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Prep roundup (6/10): Eau Claire Memorial boys tennis extends state streak with sectional title

Jun. 11—Even though they needed to wait an extra year to do it, Eau Claire Memorial has kept a lengthy streak alive.

For the 14th season in a row, the Old Abes will play at the boys tennis state tournament. Memorial won a Division 1 sectional title on Thursday in Eau Claire, holding off Hudson by eight points in the standings to take the crown.

Memorial has been to state every season since 2006, with the lone exception coming last year when the 2020 season was canceled.

This year's state experience will be unlike any other. The Old Abes will play at home, with Eau Claire's Menard YMCA Tennis Center set to host both the individual and team state tournaments in Division 1.

To get there, Memorial got flight wins from Evan Birkholz (No. 2 singles), Bennett Kohlhepp (No. 3 singles) and Gavin Sorensen and Grant Johnson (No. 3 doubles).

Ethan Beckermann (No. 1 singles) and Ryan Hayes and Tom Peterson (No. 1 doubles) both finished as runners-up in their flights.

Memorial will have several participants at the individual state tournament. Beckermann, Birkholz, Hayes and Peterson will all compete there next week.

Chippewa Falls singles player Sean Martin is also state-bound for the individual tournament. The senior beat Holmen's Vincent Young in straight sets to open play on Thursday, clinching his ticket to state. He ended up finishing third in the No. 1 flight at sectionals.

Menomonie's top doubles team of Dom Hendrickson and Cole Witucki advanced to state after defeating Marshfield's Josh Grissman and Justin Rachu in the opening round of sectional play. The Mustangs duo took fourth in the No. 1 flight.

Girls soccer

Rice Lake 10, Osceola 0: The top-seeded Warriors rolled, earning a Division 3 regional final date with Hayward on Saturday. That game is set to start at 2 p.m.

Barron/Cumberland 10, Amery 0: The co-op prevailed in its Division 3 postseason debut and will next face Somerset Saturday.

Somerset 9, Altoona/Fall Creek 2: The Rails got goals from Keelyn Marlaire and Xeng Her, but saw their season come to an end in the Division 3 regional semifinals.

Hayward 6, Baldwin-Woodville 0: The Blackhawks couldn't get one past the Hurricanes and saw their season conclude in the Division 2 regional semis.

Baseball

Hudson 12, Eau Claire North 6: The Raiders locked up an outright Big Rivers title with the victory. The two schools would have shared it with a North win. The Huskies got three hits each from Jonah Hanson and Evan Zachow, but couldn't overcome two homers from Hudson's Owen Anderson.

Regis 11, Durand 0: The Ramblers got a trio of RBIs from Caden Weber and a pair each from Blayde Lecher and Cole Selvig, with the latter also earning the win on the mound in a five-inning Division 3 playoff opener. Selvig allowed a lone hit in three innings of work. Regis will next travel to No. 2 Elk Mound Tuesday.

Chippewa Falls 8, Eau Claire Memorial 4: The Cardinals closed out Big Rivers play with a win over the Old Abes, getting a home run from Caleb Gardow along the way. The Cardinals scored the first seven runs of the game. Teig Perlberg worked five effective innings on the mound for Chi-Hi. Campbell Kapanke had two hits for Memorial.

Merrill 11, Altoona 10 (10 inn.): The Rails fell in a wild Division 2 playoff game which saw them pull off two huge rallies to extend their season. Merrill led 8-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh before Altoona forced extras with four runs, with the tying run scoring on an error.

The Bluejays retook the lead with Caleb DeJong's two-run homer in the top of the eighth, but RBI singles from Dyllan Bauer and Kyle Rasmussen in the bottom half kept the game alive.

Merrill finally went in front for good on Peyton Becker's RBI single in the 10th. The Rails got the tying run to first base in the bottom of the inning, but it went no further.

McDonell 12, Prairie Farm 1: Tanner Opsal drove in five runs, powering the Macks to a win in their Division 4 playoff opener. Noah Hanson and Carter Stelter drove in a pair of runs of their own.

Mondovi 8, Colfax 7: Austin Remington's walk-off single brought home Jacob Zacharias to give the Buffaloes a dramatic win to open their Division 3 playoff campaign. Mondovi trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the seventh but scored on an RBI double from Zacharias, an error and Remington's single. Tanner Marsh homered twice for Mondovi.

Osseo-Fairchild 15, Stanley-Boyd 5: The Thunder moved on to the Division 3 regional semifinals with help from four hits by Brody Seefeldt. Wyatt Ramseier added two RBIs for Osseo-Fairchild, and was one of four Thunder players with two hits. Brett Kroeplin doubled and drove in two for the Orioles.

Whitehall 8, Cadott 4: The Norse scored six times in the bottom of the sixth to complete a rally in the Division 3 playoffs. Devon McCune picked up the win with 3.2 scoreless innings on the mound. Nelson Wahl had three hits for the Hornets.

Blair-Taylor 5, Eleva-Strum 4: The Wildcats overcame a 4-0 deficit, scoring the final five runs of the game to move on in Division 4. Eli Swenson's RBI double in the sixth inning proved to be the game-winner.

Baldwin-Woodville 3, Somerset 2: Ty Fink hit a walk-off single to send the Blackhawks into the Division 2 regional finals. Somerset overturned a 2-0 deficit before the Blackhwaks won it in the bottom of the seventh.

Northwestern 16, Barron 15 (8 inn.): Brayden Holsclaw's walk-off double ended the Golden Bears' season in the Division 2 bracket.

Clear Lake 9, Augusta 8: The Beavers battled, but fell in their Division 4 playoff debut.

Ladysmith 4, Chequamegon 2: The Lumberjacks won in their playoff opener.

Flambeau 7, Birchwood/Winter 1: The Falcons pulled off a 5/4 upset in one-sided fashion in the Division 4 bracket. They'll next play Webster.

Bruce 11, Siren 6: The third-seeded Red Raiders took care of business in D4. Next up is second-seeded Shell Lake.

Phillips 20, Lake Holcombe/Cornell 6: The Loggers earned the win in five innings to advance to play Chetek-Weyerhaeuser in the Division 3 bracket.

Pepin/Alma 13, Elmwood/Plum City 9: The Eagles took care of business in Division 4, advancing to an all-Dairyland matchup against Cochrane-Fountain City.

Softball

Hudson 5, Chippewa Falls 3: The Raiders won a winner-take-all Big Rivers title game, scoring twice in the fourth to go ahead 3-1 and adding two crucial insurance runs in the fifth. Madisyn Bauer and Camryn Fjelstad homered for the Cardinals, but they couldn't quite make up the deficit.

Eau Claire North 10, River Falls 4: Maddie Parker pitched five strong innings for the Huskies, striking out eight. Emma Ottum doubled and drove in three runs to lead the offense, which scored five times in the fifth inning to pull away.

Blair-Taylor 10, Fall Creek 9: The Wildcats overturned a three-run deficit by scoring three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Chloe Wagner homered and drove in three runs for the Wildcats, while Sam Olson had a pair of RBIs for Fall Creek.