Sports Wrapups: May 24

Franklin tennis

It was a two-team race between Kenosha Tremper and Franklin for the Southeast Conference tennis tournament championship Saturday.

The Sabers came up just short of the title with 33 points to the Trojans' 36. Kenosha Bradford was a distant third with 14.5.

Three Sabers walked away with individual titles, none of which came easily.

The second doubles team of Zach Bartels and Kyle Hoffmann upended a Tremper duo in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. The third doubles team of Steven Petershack and Eric Bauer also defeated Tremper in the title match, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Eric Christopherson followed suit with a win over Tremper, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, at fourth singles.

Franklin also took home three second-place finishes, all of whom lost to Tremper in their respective title matches: Brad Heale and CJ Malek at first doubles; Evan Bauer at second singles and Mitch DeMario at third singles.

"We are very proud of our team," Franklin coach Gail Champion said. "They competed well with a worthy opponent, like Tremper. The boys came through in numerous three-set matches under a lot of pressure. They showed poise and good sportsmanship."

Oak Creek softball

The Knights won a pair of nonconference games last week.

In a 7-2 victory at South Milwaukee on May 19, Renee Lenda was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Vicki Maldonado was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a triple and two RBIs.

Alyssa Sirocchi scattered four hits with six strikeouts and two unearned runs.

One day later, the Knights beat visiting Brookfield East, 5-0, but the win proved to be costly.

Junior catcher Katie Koepsel injured her left knee, nearly a year after having season-ending surgery on her right knee for a similar injury. Koepsel, a team captain, was leading the team in hits, doubles, triples, RBIs and batting average (.429). Coach Nathan Vance expects her to miss the remainder of the season.

"We just hope she'll be alright mentally and physically in the long run with or without softball," Vance said. "One thing I've taken from the (Marine) Corps and have preached to my players through the years is that when life hits you with a changeup when you're sitting on the fastball, you have to be able to overcome, adjust and adapt. … We won't be as good without Koepsel, obviously, but we'll be all right."

The injury soured senior day and staff appreciation day, but Sirocchi finished 3-for-4 and Ally Stanke allowed only three hits with six strikeouts over seven innings.

Greendale golf

Greendale failed to defend its title at the Woodland Conference tournament last week but boasted the individual champion.

Jordan Stachowski finished first helping the Panthers place third. He recorded a 76 in the 18-hole tournament at Washington County Golf Course on May 19 after scoring a 37 at the nine-hole mega-mini at Dretzka one day earlier.

The Panthers' combined total of 496 was third behind New Berlin West (487) and New Berlin Eisenhower (492).

Kyle Kubiak placed 15th overall with a 126 combined score and teammate Ryan Guszewicz finished right behind him with 127.

Whitnall tennis

The Falcons reached the championship match in two flights and tied St. Thomas More for fourth at the Woodland Conference Tournament May 18-19 in Greendale.

Andy Krawczyk and Andrew Dundas, Whitnall's second and third singles players, both went 2-1 but lost to Greendale players in the finals. Krawczyk, who was seeded first, lost to Greendale's Matt Grieshop, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, and Dundas fell to the Panthers' Andrew Dejna, 6-0, 6-2.

Whitnall's first singles player Alex Dundas lost his third-place match to Nick Kubczak of Greendale in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, and at fourth singles, Taylor Marino took fifth.

Oak Creek soccer

The Knights found themselves on both ends of three separate shutouts last week, including an 11-0 drubbing of host Cudahy/St. Francis on May 20.

Brianna Reid scored three times and Morgan Kokta twice as Oak Creek improved to 10-10-2 overall.

The Knights also lost, 1-0, to Kenosha Tremper on May 19, and, 4-0, to Muskego, May 18, both at home. The losses dropped Oak Creek to 0-5-1 in the SEC.

Greendale softball

The Panthers closed out the conference season in style with three wins to finish 10-7 in Woodland action and pull to even overall at 11-11, as of Tuesday.

Alyssa Brunelli had a huge week, capped with a 3-for-4 effort in a 13-4 win over visiting St. Thomas More on May 20 that included a home run, a double, three RBIs and four runs scored.

Jocelyn Bykowski got into the mix with three hits and three RBIs and Ellen Krueger drove in three with two doubles.

Bykowski also picked up the victory by allowing just two hits and striking out five over seven innings.

One day earlier, the Panthers sneaked out a 3-1 win over visiting Whitnall behind Andrea Waldera's seven innings of three-hit pitching.

The bats were lively in a 12-2 home victory over Shorewood on May 18. Lauren Clasen connected for three hits, including a home run, in addition to scoring twice and driving in a pair. Brunelli and Bykowski had two hits, two runs and two RBIs each, and Waldera was 3-for-3.

Bykowski allowed only two hits in the five-inning win.

Franklin softball

The Sabers took advantage of winless Racine Horlick to earn their third doubleheader sweep of the season May 18 at Lions Park.

