EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal
Keagan Dull, Sr., CF, Prairie du Chien baseball
The Prairie du Chien Blackhawks baseball team began their 2024 schedule with a trip to a familiar non-conference opponent in Fennimore on Thursday, March 28. The game, like most games in the rivalry, was a back-and-forth battle between two programs looking to contend for their respective conference championships.
Senior Keagan Dull went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to power the Blackhawks to a 7–4 non-conference victory.
After a scoreless first inning, Fennimore got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning when they scored two runs on back-to-back doubles and a two-out RBI single. Fennimore’s 2–0 lead would be short-lived as the Hawks would immediately respond in the top of the third inning with four runs of their own, including a three-run home run by Keagan Dull and a bases-loaded walk by starting pitcher Abe Amundson.
Both teams were not able to push anymore runs across until the bottom of the fourth inning when Fennimore once again used back-to-back doubles and a two-out RBI single to tie the game up at 4–4. Prairie came firing back in the top of the fifth inning when back-to-back two out RBI singles by Hunter Jones and Dull pushed three more Hawk runs across the plate to make the score 7–4 in favor of Prairie du Chien.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Bentley Cutts, Sr., P, Iowa–Grant softball
Cutts went 2-for-3 and struck out 12 batters and allowed just two hits and two walks in a 6–0 shutout of visiting Southwestern last Thursday in the SWAL opener for both teams.
Braden Fishnick, Sr., and Brielle Fishnick, Cassville/Potosi track and field
Last Thursday's outdoor meet at River Ridge was highlighted by the outstanding performances of Cassville/Potosi siblings freshmen Brielle Fishnick and her brother senior Braden Fishnick. Brielle placed first in the girls' 100, 200, triple jump and anchored the winning 4x100 relay. Braden placed first in the 100, 200, long jump, and anchored the winning boys' 4x100 relay.
Kayahna Furrer, So., Fennimore softball
Furrer had quite the opening week to lead the Golden Eagles to a pair of victories over Division 2 Mount Horeb last Tuesday and defending SWAL co-champion Cuba City two days later. Furrer blasted a three-run homer and struck out 14 Vikings in a 6–4 non-conference victory over Mount Horeb last Tuesday. She then struck out 15 batters and allowed just one run as she outdueled fellow first-team All-SWAL pitcher junior Payton Gile in a 3–1 SWAL-opening victory over visiting Cuba City last Thursday .
Emma Jensen, Jr., LF, Lancaster softball
Jensen capped Lancaster's wild five-run seventh inning with a two-out, walk-off RBI single to lift the Flying Arrows to a 10–9 comeback victory over visiting Potosi/Cassville last Thursday night. It was Lancaster's second straight walk-off win to start the season, after a 6–5 victory over Iowa–Grant last Monday. Jensen finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and the game-winning RBI in Thursday's game.
Erin Knowles, Sr., C/P, Boscobel softball
Knowles went 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored, and struck out six batters and allowed two unearned runs on two hits to earn a four-inning save in the Bulldogs' 9–2 victory at Riverdale last Thursday afternoon.
