Sports Thoughts

A Willie Nelson classic, slightly modified, serves as the theme song for the 2008 Greenfield baseball team:

"On The Road Again....And Again....And Again....And Again...."

Because of ongoing construction at the high school, the Hustlin' Hawks are being forced to play all their games at opponents' home fields this summer. Although Greenfield is designated as the home team and given the last at-bats for some of those contests, the never-ending road trip is an inconvenience in at least two ways.

"When you're home, you have your friends and parents watching," pitcher Jake Hansen said. "(For road games), they (the friends) maybe don't know where the school is or don't have a car, so they can't come."

Teammate Jack Nickeas added, "Apart from parents, we don't get many fans. We have a couple of troopers who have come out to every game."

Also, the bus rides cut into the team's practice time. "At home, we would maybe show up at 2 p.m. for a 5 p.m. game," Hansen said. "We would have one to two hours of warmup, infield (practice), outfield, hitting, stretching. On the road, the home team is on the field already, so you get maybe a half hour tops.

"We meet (earlier in the afternoon) and get some stretching in before we leave, but on the bus ride, you just get tight again."

Still, the Hawks have hung tough, coming into this week at 9-5 in the Woodland Conference South Division, just one game behind leader Cudahy.

'I am surprised we came out and played as well as we did," Hansen said.

Before the season, coach Lee Kleszczynski presented the team with T-shirts that read, "Greenfield Baseball: It's Not Where You Play, It's How You Play," and the Hawks took the message to heart.

"We're out here, and we want to prove to ourselves that we can play well anywhere," Hansen declared.

Nickeas added, "We just went with that, and we said we would just play like we play, wherever we are."

Kleszczynski and assistant coach Dan Marx also offered a few words of motivation for his players. "They told us to come out every day, and if we're the 'home' team, to play as if it's our home field, and if we're 'away,' to play the same way," Hansen said.

To Kleszczynski's satisfaction, they have done just that. "I haven't heard any complaints from the players," the coach said. "They bought into it. The guys are just coming out and playing ball. We've been winning games, so it has not come up as a problem."

In fact, the adversity has made the Hawks a closer team. "We stay focused and we stay together," Nickeas said. "We pick each other up. We went into this with confidence, and we know there's nothing we can do about it."

Dax Rodriguez helped reverse the fortunes of the West Allis Central softball program this year, and when school resumes in August, he will attempt another turnaround.

Rodriguez is the new head football coach of the Bulldogs and will try to bring them back from a disappointing 1-9 season, just as he took the softball team from a losing mark in 2007 to 15-5 in the season just completed.

"Everything will change a little bit," said Rodriguez about his football plans. "We need to put a new gloss on everything and get the kids excited about football again. I believe last year was an aberration, and the seniors and other returning players need to come back with a chip on their shoulder."

One factor in his favor is that Central was a young team last season, and its two best players, quarterback Ryan Barwick and wide receiver Mike Westrich, will both return. Both put up big offensive numbers and Rodriguez, playing to their strengths, plans to drop the wing-T offense and utilize more of a pro-style system and spread out the offense.

"We will do some different things on defense, too," he promised.

Rodriguez, a 1991 graduate of Central and an assistant coach on the Bulldog staff for the past 11 seasons, is well aware of the strong history of the program. "We want to restore the sense of confidence and pride," he said. "We want to bring the excitement back. The kids have to want to do it not only for themselves, but for Central High School. We want to show that Central will again be someone to be reckoned with."

Although her approach to the triple jump this year is slightly different, Greenfield's Julie Hebert hopes the results are the same as last year.

In fact, maybe even better.

After claiming the WIAA Division 1 state championship in the event last spring with a leap of 38 feet-1/4 inch, Hebert tweaked her strategy a bit this season. "I've been controlling my speed," she said. "Last year, I went at a full-out sprint and this year, I'm using an alternate speed, somewhat slower. I want to use the top speed I can and still keep control."

The results have been good, as the senior currently holds the top mark in the state at 39-4 3/4, achieved at the Hartland Arrowhead Invitational.

