Southern Door Defeats Oconto
By Nick Freimuth DoorCountyDailyNews.com
Photos by Dale Swanson
May 9, 2008

Southern Door blanked Oconto 10-0 in Packerland Conference softball yesterday. The win all but locked up a conference championship for the Eagles. It is not a done deal yet, but the win puts two games between Southern Door and Oconto in the standings atop the conference. Karleee Vandertie, Kate Klaubauf, Liz Neuman and Molly Swanson each had two hits in the Eagles win. Pitcher Courtney Wautier struck out eight and allowed three hits.

Sevastopol softball topped NEW Lutheran in a football sounding score 24-3. The 21-run route began in the first inning when the Pioneers took out their frustrations on Blazer pitching and plated 11 quick runs. Mariah Giesseman was the winning pitcher in the five-inning contest. The Pioneers accumulated 28 hits in the game. Jena Paul had five hits for Sevastopol.

The Door County Baseball 2008 season will get underway tomorrow at West Jacksonport
with the Kolberg Braves coming to town. Kolberg won the league in 2007 and also the playoff championship at the end of the season. They are the favorites to win the league again with Adam Bretl on the mound. Jacksonport under the direction of manager Ryan Tanck should be the race also. A big, big first game in 2008. On Sunday, Mother's Day, we have Baileys Harbor at Washington Island, Egg Harbor at Institute and Sister Bay at Maplewood. My picks are Kolberg, Institute, Maplewood and the Island. Players retiring in 2008, Jack Schartner, Matt Bley, Dave Jilot, Dody Johnson, Matt Higgenbottom, Jodi Vviste. Some have moved away and cannot make it back on weekends.

Southern Door Takes On Sturgeon Bay
By Nick Freimuth DoorCountyDailyNews.com
hotos by Dale Swanson
May 6, 2008

The Southern Door softball team had another impressive outing yesterday against Sturgeon Bay in Packerland Conference softball. Courtney Wautier threw a four-hitter for the Eagles and led them to a 10-1 victory against cross county rival Sturgeon Bay. Karlee Vandertie, Kate Klaubauf and Kristi Villers all had homeruns for Southern Door.

In girl's softball action yesterday, Algoma beat Sevastopol 3-2. The game was tied after the second inning and the Wolves didn't pull through until the seventh. An RBI by Shana Vandertie brought home the winning run. Algoma's Ashley Stangel, Shana Vandertie and Sam Zastrow all went 2x4. Lyndsay Swoboda was the strikeout leader with 6 K's. Dakota Cordier pitched for the Pioneers.

Oconto beat Sturgeon Bay 12-1. Big hitting by Oconto saw homeruns from Taylor Thompson, Natalie Ruechel and Ashlyn Shallow. Natalie Ruechel pitched for Oconto. Amy Ziegelbauer threw for the Clippers.

The bats were on fire for Southern Door as they took both games in a double header against NEW Lutheran. The final score for game one was 15-0 and 19-0 in game 2. Southern Door's Kate Klaubauf recorded 11 RBIs in yesterday's doubleheader and hit a homerun. Molly Swanson and Liz Neuman had 4 RBIs in game one. Taylor Jandrin also had 4 RBIs in game 2. Eagles pitcher Courtney Wautier struck out 9 in game 1 and 8 in the second.

Denmark defeated Luxemburg-Casco 5-2. Vikings pitcher Lauren Roberts struck out 14 batters. Denmark's Collette Ullmer went 2x4 and Carissa Vogel 3x3. Viking Danielle Fisher had a 2 run homer.

The guest on the WSBW "Sports Page" Monday night was Krista Lawell of Bailey's Harbor. Ms. Lawell just completed her sixth Boston Marathon two weeks ago. After graduating Neenah High School, she attended U.W. - LaCrosse where she did not compete collegiately but did get back into long distance running. Lawell has competed in over 15 marathons including the Chicago Marathon last fall that was shorten due the extreme heat. Her passion for running started at the age of nine with the encouragement of her father. She will now take some time off, although she did compete in the Door County Half Marathon last Saturday and finished with an impressive 1:41 time. Lawell's current goal is to run a marathon (26 miles) in three hours. Her personal best so far is 3:09.

The Sturgeon Bay girl's softball team lost both games in a double header against Green Bay East Saturday. In game 1, Green Bay East got on the board early, scoring in the first inning. The Clippers answered back in the second to tie the game. That was the last time they would score in game 1. The final score was 4-1, Green Bay East. Megan Rubens went 2x3 in that game. Amy Ziegelbauer pitched for Sturgeon Bay. In game 2, the bats got going for Sturgeon Bay, but late in the game. Green Bay East scored 7 runs in the first four innings. Sturgeon Bay batted runs in in the fourth, sixth and last innings but their four runs were not enough to take the win. The final score was 8-4 Green Bay East. Megan Rubens went 2x4 in game 2. Sarah Watermolen was 2x3.

