a couple of us were on to them but they never sent us any information to be able to keep a close look at them.



Take a look at the 2007 Season Recap page and see if your conference standings and all conference teams are listed there. It would be great to have every conference listed there and all the names of the all conference players as well. That's probably a pipe dream on my part because once the season is over, many softball coaches just pack things up and move on. That's a challenge for everyone, if you didn't pick up on it.



I have started a records page for the state but have not announced the exact site URL yet. The Lancaster people are wondering if any pitcher in the history of the sport in this state has ever struck out more than 701 batters or won more than 73 games in their career. That's where their pitcher, Katie Schroeder is as I type this message tonight.



If there is a player from your school that holds a school record that you think might put her in the running for a state record, get in touch with me. I'll start mentioning those records and will then start announcing the categories and will post them on the site.



Some records that you might want to send me include not just individual records but team records as well -- such as:

Longest game in state history

Most consecutive scoreless innings

Most 7 or 7+ inning no hitters

Most 7 or 7+ inning perfect games

Most Shutouts in a season - Stephanie Schmikla of McFarland has 17 in one season I think



There are a plethora of records I can keep on the page.



I'm also interested in pitching stats from schools that use more than one pitcher during the season and compare a staff's totals to the totals of the many schools where one pitcher throws most or all of the innings in a season.



I'm interested to see whether any kid in Wisconsin has ever hit more than 3 automatic home runs in one game. I'm interested in seeing how many Wisconsin kids have ever tallied more than 11 RBI in one game. I'm interested in all of the records that you might keep. The page is wide open for all of them.



I'm not sure how much I will be at the state tournament but I will be there for part of the event. My son, I'm sure will watch them all as long as they are all at Goodman Diamond. I have a wedding to attend late Saturday afternoon (former shortstop and excellent player for us at the turn of the century).



I was in Verona on Thursday in time to see them call the game and reschedule it for today. Eric went today, I did not. Verona won 8-0 over Oregon.



It's nice to see some teams from the Poynette Jamboree still in the hunt for a state title. Pacelli, Kenosha Bradford, Rice Lake, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Union Grove and Prescott are all alive and kicking yet. Congratulations to those Jamboree participants. Other Jamboree teams played well too.



Speaking of the Poynette Jamboree - there will be another one in 2008, The dates are May 2-3. Contracts to teams that were here this year will be mailed in the coming week. Umpires will also get contracts next week.



Fall League Teams in the Capitol Area Fall League should start thinking about whether or not you will take part this fall. Several new teams have already been asking about getting in.



Keep checking the website for up to date information.



I am firing up a summer fastpitch page so keep your eyes glued to the Wisconsin Page for that annoucement.



Have a great weekend!

Keep it Rising!

Bob