PULASKI — The plan all season long was to return to Madison for the WIAA Division 1 state softball tournament, although that’s usually easier said than done.

But after the #1 seed Kaukauna defeated rival and #2 seed Hortonville 5-1 Thursday in a sectional final in Pulaski, the Ghosts are on their way back to the state tournament June 9-11 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Brackets: Division 1

This was the third matchup this season between the two Fox Valley Association rivals, and the Ghosts handed Hortonville only its third defeat of the season, all to Kaukauna.

Just like the sectional semifinal, Kaukauna went down 1-0 in the bottom of the first on a Hortonville home run.

But that was all the offense Hortonville could muster.

The Ghosts scored twice in the second to take the lead and didn’t look back.

Sign up HERE for emailed results as the Ghosts make their way through the tournament.

It was just a year ago that the Ghosts claimed its third state title in school at UW-Green Bay. The Ghosts captured the gold trophy in both their previous state appearances in 2010 and 2017.

The team includes: Karly Meredith, Haylie Wittman, Skyler Calmes, Paige Miller, Madisen Gries, Ava VanAsten, Kally Meredith, Chloe Herzfeldt, Addison Race, Taryn Christopher, Keanna Jansen, Anna LaCount, Ava Bloch Makenna, DeValk, Hailie Peters and Lilly Roehrig.

The team is coached by Tim Roehrig with assistant coaches Bill Huss, Mark Hertzfeldt and Steve Meredith.

2022 STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

Thursday-Saturday, June 9-11
Goodman Diamond, Madison WI


Thursday, June 9
Session 1 – 8 a.m. – Division 1 Quarterfinal
   #2 Seed vs. #7 Seed
   approx. 10 a.m. – Division 1 Quarterfinal
   #3 Seed vs. #6 Seed
Session 2 – Noon – Division 1 Quarterfinal
   #1 Seed vs. #8 Seed
   approx. 2 p.m. – Division 1 Quarterfinal
   #4 Seed vs. #5 Seed
Session 3 – 4:30 p.m. – Division 4 Semifinal
   #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed
   approx. 6:30 p.m. – Division 4 Semifinal
   #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
   approx. 8:30 p.m. – Division 5 Semifinal
   #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed

Friday, June 10
Session 4 – 8 a.m. – Division 5 Semifinal
   #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
   approx. 10 a.m. – Division 3 Semifinal
   #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed
   approx. Noon – Division 3 Semifinal
   #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
Session 5 – 2:30 p.m. – Division 2 Semifinal
   #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed
   approx. 4:30 p.m. – Division 2 Semifinal
   #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
Session 6 – 7 p.m. – Division 1 Semifinal
   Upper Bracket Winners
   approx. 9 p.m. – Division 1 Semifinal
   Lower Bracket Winners

Saturday, June 11
Session 7 – 8 a.m. – Division 5 Championship
Session 8 – approx. 10:30 a.m. – Division 4 Championship
Session 9 – approx. 1 p.m. – Division 3 Championship
Session 10 – 4 p.m. – Division 2 Championship
Session 11 – approx. 6:30 p.m. – Division 1 Championship

.

.



Paid partnership with StoneRidge Piggly Wiggly.




By Dan Plutchak

Corrections and updates: news@kaukaunacommunitynews.com Dan Plutchak, born and raised in Kaukauna, is cofounder of Kaukauna Community News.