GAME OF THE WEEK (April 6–12)
PREP BASEBALL:
Platteville (1–0) at Lancaster (1–0), Tuesday, April 11, 5 p.m.
The Hillmen will travel to Lancaster Tuesday afternoon to begin Southwest Wisconsin Conference play. The defending SWC champion Prairie du Chien Blackhawks are again the preseason favorite in the conference, but Platteville hopes to take a major leap and contend for the conference crown a year after going 9–12. Lancaster should improve on last year’s 8–13 record.
Fennimore (1–0, 1–0 SWAL) at Iowa–Grant (1–1, 1–0 SWAL), Friday, April 7, 5 p.m.
The Golden Eagles opened the season with a 2–1 victory over defending SWAL champion Darlington on Tuesday. Fennimore and Darlington are the preseason favorites to compete for this year’s conference crown. Coach Aaron Zimmer’s Iowa–Grant Panthers looked much better in their second outing of the season, a 16–3 victory over Southwestern Tuesday night, than their first a 9–5 loss at Lancaster last week. I–G will get a clear indication of where it stands in this year’s SWAL pecking order after Friday’s game with visiting Fennimore.
Six Rivers Conference baseball
The Six Rivers Conference will once again be playing crossover doubleheaders on Friday afternoons with the first game counting as a conference game and the second a non-conference affair. Here is this week’s crossover matchups, as well as Monday’s Six Rivers West pairings.
Friday, April 7
Shullsburg/Benton at Monticello, 3:30 p.m.
Barneveld at Highland, 4:30 p.m.
Argyle at Potosi, 4:30 p.m.
Black Hawk at Belmont, 4:30 p.m.
River Ridge at Pecatonica, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, April 10
Highland at River Ridge, 4:30 p.m.
Potosi at Belmont, 5 p.m.
Cassville at Shullsburg/Benton, 5 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL:
Darlington (3–0, 1–0 SWAL) at Boscobel (0–0, 0–0), Thursday, April 6, 5 p.m.
Coach Denna Fulton’s Panthers are off to a 3–0 start and 1–0 in the Southwestern Wisconsin Activities League after posting victories over Lancaster, 4–2, Black Hawk, 10–0, and defending SWAL champion Southwestern, 7–2, to begin the season. They will look to keep their hot start going Thursday afternoon when they travel to Boscobel for the Bulldogs season-opener. Iowa–Grant will then host Riverdale on Monday afternoon.
Potosi (1–3, 0–0 SRW) at Belmont (4–0, 0–0 SRW), Monday, April 10, 5 p.m.
Coach Jeff Hodgson’s defending Six Rivers West champion Braves will put their unbeaten record on the line Monday as conference rival Potosi comes to town. The Braves are led by the pitching duo of sophomore Sadie Willborn and senior Paige Nolan. The Chieftains have scored plenty of runs this year, but fell short against both Seneca, 7–6, and more recently Platteville, 13–10, in non-conference play this year. Potosi opened the year with a 3–2 win over Southwestern.
OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD:
Darlington Invitational, Friday, April 7, 4 p.m.
The Darlington Invitational was moved from Thursday to Friday afternoon. Teams attending include: Belmont, Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg, Black Hawk, Cassville, Pecatoinca/Argyle, River Ridge, Southwestern, Stockton–Warren (Ill.) and host Redbirds.
Monroe Invitational, Monday, April 10, 4 p.m.
A number of area teams will travel to Monroe on Monday afternoon, weather permitting, for the second large outdoor invitational in the area this year. Participating teams include: Albany, Belmont, Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg, Black Hawk, Darlington, Monticello, Pecatonica/Argyle,
PREP GOLF:
Lancaster Invitational, Saturday, April 8, 8 a.m.
The prep boys golf season is scheduled to get underway Saturday morning with a 15-team invitational at the Lancaster Golf & Country Club. Participating teams include: Argyle, Barneveld, Cuba City, Darlington, Dodgeville, Fennimore, Iowa–Grant, Mineral Point, Mount Horeb, Platteville, Richland Center, River Valley, Southwestern, Viroqua and the host Flying Arrows.