It was a good weekend for Luxemburg-Casco softball, as the girls won three games at the Poynette Jamboree. All players contributed in the the three victories. L-C defeated Poynette 7-6, Lodi 8-0 AND Madison Edgewood 16-1.

Baseball
The Southern Door baseball team was shut out by Escanaba, MI yesterday 6-0. Eric Lardinois was 2x3 for the Eagles. Aaron LaCrosse pitched for Southern Door.
The Sturgeon Bay vs. Luxemburg-Casco baseball game was cancelled due to rain yesterday. That game has been rescheduled for May 17.
Today in boy's baseball action, Sevastpol will host Coleman.
For the girl's Sevastopol will travel to Coleman.

Soccer
In girl's soccer yesterday, Two Rivers shut out Kewaunee 3-0. Sturgeon Bay defeated Menasha St. Mary 3-0. Natalie Porter, Kaylie Rivers and Cameryn Ehlers scored for the Clippers.

Golf
All Door County schools competed in the Door County Cup yesterday. Sturgeon Bay finished with 170, Gibraltar 172, Sevastopol 173 and Southern Door had 178. Top golfers were Nick Scaturo with 40 strokes, Gibraltar golfers Chris Hockers finished with 40, Matt Christofferson had 41 and Ryan Lapolla had 42. Sevastopol's Cam Fuller also finished with 42 strokes.

Southern Door/Sevastopol Softball
Photos By Dale Swanson
May 1, 2008

Pease & Lutze Talk Local Sports
By Nick Freimuth DoorCountyDailyNews.com
May 1, 2008

The Sports Page featured Southern Door High School track and field coach Josh Pease last night at the Ladder House in downtown Surgeon Bay. The sports talk show can be heard on 96.7 Fm WRLU. The first half an hour of every broadcast is devoted to the Packers, Badgers, Brewers and Bucks.
From 6:00 to 7:00 a local sports guest joins the program. Last night Coach Pease talked about the success Southern Door has experienced throughout the spring. The boys and girls teams have excelled to this point.
Pease also talked about Eagle senior Liz Neuman. She recently signed her national letter of intent and will be on the track team at Loyola College on scholarship.

 For the final half an hour of the program, Sturgeon Bay girl’s soccer coach Paul Lutze joined the program. His team has compiled a (4-3-1) overall record this season. With 18 girls on the varsity squad, they have excelled on the defensive side of the field.
The first year head coach invited the community out to the girl’s game against Saint Mary’s Central tonight. The game will be at the Sturgeon Bay High School Field and begins at 6:30 p.m. The Clippers are currently battling with NEW Lutheran for third place in the Crescent Conference.

We encourage you to join us on Wednesday nights at the Ladder House. Those in attendance are eligible for great prizes. Last night we gave away over $50 worth of drinks and prizes. Join us next week to get in on the fun.

Day 2:

Day 2 of the NFL draft got off to a quick start with the Packers making a selection at number 91. Another need pick was made when redshirt sophomore tight end out of Texas, Jermichael Finley was taken. This was another surprising pick, because many national draft analysts had a handful of other tight end prospects scoring higher than the young Finley.
The scouting report on the Texas youngster is that he has tremendous upside but lacks the discipline to this point to excel at blocking. The pick addressed a depleted tight end corps after Bubba Franks signed with the New York Jets in free agency. Finley will join Donald Lee and unproven commodities in Tory Humphrey and Ryan Krause.

Green Bay executed another draft day trade with the New York Jets early in day two. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy traded up to the 102 selection to draft Wake Forrest defensive end Jeremy Thompson. The Packers gave up picks number 113 and 162 to move up and pick the brother of current Green Bay offensive lineman Orrin Thompson. The two will have some interesting training camp battles as Orrin plays tackle and will likely line up against his younger brother Jeremy who plays on the outside corner on the D-line.
The knock on Jeremy Thompson is the health of his knee. He underwent a major ACL surgery in college where doctors took a piece of his hamstring and transplanted that into his knee. The defensive end has impressive balance and lateral agility with a great ten-yard burst. He could grow into a legit understudy behind Aaron Kampman, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Cullen Jenkins.

The brain trust in the Packers draft "war room" conducted another trade in the fourth round. They traded away pick number 128 for a fifth and seventh round selection from the St. Lois Rams. Then they picked offensive lineman out of the University of Central Florida Josh Sitton. He is projected to play guard or center in the NFL. Sitton believes he has an opportunity to compete for a starting spot at one of the guard positions.
Ted Thompson was wheeling and dealing again. This time, a trade was executed with the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers traded pick 137 to Minnesota for a fifth and seventh rounder.

