5 high school softball stars: Regionals edition (2024)

Senior Roz Rivera hit a walk-off grand slam to help top-seeded Waupun defeat eighth-seeded Ripon 16-1 in four innings in their WIAA Division 2 softball regional semifinal game.

Rivera went 3 for 3 with seven RBIs. She opened the scoring with a two-run single to left in the first inning.

“Going into the game, I wasn’t as confident as I should’ve been,” Rivera said. “The last couple of weeks I’ve had trouble maintaining that contact, but getting that first hit really boosted me up and that led to the rest of my game.”

Rivera didn’t record a hit in Thursday’s regional championship game against fourth-seeded Winneconne, a 1-0 win by the Warriors.

Waupun will host second-seeded Plymouth in Tuesday's sectional semifinal.

Ella Vorlob’s offense helps guide Horicon

Senior Ella Vorlob’s offense helped top-seeded Horcion score a combined 25 runs and win a Division 4 regional championship.

“Every time I came up, there was a high-pressure situation,” Vorlob said. “We really needed the win. I would get down in the count, but I knew I could make contact with the ball. I knew I could hit it.”

Vorlob went 2 for 3, including a double, with three RBIs, three scored runs and a stolen base in a 15-0 regional semifinal victory over eighth-seeded Randolph. The game ended after three innings due to a 15-run lead after three innings.

She drove in two runs with a double in the third inningfor a 12-0 lead.

“I got up with the bases loaded with two outs and I was like, ‘I really need to hit the ball right now,’” she said. “Those were just really big plays because we needed those runs. It was definitely a lot of pressure at the plate.”

Vorlob reached on errors twice, recorded an RBI and scored two runs to help Horicon beat fourth-seeded Palmyra-Eagle 10-0 in five innings for the regional title.

Horicon will host second-seeded Waterloo in Tuesday's sectional semifinal.

Kendall Fakes’ only hit leads to Beaver Dam’s regional title

Freshman Kendall Fakes had just one hit during top-seeded Beaver Dam’s Division 1 regional championship game against eighth-seeded Oshkosh North, but it was a huge one.

“The bases were loaded and I had confidence in the box knowing that I’m in the four hole and I just wanted to get at least one run in,” Fakes said. “It felt really good off the barrel.”

She pounded a two-run double to center to put the Golden Beavers up 2-0. That’s all the Golden Beavers needed as the defense held Oshkosh North scoreless to win the regional title.

“It feels pretty cool as a freshman,” Fakes said.

Beaver Dam will play fourth-seeded Oshkosh West in Tuesday's sectional semifinal.

Big hit by Sadie Koenig helps Lodi gain momentum

Junior Sadie Koenig went 1 for 3 to help fourth-seeded Lodi gain momentum and eventually beat fifth-seeded Big Foot 7-5 in their Division 3 regional semifinal.

Lodi trailed by five runs in the second inning until Koenig's line drive to right scored two runs. Koenig later scored from third on a passed ball to make it 5-3 with two outs.

“That clutch hit was the spark we needed,” Lodi coach Korey Stark said. "She was a big part of our win.”

Koenig scored on an error in the fourth inning to tie the game at 5-5.

Koenig struck out twice in a 3-2 loss to top-seeded Brodhead in the regional championship game.

Gretchen Rockweiler’s bat gives Reedsburg energy

Junior Gretchen Rockweiler went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and a home run but it wasn't enough as fifth-seeded Reedsburg fell to Wisconsin Dells in a Division 2 regional semifinal.

Rockweiler doubled home a run in the fourth inning to give the Beavers a 6-1 lead, but Wisconsin Dells evened the score at 6-6 in the bottom half of the inning.

She also led off the seventh inning with her homer to cut the Beavers' deficit to 8-7, but Wisconsin Dells held on for the win.

Supernova voting

Congratulation to Portage's Mya Bolgrien, who received41.3% of the votes in the May 14 edition.

Vote for this week's supernova in the poll below.