Franklin won, 17-0 and 20-1, to finish the regular season 12-7 overall and 7-7 in the SEC.

In the shutout, Jayme Love pitched five innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts to earn the win.

Natalie Kay provided much of the offense with three hits and five RBIs.

In the nightcap, Megan Newsom allowed only five hits and struck out three for the win.

Megan Matty belted a home run and drove in two and Siera Spahiu and Kay had three hits each.

Whitnall softball

The Falcons snapped a six-game losing streak with a 15-1 win at Shorewood on May 20.

Whitnall erased a 1-0 deficit thanks to home runs by Danielle Starke, Ashley Cridelich, Rachel Niles and Hannah Schmidt from the fifth inning on.

The Falcons lost at Greendale, 3-1, May 19, one day after giving up a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning in a 10-9 loss to Cudahy. Schmidt was 4-for-5 with three RBIs against Cudahy.

Whitnall managed nine hits against Greenfield on May 17, but lost, 12-2. The Falcons also suffered an 11-1 defeat at Burlington Catholic Central on Saturday.

Whitnall golf

With Mike Mathwick and Matt Ranta earning spots on the all-tournament team, the Falcons placed sixth in the Woodland's season-ending meet, a 27-hole, two-day event that culminated in an 18-hole league tournament at Washington County Golf Course on May 19.

In that finale, Whitnall was sixth with a 337, one day after shooting a 177, good for fifth, at a nine-hole mega-mini.

Ranta shot a 78 at the league tournament, tying him with three other golfers for fourth, and Mathwick tied for 10th with an 80. They placed seventh and ninth, respectively, on the all-tournament team.

Greendale soccer

With the postseason looming, Greendale struggled to get its offense going against nonconference opponents last week.

At Saturday's Kicking MS Tournament hosted by Arrowhead, Greendale couldn't score against Hartford and settled for a scoreless tie.

Greendale was also shut out, 2-0, against Arrowhead, a team receiving votes in the latest Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll.

Those matches were after the Panthers lost, 3-1, to Nicolet on May 20. Greendale scored its only goal on a penalty kick from Katrina Knezic 48 minutes into the game.

The Panthers, who are 7-3 in league play, found better luck against the Woodland's last-place team, Cudahy/St. Francis, on May 18. Greendale won, 8-0, behind three goals by Lauren Rutkowski and two by Mary Merg, who also had two assists.

Franklin baseball

Franklin, a 2009 WIAA Summer Baseball State Tournament participant, opened the season by winning the Germantown Invitational Tournament on Saturday.

Jay Dirienzo and Lance Baretz drove in seven runs each in the Sabers' three wins: 13-4 over Menomonee Falls in the finals, 9-3 over the host school in the semifinals and 12-4 over Kewaskum in the quarterfinals.

In the championship game, Evan Kruczynski and Marcus Schlemm limited the Indians to only five hits, while the Sabers pounded out 16 hits. Adam Kaniewski and Eric Charbonneau had three hits each and Dirienzo's grand slam in the fourth inning was a turning point.

Brandon Wiedenfeld pitched five shutout innings with six strikeouts against Germantown, and against Kewaskum, Dirienzo and Baretz combined for four hits and four RBIs for the Sabers, who scored six runs in the first inning on one hit, three walks, three errors and three wild pitches.

Last season the Sabers went 25-14 overall and lost to Marquette in a state semifinal.

Oak Creek baseball

The inexperienced Knights looked anything but, opening the season with a pair of victories at Frame Park in Waukesha on Saturday, including an 8-2 win over New Berlin West, the state's eighth-ranked team.

Winona State University recruit Tyler Zemla struck out six batters and allowed only four hits over six innings and hit the second of back-to-back home runs in Oak Creek's five-run fifth inning against West.

"Tyler Zemla set the tone in game one against New Berlin West and kept us in the ball game until our bats got going in the fifth inning," Oak Creek coach Scott Holler said. "Josh Jesko and Zemla going back to back in the fifth really gave us a boost confidence-wise and for the rest of the day guys were hitting up and down the lineup."

In a 9-1 win over Waukesha South later that day, Kyle Veloz and Chris Bournelis combined on the two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.

"They both had excellent command and movement on their pitches after they got a few early jitters out of the way," Holler said.

Veloz also homered and drove in three runs. Jordan Hoffmeier also homered, scored twice and drove in four.

The Knights do not return a single everyday starter from the 2009 team that went 26-10 overall and 14-7 in the Greater Metro Conference.

Whitnall baseball

The Falcons opened the season with a doubleheader sweep at Port Washington on Saturday, sinking the Pirates, 7-3 and 13-2.

Dustin Devine game his team a 6-1 lead with a two-run home run in the second inning; he finished 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot.

Brock McGinn pitched five strong innings for the win.

In a five-run third inning in the second game, McGinn had a two-run triple and Devine knocked in a pair with a single.

Alex Guzman was 4-for-4, and Nolyn White pitched four innings for the win.

- David Cotey and Christopher Kuhagen