2017 Varsity Season
Sectionals on Tuesday!
Come cheer on the ‘Cats at Stampfl starting 2 pm on Tuesday!
Last Tuesday, Madison Memorial (#6) defeated Stoughton (#11) 6-2 and moved on to face the ‘Cats in Regional Finals last Thursday. With their 5-4 win over the Spartans, Verona earned a spot in Sectionals on Tuesday to take on Elkhorn (#7).
The Elks defeated Milton (#10) 4-0 last Tuesday and then surprised Madison West (#2), fighting back from a 7-2 deficit to win the Regional Final 8-7.
VAHS is hosting all three sectional games, so the ‘Cats have a chance to leverage home-field advantage into a state playoff berth. If they defeat the Elks at 2 pm, they will play for the Sectional Championship and a trip to the state tournament at 5 pm against the winner of Janesville Craig (#1) v. Beloit Memorial (#4). That matchup kicks off the day at 11 am.
Follow the ‘Cats progress through their Sectional bracket here. They are seeded #3 in Sectional #5 and earned a first-round bye for Regionals this year.
Final Week Special Home Games: 5/23 & 5/25
As we enter the final week of the regular season, we invite all fans to come out and support the ‘Cats in home games this week. We have planned some special festivities for these nights as well!
Tuesday, May 23th – Senior Night
Before the 5 pm home game against Sun Prairie, our 14 senior players and team managers will be honored with their families. Pre-game festivities at Stampfl start around 4:4o pm.
(Note: If the game is rescheduled to Wednesday due to weather, we will hold Senior night before that game instead.)
Thursday, May 25th – Alumni, Teacher Appreciation, & VLL Night
Join us at Stampfl Field for a special night to honor VAHS teachers and Wildcat baseball alumni. Varsity will be taking on Janesville Craig in their final regular-season game.
Verona Little League players and families are also specially invited to come cheer on the Wildcats! Come see former VLL players try to avenge a narrow loss in their first matchup and take down the conference leaders before playoffs begin. 2017 posters will be available, and Varsity players will be signing!
Fab Fields then Home Stretch
While there are only two weeks left in the regular season, the Varsity ‘Cats have a nice series of games coming up. This week they will be playing at Miller Park against Kenosha Indian Trail on Wednesday (2 pm) flanked by a pair of games at the Duck Pond against La Follette and East (Tuesday & Thursday, 5 pm). Then, Saturday’s triangular with Beaver Dam and Kaukauna starts a four-day home stretch to cap off the regular season.
4/27, 4/28, 4/29, 5/1, & 5/2: Rain, rinse, repeat
For those not on the ark already… we’re up to 5 days straight of rainout baseball. Here’s the latest update:
- Last Thursday’s games against Craig were pushed to Friday and then postponed again. As of today, Varsity and JV will play on Friday, 5/12 in Janesville. The Freshman matchup does not have a new date yet.
- Saturday’s Freshman game against Middleton will now be part of a double-header on Thursday, 5/11, at Middleton High School. The first game will start an hour earlier (4 pm) than the single game that was originally scheduled.
- NEW: The Varsity and JV games away at Stoughton originally scheduled for Monday, 5/1, have been rescheduled for Saturday, 5/13, at 11 am.
- Tuesday (5/2) games against Parker were washed out as well with fields still unplayable. Varsity and JV will play their home games Wednesday at 4:30 pm. JV’s double-header is now only a single game. Freshman are rescheduled for an away game in Janesville on Monday, 5/15 at 5 pm.
The silver lining(?) of all this is that there may be scarce a day between now and the end of the season when you could not play or catch a game. On the other hand, pitching machines may need to be called in for late-inning relief in a few weeks…
4/20 – Games rescheduled for 4/21
The rain last night has made fields unplayable today. The Varsity and JV games against East this afternoon have been postponed to tomorrow, April 21 (Friday). Starting times (5 pm) and locations (Stampfl & VLL) remain unchanged.
Yes, this now means 3 games in < 24 hours…
4/13 – All games postponed to 4/17
Rain strikes again…
All three games against West this afternoon have been postponed. Games have been rescheduled for Monday, April 17. The Freshman game will start at 5 pm while JV and Varsity will begin at 6 pm. Locations remain unchanged at this time.
