The weather may not feel like it for another couple weeks, or maybe another couple months, but spring is officially here in Wisconsin.
In the high school sports world, that means the spring season — the third of the three seasons each academic year — is in full swing.
So the calendar is busy.
The spring high school sports season in Kenosha County includes seven sports — baseball, softball, boys golf, boys tennis, girls soccer, track and field (both boys and girls) and girls lacrosse, which now has a KUSD-sanctioned program with the Kenosha Raptors.
Other than track and field, which has a bit of a break this week as programs start to transition from the indoor to the outdoor season, every spring sport will be in action at high schools around the county this week.
Featured events include county rivalry action in the Metro Classic Conference between Shoreland Lutheran and St. Joseph on both the baseball and softball diamonds.
As the spring season gets into full effect, here are Kenosha.com Associate Editor Mike Johnson’s “Top 5 Events to Watch” in the county this week, along with a weekly calendar of high school varsity sports involving county teams.
Top 5 events to watch
PHOTO: SHORELAND PACERS TWITTER
SHORELAND LUTHERAN VS. ST. JOSEPH (softball, 2 games)
Tuesday (April 4), 4:30 p.m., Shoreland Lutheran High School (9026 12th St., Somers); Wednesday (April 5), 4:30 p.m., UW-Parkside Case Softball Complex (900 Wood Rd., Kenosha)
The Pacers and Lancers will kick off Metro Classic play with a home-and-home series against each other on Tuesday at Shoreland and Wednesday at UW-Parkside’s Case Softball Complex, which is St. Joseph’s home field. The Pacers have played just one game so far this season. These will be the first games for the Lancers – if they are played – who had their first four scheduled games wiped out by inclement weather, a common occurrence in baseball and softball this time of year. For St. Joseph, sophomore Payton Hasselbrink is back after being named second-team All-Metro Classic as a freshman. For Shoreland, sophomore Grace Olson was named first-team All-Metro Classic as a freshman, while junior Camryn Mulligan and sophomore Alyssa Pavlovich were both named second-team All-Metro Classic last season. The Pacers finished second in the conference in 2022.
NOTE: St. Joseph and Shoreland Lutheran were also scheduled to square off in a Metro Classic baseball game at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Carthage College’s Augie Schmidt Field.
ST. JOSEPH AT BRADFORD (boys tennis)
Tuesday (April 4), 4:30 p.m., Bullen Middle School Tennis Courts (2804 39th Ave., Kenosha)
Bradford hosts St. Joseph at Bullen Middle School, where its home courts are located, for a non-conference boys tennis dual match on Tuesday. This is the first match of the season for both the Red Devils and the Lancers.
PHOTO: SUBMITTED PHOTO
KETTLE MORAINE AT WESTOSHA CENTRAL (baseball)
Wednesday (April 5), 4:30 p.m., Westosha Central High School (24617 75th St., Salem)
After reaching the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 State Tournament in 2022, the Westosha Central baseball team is primed for another big season in 2023. The Falcons were ranked No. 9 in the Prep Baseball Report Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 Poll and opened their season with a 5-4 non-conference win in extra innings over St. Joseph, also one of the state’s top teams, last Thursday (March 30) at Carthage. After St. Joseph scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, Central responded with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to walk off with the season-opening victory. Seniors Adam Switalksi and Nick Argersinger are both back for Central after being named second-team All-Southern Lakes Conference as juniors last season.
OAK CREEK AT BRADFORD (baseball)
Wednesday (April 5), 4:30 p.m., Bradford High School’s Wavro Field (3700 Washington Rd., Kenosha)
Bradford opens its 2023 season right in the fire with a tough three-game Southeast Conference set against Oak Creek, ranked No. 3 in the Prep Baseball Report Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 Poll. The lone home game for Bradford this week is Wednesday at Wavro Field, while the teams will play Tuesday and Thursday at Oak Creek East Middle School. All three games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. While Oak Creek finished second in the SEC before falling to Central in nine innings in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal thriller last season, Bradford went 12-9 in SEC play for a solid fourth-place finish in the conference. Returning for the Red Devils this season is junior Noah Shiplett, a first-team All-SEC selection as a outfielder last season.
PHOTO: TREMPER GIRLS SOCCER TWITTER
JANESVILLE CRAIG AT TREMPER (girls soccer)
Thursday (April 6), 6:30 p.m., Ameche Field (8701 26th Ave., Kenosha)
Tremper hosts a pair of girls soccer matches this week at Ameche Field, first a Southeast Conference match against Racine Horlick on Tuesday and then a non-conference match against Janesville Craig on Thursday. Both matches are at 6:30 p.m. The Trojans are off to a 1-0-1 start through their first two matches this season. Senior midfielder Mia Crabtree leads the team so far with two goals, while junior midfielder Emily Slye and freshman forward/midfielder Lauren Thomey each have a goal and an assist.
