5 things to know about the 2024 WIAA state softball tournament (2024)

The Sun Prairie East softball team is returning to the University of Wisconsin’s Goodman Diamond for a seventh straight WIAA state tournament, and its 10th appearance in Division 1 in the 48 events the WIAA has put on.

The Cardinals earned the third seed after they beat Middleton 3-2 in comeback fashion in a sectional final.

The Cardinals (22-2) are set to face off with sixth-seeded Watertown (20-4) at 10 a.m. Thursday. (Full tournament schedule listed below).

Here are five things to know about the state tournament.

Sun Prairie East has solid pitching depth

Sun Prairie’s ace is senior Tayler Baker, a South Dakota softball recruit, but what the Cardinals have behind her in the circle has been top-notch.

Baker enters state with a 1.21 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 75⅔ innings. Just 13 runs were earned of 22 total given up by Baker, who’s allowed only 48 hits.

Freshman Allison Giese, who Olson is high on, pitched 43⅓ innings and is 5-0 with a 0.62 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 23 hits allowed. Four of the eight runs against her were earned.

Baker (15 walks) and Giese (14) don’t walk a ton of batters.

Senior McKenna Gross has seven appearances and is 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA off 14 hits

Sun Prairie East also has a third pitcher, senior McKenna Gross, who appeared in seven games with a 6-1 record with a 2.00 ERA.

Waupun’s offense is dangerous

Waupun’s offense has garnered 197 runs according to WisSports, and averages 9 runs per game.

The Warriors have five hitters with a batting average over .300 and over 30 at-bats: junior Kailie Westphal (.597 average), Gerritson (.370), sophom*ore Ava Vande Zande (.365), senior Roz Rivera (.357) and senior Kylie Pluim (.354).

Those five have combined for 110 of the team’s 167 RBIs (Gerritson has a team-high 34). Sophom*ore Addison Braun, who has a .283 batting average, had 20 RBIs while senior Olivia Lese (.234 average, 12 RBIs) and sophom*ore Ryann Babiash (.209, 11) combine for 23 RBIs.

The Warriors have 52 extra-base hits. Westphal, who was the East Central Conference Player of the Year, leads the Warriors with nine doubles, five triples and two home runs. Braun leads the team with three home runs and has three doubles. Gerritson has five doubles and two homers. Vande Zande has six doubles, three triples and two homers.

The Warriors have a combined .478 slugging percentage, led by Westphal’s .944 and Vande Zande’s .595.

Kaukauna softball’s dominance nears national record

The three-time reigning Division 1 champions are again the top seed, and nearing a national record. Kaukauna enters the state tournament on a 107-game winning streak, which is five wins shy of matching the national record of 112 set by Vandebilt Catholic (Louisiana) from 1980-83.

One week after MaxPreps highlighted that team’s feat, the Galloping Ghosts on May 20, 2021 started what would become a record-chasing streak with a 5-0 win over Fond du Lac. Kaukauna could vault into the second-longest winning streak in high school softball history, according to MaxPreps and other records, if it advances to Saturday’s state title. Kaukauna would pass Barbe’s (La.) run of 108 straight victories from 1988-91.

The Galloping Ghosts have outscored opponents 224-13, according to WisSports, and junior pitcher Karly Meredith has 310 strikeouts in 149⅓ innings.

8 teams returning state

Kaukauna and Sun Prairie East are returning to the Division 1 tournament. The Cardinals lost to Superior 6-3 in the semifinals while Kaukauna defeated Superior 4-0 for the state championship last season.

New Berlin Eisenhower returns as the No. 2 seed. Last year as the top seed, the Lions lost to eventual runner-up New London 16-6 in a Division 2 semifinal.

In Division 3, No. 1 Mishicot (29-0) and No. 2 Brodhead (19-4) return. Brodhead is the defending state champion, edging Mayville 1-0 in the title game last season.

In Division 5, No. 1 Oakfield (25-3), No. 2 Pacelli (26-2) and No. 3 Assumption (17-6) are all returning to battle for a state title. Oakfield lost to Pacelli 9-6 in the state title game last season.

Laconia looks for fourth state title

Laconia is making its sixth state appearance after defeating Shoreland Lutheran 16-0 in five innings of a Division 3 sectional final.

The Spartans had a run of four straight state appearances that began in 2014 and won three Division 3 state titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. That’s when they had Kayla Schwebke starting in the circle. In the three state championships, she helped Laconia hold teams to just three runs: two for Grantsburg in 2016 and one for Poynette in 2015.

The Spartans were runners-up in 2009 and 2014.