Varsity Roster (2017)
| Number | Player | Position | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad D’Orazio | Head Coach | ||
| Justin Scanlon | Assistant Coach | ||
| Tony Bertucci | Assistant Coach | ||
| Lisa Ferguson | Manager | ||
| Megan Ngo | Manager | ||
| 1 | Luke Frahm* | 12 | INF |
| 2 | Jacob Slonim** | 12 | INF |
| 3 | Connor McGowan | 11 | INF |
| 5 | Tyler McClure** | 12 | INF |
| 6 | Tucker Teskey | 11 | OF/P |
| 7 | RJ Woppert* | 12 | INF |
| 8 | Brad Laufenberg** | 12 | OF/P |
| 9 | Jeff Bishop* | 12 | INF/P |
| 11 | Reagan Klawiter* | 10 | OF/P |
| 12 | Stephen Lund** (IR) | 11 | INF/P |
| 13 | Gaelan Combs | 11 | OF/P |
| 14 | Jared Grassman* | 12 | C |
| 15 | Noah Anderson* | 12 | OF |
| 16 | Grant Kelliher | 11 | OF/P |
| 17 | Brandon Ellestad | 12 | OF/P |
| 18 | Aaron Faga* | 12 | INF |
| 19 | Tristan Largent | 11 | INF/P |
| 20 | John Coshun | 12 | INF/P |
| 21 | Nick Pederson | 12 | OF |
* Denotes prior year(s) Varsity Letter earned
Varsity Schedule (2017)
| Date | Time | Opponent | Location | Score / Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/31 | 4:30PM | Away vs. Milton | Stampfl Field | W 4-3 1-0 |
| 4/4 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Janesville Parker | Riverside Park, Janesville | W 6-5 (16) 2-0 |
| 4/6 | 5:00PM | Beloit Memorial | Stampfl Field | W 2-1 (8) 3-0 |
| 4/11 | 5:00PM | Madison Memorial | Stampfl Field | W 3-0 4-0 |
| 4/13 | Rescheduled to 4/17 | | ||
| 4/15 | 11:00AM | Away vs. Middleton | Middleton High School | L 1-2 4-1 |
| 4/17 | 6:00PM | Away vs. Madison West | Mansfield Stadium | L 8-18 4-2 |
| 4/18 | 5:00PM | Madison La Follette | Stampfl Field | W 10-2 5-2 |
| 4/20 | Rescheduled to 4/21 | |||
| 4/21 | 5:00PM | Madison East | Stampfl Field | W 3-2 6-2 |
| 4/22 | 10:00AM | Arrowhead | Stampfl Field | L 12-2 6-3 |
| 4/22 | 12:00PM | Arrowhead | Stampfl Field | L 6-5 6-4 |
| 4/25 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Sun Prairie | Sun Prairie High School | W 3-1 7-4 |
| 4/27 | Rescheduled to 4/28 | |||
| 4/28 | Rescheduled to 5/12 | | ||
| 5/1 | Rescheduled to 5/13 | | ||
| 5/2 | Rescheduled to 5/3 | |||
| 5/3 | 4:30PM | Janesville Parker | Stampfl Field | L 1-11 7-5 |
| 5/4 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Beloit Memorial | Stateline Youth Sports Complex | W 8-5 8-5 |
| 5/6 | 11:00AM | Away vs. Madison Memorial | Mansfield Stadium | W 7-5 9-5 |
| 5/9 | 5:00PM | Madison West | Stampfl Field | L 2-3 9-6 |
| 5/11 | 5:00PM | Middleton | Stampfl Field | W 3-2 10-6 |
| 5/12 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Janesville Craig HHS | Riverside Park, Janesville | L 0-2 10-7 |
| 5/13 | 11:00AM | Away vs. Stoughton | Stoughton High School | L 5-6 10-8 |
| 5/16 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Madison La Follette | Warner Park | W 11-0 11-8 |
| 5/17 | 2:00PM | Away vs. Kenosha Indian Trails | Miller Park | L 0-5 11-9 |
| 5/18 | 5:00PM | Away vs. Madison East | Stampfl Field | L 5-6 11-10 |
| 5/20 | Postponed | |||
| 5/23 | 5:00PM | Sun Prairie | Stampfl Field | W 3-1 12-10 |
| 5/25 | 5:00PM | Janesville Craig HHS | Stampfl Field | L 1-7 12-11 |
| 6/1 | 5:00PM | Madison Memorial | Stampfl Field | W 5-4 13-11 |
| 6/6 | 2:00PM | Elkhorn | Stampfl Field | W 1-0 14-11 |
| 6/6 | 5:00PM | Beloit Memorial | Stampfl Field | L 1-2 14-12 |
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