High School Calendar
MONDAY
Baseball–Racine Horlick at Tremper (DH), 2 and 4:30 p.m.; Racine Park at Indian Trail, 4:30 p.m.; Burlington at Wilmot, 4:30 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran vs. St. Joseph at Carthage College, 4:30 p.m. Girls soccer–Shoreland Lutheran at Wisconsin Lutheran, 6 p.m.; Racine St. Catherine’s at Indian Trail, 6:30 p.m. Softball–Westosha Central at Burlington, 4:30 p.m.; Wilmot vs. Johnsburg (Ill.) at Lake Geneva Badger, 4:30 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at St. Francis (Sheridan Park), 4:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
Baseball–Bradford at Oak Creek (Oak Creek East Middle School), 4:30 p.m.; Indian Trail at Racine Park (Horlick Field), 4:30 p.m.; Westosha Central at Delavan-Darien, 4:30 p.m.; Christian Life at University School of Milwaukee (Wildcat Park), 4:30 p.m. Girls lacrosse–Muskego at Kenosha (Jaskwhich Stadium), 7 p.m. Girls soccer–Indian Trail at Racine Park (Pritchard Park), 4:30 p.m.; Wilmot at Westosha Central, 5 p.m.; Bradford at Oak Creek, 6:30 p.m.; Racine Horlick at Tremper, 6:30 p.m. Softball–Franklin at Tremper (Anderson Park Diamond No. 2), 4:30 p.m.; Racine Horlick at Bradford (Bullen Middle School), 4:30 p.m.; Indian Trail at Oak Creek (Oak Creek East Middle School), 4:30 p.m.; St. Joseph at Shoreland Lutheran, 4:30 p.m. Boys tennis–Racine Case at Wilmot, 4 p.m.; St. Joseph at Bradford (Bullen Middle School), 4:30 p.m. Track and field–Shoreland Lutheran at Kettle Moraine Lutheran Invite, 3:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Baseball–Oak Creek at Bradford, 4:30 p.m.; Tremper at Racine Horlick (Horlick Field), 4:30 p.m.; Kettle Moraine at Westosha Central, 4:30 p.m. Softball–Tremper at Hartland Arrowhead, 4:30 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at St. Joseph (UW-Parkside), 4:30 p.m. Girls soccer–Christian Life at Racine Park (Pritchard Park), 4:30 p.m.; Bradford at West Bend West, 5 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at The Prairie School (Wind Point), 6:30 p.m.; Racine St. Catherine’s at St. Joseph (Ameche Field), 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY
Baseball–Bradford at Oak Creek (Oak Creek East Middle School), 4:30 p.m.; Indian Trail at Racine Park (Horlick Field), 4:30 p.m.; Delavan-Darien at Westosha Central, 4:30 p.m.; Wilmot at Burlington (Beaumont Field), 4:30 p.m.; University School of Milwaukee at Christian Life (Simmons Field), 4:30 p.m. Boys golf–Bradford, Tremper and Indian Trail at Southeast Conference Mini-Meet (Ives Grove Links, Sturtevant), 1:30 p.m. Girls lacrosse–Kenosha at Mukwonago, 7:30 p.m. Girls soccer–Harvard (Ill.) at Wilmot, 5 p.m.; Janesville Craig at Tremper, 6:30 p.m.; Waukegan (Ill.) at Indian Trail, 6:30 p.m.; Westosha Central at Sussex Hamilton, 7 p.m. Softball–Tremper at Racine Case (Douglas Park), 4:30 p.m.; Racine Horlick at Indian Trail, 4:30 p.m.; Westosha Central at Burlington, 4:30 p.m.; Wilmot at Lake Geneva Badger, 4:30 p.m. Boys tennis–Westosha Central at Mukwonago Invite, 1 p.m.; Bradford at Oak Creek, 4 p.m.; Racine Horlick/Park at Tremper, 4 p.m.; St. Thomas More at Indian Trail, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY
Boys tennis–Westosha Central at Mukwonago Invite, 9 a.m.; Union Grove at Indian Trail, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball–Shoreland Lutheran at Milwaukee King (Aaron Field), 11 a.m. Boys golf–Westosha Central and Wilmot at Elkhorn Invite (Evergreen Country Club, Elkhorn), 9 a.m.