Her goal heading into the state meet this weekend at Memorial Stadium in La Crosse is not only to repeat the championship, but break the state record of 39-7 3/4, set back in 1987. "I think my chances are good," she said. "I jumped well at Arrowhead and I've just gotten stronger since then."

Her coach, Rob Graetz, is optimistic too. "Julie is probably one of the hardest-working athletes I've coached in my career," he said. "She's had a great year in jumps. If she jumps the way she wants to jump and everything feels good, she should be successful when it comes to the tournament."

Hebert will compete in both the triple and long jumps with teammate Maureen Podkomorski as well as in the 200-meter dash. Alyssa Evans will take part in the high jump to round out Greenfield's contingent of six entries at state. That's an impressive number, given that the Hustlin' Hawks had just 20 to 25 girls on the varsity roster this season.

One of the attractions of baseball is its unpredictability; no one can say for sure what might happen in any given game.

We've all seen major-league teams get shut out by a journeyman with a 6.50 earned-run average or someone just up from the minor leagues, then come back and knock around a pitcher the caliber of Brandon Webb or Johan Santana the next night. You never know.

As proven again last week, softball can also serve up some real stunners.

One of the biggest of recent years came in a WIAA Division 1 regional final game last week when Muskego downed top-seeded and state-ranked Racine Case and its all-state pitcher, Alissa Koch.

Just five days earlier, Koch was absolutely dominant against that same Warrior team, hurling a one-hitter and striking out 20, meaning only one out required any fielding.

There was little reason to suspect a different outcome when the Warriors again went up against Koch, who was the state player of the year last season and who will play for the University of Minnesota next year.

What a difference there was, though, in the rematch as Muskego collected six hits, scored in four different innings and ended Koch's brilliant career with a shattering 5-1 defeat.

The Warriors showed right away there would be no carryover from the earlier game when they tallied twice in the first inning on an RBI single from Cassie Holt and run-scoring groundout by Allison Mayer.

"After striking out 20 times, to score right away (against Koch) made all the difference," veteran Muskego coach John Rosenberg said.

He added that his hitters made a few key adjustments, saying, "We told the girls to lay off the high pitch, and our selection of swings was better."

Rosenberg also knew that because Koch had struck out so many batters this season, her fielders had not had the chance to make as many plays as normal. "I knew we just needed to put the ball in play and make them make plays, and they did make a few errors," he said.

There was one more big reason behind the upset. "I told the girls that no matter how good a player is, a team always beats one," he said. "We played as a team and we bested one player."

The victory caught the attention of one interested observer, Greenfield coach Jack Miller, who said, "That was a huge step for Muskego's program."

Miller's team is joining Muskego in the Waterford Sectional on Thursday, May 29. The Hustlin' Hawks will take on Pius XI, while Muskego will meet Southeast Conference rival Oak Creek, with both games at 1:30 p.m. If Greenfield and Muskego both win, they would meet at 4 p.m. that day for a trip to the state tournament next week in Madison.

One thing for sure: Muskego (12-8) is coming into the sectional on an all-time high.

Most elite high school softball teams boast a shutdown pitcher, someone who can just completely throttle the opposing offense.

Alissa Koch of Racine Case, who has pitched several no-hitters and one-hitters this season while racking up double-digit strikeouts each game, or Alyssa Roberts of Kenosha Tremper are two examples.

New Berlin Eisenhower coach Jeff Setz is in the enviable position of having not one, but two, of those types of aces this season.

Junior Kayla Schlegel came into this week at 8-0, allowing 24 hits and three earned runs in 49 innings for an earned-run average of 0.43, with 96 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Those are impressive stats, but fellow junior Lauren Beres had given up 21 hits and one lone earned run in 46 innings for a microscopic ERA of 0.15, with 82 strikeouts and just one walk.

How do you choose between them? Setz does not have that problem; he has simply alternated their starts this season.

"Having two pitchers like that is a blessing," Setz said. "You can't overuse either one. If one has trouble, you always have the other you can bring in there. They push each other to work harder, too."

To make Setz's job even easier, both girls have bought completely into the situation. "Surprisingly, I like it," Schlegel said. "We have a fresh arm for every game. Lauren and I have talked about it. Having two pitchers just makes us that much stronger."

