The Waupun Warriors (18-4) and New Berlin Eisenhower Lions (21-4) will share the Goodman Diamond in a Division 2 WIAA Softball Semifinal showdown tonight.
The WIAA State Softball tournament originally got underway yesterday, as divisions 1, 4 and 5 began play in their brackets.
Waupun’s Road To State
The Warriors have had a season full of redemptive opportunities. Waupun stumbled out of the gates by going 2-2 in their first four contests, with one of those losses being to conference foe Kewaskum. That would be the only conference loss of the season for Waupun, as they went on to win the East Central Conference with an 11-1 record and finished at 18-4 overall.
The Warriors’ dominance continued into postseason play, as they won four games by a combined score of 28-3. They run ruled Ripon 16-1 in four frames, bested Winneconne in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel and took down Plymouth 7-1 in a sectional semifinal.
Josh Navis, the 2nd year head coach for the Warriors, then watched his team square off with the defending Division 2 State Champions in the Freedom Irish. After falling 9-1 to Freedom in the sectional final in 2023, the Warriors stood in the same situation against the same opponent.
Coach Navis mentioned that playing summer softball immediately after last season’s loss allowed this team to reset and refocus on improvement.
“They got to flush that [loss] instantly, so the next week we were playing,” Navis said. “They didn’t have time to think about it, they just [said] ‘we’ve got to get better’.”
This time around, thanks to a go-ahead 3-run shot from Lexi Gerritson, Waupun triumphed 4-1 for their first State Tournament appearance since 2015.
New Berlin Eisenhower’s Road To State
While Waupun worked all season to snap a nine-year drought, New Berlin Eisenhower operated with a target on their backs since day one.
The Lions made it to Goodman Diamond in 2023 before bowing out in the State Semifinals to New London 16-6, and they started the season like a squad possessed for a redemptive run.
They started this season off by rattling off 12 consecutive wins, including a stretch where they scored 59 runs across four contests.
Coach Hogan said the standard from day one of practice was clear.
“This team had expectations to make it back to Madison this season,” she said.
New Berlin Eisenhower went on to clinch a share of the Woodland West title with Wisconsin Lutheran, as they logged an 8-2 record in conference play. The Lions’ 21-4 finish includes a 5-game winning streak that led into the postseason.
Head Coach Kaelyn Hogan’s squad went until the Sectional Round before they allowed a run, as they blew out Delavan-Darien 16-0 and Racine St. Catherline’s 9-0 at the regional stage. The Lions then faced a surprise Sectional Semifinals opponent, Pewaukee (who went 4-17 in regular season play), and ended their Cinderella run in 14-6 fashion.
The last hurdle was Pius XI Catholic, who took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. The Lions responded in the second and third innings with RBI contributions from Ashley Bonin and Becca Hall, and that was all they needed to win 2-1 and return to Goodman Diamond.
Now, the Lions look to take from last year’s journey and apply it to an even deeper run.
“The girls learned a lot from the experience and are looking forward to competing,” Hogan said.
Key Players
Addison Braun – Waupun
There’s dominance, and then there’s inevitability. A quality start from Addison Braun this season can be described as just that. The sophomore ace has logged a 17-1 record with a program-record 1.01 earned run average, breaking the record of 1.07 she set last season. Braun’s 29 career wins are good enough for 4th all time, and her latest performance was the gutsiest one yet; the sophomore tossed nine innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts to help Waupun advance to Madison.
Ryann Nutt – New Berlin Eisenhower
Described by Coach Hogan as a five-tool player, Nutt truly is a leader on all fronts for the Lions. Her .553 batting average, 22 RBI and team-best 3 triples all display the combo of power, speed and experience as she aims to add hardware to her senior campaign. Nutt is committed to UW-Green Bay and has one of the best gloves coming out of the Woodland West.
The Warriors and Lions face off in the Division 2 WIAA Softball Semifinals at 4:30 PM today on ESPN Beaver Dam.
The full interview with Coach Navis is available below.
