EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
Trevor Neuroth, Jr., 3B/P, Fennimore baseball
The Fennimore baseball team is off to an undefeated 11–0 start and junior Trevor Neuroth has been at the center of Fennimore’s success all season.
Last week the junior third baseman/pitcher put together a fantastic six-game stretch that earned him this week’s Mast Water Technology SWnews4U.com Athlete of the Week award. Batting lead off, Neuroth went 14-for-26 (.538) with 10 runs scored, six stolen bases and six RBIs to ignite Fennimore’s offense and lead the fourth-ranked Golden Eagles to six straight victories.
Neuroth went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs and a pair of stolen bases in a 12–2 non-conference win over Dodgeville on Monday, April 17. He then went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI in a 10–6 SWAL victory over Mineral Point last Tuesday. Neuroth then went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs in Thursday’s 6–0 shutout of Cuba City, then finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored in Saturday’s 16–3 resume victory over Lancaster in a game that began on April 10.
Monday afternoon, Neuroth got his first start of the season on the mound and pitched four shutout innings to help Fennimore beat SWC-leading River Valley 2–1. He also scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth, when he singled, stole second and later scored on a passed ball. Tuesday afternoon he went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base as Fennimore improved to 6–0 in SWAL play with a 12–0 win at Boscobel.
Neuroth lead Fennimore with a .524 batting average, 22 hits, 18 runs scored and nine stolen bases. He also has two doubles, one home run and 11 RBIs in 11 games this season.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Ben Ertz, Sr., River Ridge baseball
Ertz went 7-for-15 (.467) and drove in 12 runs in five games over the past week while leading the surging Timerbwolves (6–7, 4–3 SRC) to a four-game winning streak. The River Ridge senior went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a pair of runs scored in Monday’s 10–5 win over Potosi. He scored the winning run in Monday’s 5–4 walkout victory over Belmont when he walked and later scored on Tyler Lansing’s game-winning bases loaded walk. Ertz also started the game on the mound and pitched six strong innings, striking out seven and walking one while allowing three runs on six hits. On Friday, Ertz went 2-for-8 with five RBIs in a SRC doubleheader sweep at Black Hawk. He also went 2-for-2 with an RBI in 9–2 loss at Shullsburg/Benton last Tuesday.
Emma Lawrence, Jr., Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg girls track
The Benton junior was one of six members of the Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg track and field team that competed in the 90th annual Kansas Relays in Lawrence last weekend. She placed fifth out of 45 athletes in the 300-meter hurdles with a season-best and Division 3 leading time of 47.21 seconds. She also teamed with Paige Murphy, Trinity Law and Chloe Matthews to finished 23rd out of 49 teams in the 4x100 relay with a D3 season-best time of 52.18 seconds.
Alex Traxler, Sr., Platteville golf
Traxler shot a career-best 7-over-par 78 to finish second overall and lead the Hillmen to a dominating first-place finish at last Saturday’s 27th annual Dick McKichan Platteville Invitational at the Platteville Golf & Country Club. Traxler and SWC-leading Hillmen shot a combined 323 to blow away the field. River Valley finished a distant second at 375.
Jake Wedig, Jr., Belmont track & field
Wedig has the top individual throw in both the shot put (49’1.5”) and discus (132’5”) at last Thursday’s Platteville Relays. He and Austin Adams teamed up to place fourth in the two-man shot put relay, and fifth in the discus relay. Wedig was again dominant on Monday with the top throw in both events at the Boscobel Bulldog Relays. He was tops in the shot put with a toss of 48’2” and teamed with Andrew Weber and Adams to win the event. He threw the discus a season-best 153’5”, 27 fee further than the next best, and along with Weber and Adams finished second in the three-person discus relay.
Sadie Willboron, So., P, Belmont softball
The Belmont sophomore continued her outstanding season in the circle with a dominating performance Monday afternoon against previously unbeaten Iowa–Grant. She struck out eight and allowed one unearned run on five hits in a 3–1 victory. She also went 2-for-3 in the win. Willborn (8–0) also picked up the win on Monday, pitching four strong innings in a 14–1 victory at River Ridge/Cassville. Last Tuesday, she struck out 11 and pitched a one-hit shutout to lead the second-ranked Braves (11–0) to a 6–0 victory at Highland.
