Biggest Takeaways From First Week
The WIAA spring baseball season is finally in full swing. There have been some big matchups and surprising results. Even though teams are still shaking off the early season rust, every game counts in such a short season. Here are the biggest takeaways from the first full week of action.
Last Year's State Tournament Teams Looking Good
The field at last year’s state tournament was strong across all divisions, and this year most of those teams are off to hot starts. All 8 teams that played in last year’s championship games are undefeated to start this season. Sun Prairie and SPASH, last year’s Division 1 finalists and the top ranked teams this season, are performing as well as expected. Division 2’s latest trophy winners, Lodi and Notre Dame, are 3-0 and 2-0, respectively. Even quarterfinalist Neenah had a strong start to the year. They topped Kimberly by 10 runs in their first game. 7 teams out of 20 in last year’s field made the tournament the year before. We’ll see how many 2013 contenders return this season.
FVA is Up for Grabs
The Fox Valley Association is typically a very strong conference, and this year is no different. There are several teams that have realistic hopes of contending, including Appleton North, Oshkosh North, Kimberly, and Neenah. Early this week Neenah stunned #4 Kimberly 12-2 in five innings, a result that few saw coming. Oshkosh West has picked up two early wins already, beating Neenah and Hartford Union. It's still early, but these teams beating up on each other seems like a sign of strength for the FVA. Parity in this conference should make for some interesting baseball down the stretch.
No-Hitters Abound
We're only a week into the season and we've already seen 15 no-hitters. 2 of those came from the same pitcher, Mitch Ebben of Shiocton. Heath Renz of Jefferson has contributed to one no-hitter, and pitched an individual perfect game a few days later. There were 64 total no-hitters last season, and it looks like we're headed for more of the same this year.