Beres said both girls knew after last season, and the graduation of ace Kim Perla, that they would share the load this year. "It's been helpful, especially with as many games as we've been playing, like five or six a week," she said.

Clearly, there are no outsized egos here.

"They're good kids, and they realize we have a unique situation," said Setz, who added that he has never before had two pitchers of that caliber in the same class.

Perhaps the best news for Setz, and the bad news for the rest of the Woodland Conference, is that both will be back for another season. 

The rest of this week promises to be a special time for fans of high school soccer in New Berlin.

First, the annual city battle between New Berlin West and New Berlin Eisenhower is set for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, at Eisenhower. This meeting carries plenty of significance in the Woodland Conference, as both teams come in at 5-1 in the conference, trailing Wauwatosa West (6-0) for the lead.

West is 9-1-1 overall and is rated fourth in Division 2 by state coaches, while Eisenhower is 8-2 and receives honorable mention in the poll.

The two local squads will also enjoy big weekends. Eisenhower plays host to an invitational on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, meeting East Troy at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, West Allis Hale at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Waukesha South at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. All Eisenhower games will be played on field one.

A special feature of the tournament will be Operation Soccer Ball, organized by Danielle Quigley, a former Lion soccer player who is now serving her country in Iraq. Soccer balls will be collected at the tournament for distribution to children in Iraq. "We would like to encourage as many people as possible to stop by the fields during the tournament to drop off a donated soccer ball and enjoy some great soccer while they are there," coach Jim Keller said.

Also this weekend, the Vikings will take on two-time defending WIAA Division 2 champion and top-rated Catholic Memorial (15-1-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Waukesha South High School.

This should be a challenging period for both teams, which are enjoying fine seasons and starting to gear up for upcoming state tournament action.

The biggest concern heading into the 2008 season for West Allis Central softball coach Dax Rodriguez was finding someone to replace the graduated Bernadette "Bird" Dostalek in the cleanup spot.

After all, Dostalek had hit .545 last season and had accounted for 41 percent of the Bulldogs' offense on her way to earning Community Newspapers Inc. All-Suburban honors.

He need not have worried.

Into that considerable void stepped junior Corinne Burgermeister, who has been the primary force behind the Bulldogs' 10-1 start., After a two-game sweep of rival West Allis Hale earlier this week, Burgermeister was hitting .542 with five doubles, four triples, one home run, 13 runs scored and 18 runs batted in, topping Dostalek's 2007 total.

In a key 8-5 victory over then-unbeaten Menomonee Falls that propelled Central into the lead in the Greater Metro Conference, Burgermeister went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.

"She's getting big hits," said Rodriguez, whose team was only 6-15 last season. "Her slugging percentage has to be in the .700's. "She's just been an outstanding girl in the four spot to fill in for Bird."

Oh yes, Burgermeister is also the team's pitching ace. She has started every game and has allowed over three runs on only four occasions with an earned-run average under 1.50 and a strikeout-walk ratio of five to one. "She's not an overpowering pitcher, but she hits spots," Rodriguez said.

Hale coach Corri Morgan said, "She's a very nice pitcher. She gives you very few good pitches to hit. She works the plate, inside, outside, high, low."

In Central's April 29 game against the Huskies, she got off to a rough start, allowing three runs on four hits in the first inning and falling behind 4-0, but she hung tough, shut down the Huskies while her team rallied and was rewarded with a 9-7 victory.

"I just stayed confident in our team," Burgermeister said, "because we've been doing well the whole time. As a team, we're really coming together. Last year, we couldn't put it all together, but this year, it's working really well."

Central has also received plenty of help from numerous other players, such as leadoff hitter Nicki Bloomer, Taylor Zube, Jo Jo Borchardt and Lindsey Becker, among others, but Burgermeister is the leader of its resurgence.

She has helped bring GMC championship dreams to Central. Heading into Thursday's game against Brookfield Central, the Bulldogs are 8-1 in the GMC, leading Falls and Divine Savior Holy Angels by one game. The Bulldogs will welcome DSHA to Dorow Field on Thursday, May 8, and travel to Menomonee Falls' Willowood Park on Tuesday, May 13.

Regardless of those outcomes, simply being able to play big games like that is quite a jump from last year for the Bulldogs.