The lone pick for the Pack in round five came at number 150. The selection addressed the need at offensive tackle. The Louisville connection between quarterback Brian Brohm and O-lineman Breno Giacomini will be refueled this season on the Packers practice field. Giacomini and Jason Spitz played on the offensive line together in college and have talked regularly with his former teammate over the past two seasons. Giacomini could be in line to work as an understudy behind tackles Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton. Both players are now in their thirties and could hang up the cleats at any time.

The draft ended for Green Bay in the seventh round with two selections. They traded away their third seventh round pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2009 sixth round selection. LSU quarterback Matt Flynn and San Diego State wide receiver Brett Swain were the final two draft picks selected by G.M. Ted Thompson and Coach Mike McCarthy.

The Luxemburg-Casco girl's softball lost a double header to New London yesterday. The first game ended 15-2 and the final for game 2 was 11-4. Jennifer Champeau pitched for the Spartans in game 1, Kalli Schmelzer threw in the second game. Missy Mleziva and Gina Rubens were both 2x4 in game 2.

In girl's soccer action yesterday, NEW Lutheran shut out Southern Door 7-0.

Southern Door defeated Algoma in girl's softball yesterday 8-3.The Eagles started strong in the first inning and tacked five runs on the board. Following a run scored by Karlee
 Vandertie and Kristi Villers, Southern Door's Kate Klaubauf belted one out of the park for a two-run homer. The Eagles ended the first inning with five runs on the board and added one more in the sixth and two in the seventh. The Wolves got going on offense in the seventh inning but their three runs were not enough to win the game. Shana Vandertie went 2x3 for the Wolves and Kayla Parkos had a homerun. Eagles Kristi Villers was 2x4. Southern Door pitcher Courtney Wautier was the strikeout leader with six.

Luxemburg-Casco lost both games in yesterday's double header against West DePere. The final of game one was 3-2 and game two was 4-3. While L-C pitcher Kali Schmelzer was the losing pitcher, she was the strikeout leader. Schmelzer had 7 K's in the first game and 5 in the second.

Sevastopol softball coaches Tim Newton and Brooke Tanck joined me last night on the Sports Page on 96.7 FM WBDK. The defending state champions have started the season with an (0-2) record with losses to New London and Southern Door. The Pioneers will look to get back on track against Algoma tonight. The squad will play Manitowoc tomorrow and Menasha St. Mary's on Saturday.
   Coach Newton said this is an important stretch of games for the starting sophomores to gain invaluable experience. The team consists of just three seniors. All three have been named captains and Newton said he will look to them to lead this year's team.
   The Sports Page is held every Wednesday at the Ladder House in downtown Sturgeon Bay from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. The first half and hour of the broadcast features collegiate and professional sports talk with Joe Witt and me. The final hour is devoted to local and regional sports. Next week Sevastopol senior Cam Fuller will be our local sports guest.

Sports Point & Counterpoint

I know optimism is reigning supreme for the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers, but I have an uneasy feeling on how this year will play out.  The Brewers blew an eight and one-half game lead over the Cubs last year.  
   They managed to finish 83-79 and stay in the race until the final weekend.  That’s called a lost opportunity.  Why? Because I believe, the Brewers can win 90 games this year and STILL not make the playoffs.   Here is how I see it playing out. 
   Nick Freimuth says the National League Central is “still a weak division”.  I see it differently.  The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals have the experienced heavy hitters and starting pitching to match, if not better the back end of the Brewers young rotation. 
   Mr. Freimuth also says that the Brewers don’t have to worry about a closer, since “they will be up by eight runs in the eighth inning”.  This is very dangerous thinking since the Brewers lost a record amount of games last year, when leading by four or more runs.  Last year the Brewers couldn’t get to the ninth inning to close out many games with a dependable Francisco Cordero. 
   This year they might get to the ninth, but unfortunately, Eric Gagne is no Cordero.  Any expectations for a World Series in Milwaukee should be tempered til’ next year.  You have to be able to crawl before you can run and 90 wins, even without making the playoffs, is a good brisk walk. 
   Look for the Mets and Phillies to both win over 90 games.  As far as the Central division, it will be a great race with the Cubs prevailing late again.  I hope I’m wrong, but at least the future Mrs. Freimuth will be happy anyway, right Nick?

Sevastopol Senior Cam Fuller signed his collegiate letter of intent today in front of his peers, family and the media. Fuller earned a scholarship to the University of Green Bay. Last year as a junior, Fuller finished 11th in the state. Sevastopol golf coach Jeff Campbell said there is no reason why he should not be number one in the state this year.
(Audio Here)
Fuller said UWGB has a great golf team and knows the coaches will help him become a better golfer. The golf season will be much less stressful now that he has signed with UWGB. Fuller said he will be able to focus more on his game and less about what c